2016 China Field School: Our First Few Days

Touchdown!

Bags packed, passes confirmed, check through security and we are on our way! The flight was a smooth one, the marathon of movies and music I believe kept everyone going. Rolling with the sun into Monday has been interesting and at last we land to a spectacular view of the Hong Kong skyline. Everyone is in good spirits and we travel to our hotel a little ways away in Guangzhou via bus. The journey begins!

Day 2 began quite quickly with some of the group going across the street for a night cap experiencing the local neighbourhood. Was definitely a short evening. We awoke to an interesting breakfast in the hotel front. Some dishes consisting of 1000 year old eggs ?! Was very interesting. From there we headed to the Canton Fair via metro system. The metro here is always busy and bustling, makes the skytrain back at home look always empty. When getting to the fair it was a little bit of a wait while getting our passes. After a few security checks we got in! The place was massive! We first got an orientation of the site with a lot of history. From there we spilt up and took on the fair. Products ranged from simple chairs to high tech gadgets. Definitely was a great experience. After the fair we went to a local Chinese restaurant for “authentic"Chinese food. This is something I think the group needs to get a bit more adapted to. We ended up going from there to get a taste for the local night life. I think we enjoyed ourselves quite well! Day 2 ended on a good note

Well, after an eventful night out we got back to the hotel to get some rest before another packed day. After we awoke, we headed back on the metro to see the famous Five Rams statue. This statue is one of the most popular tourist attractions in all of Guangzhou. On the way to this statue we encountered a small boat ride available for us to use which was interesting and also a cool game that resembled “hacky sack”. Lots of locals were playing this game and made it seem almost like an art form with how casually good they were at it. From there we embarked to the Sun yat sen museum. The architecture of this building was exquisite gave us a good perspective on authentic Chinese tradition and history. After the museum, everyone was starving! We decided to go to a very nice Arabic restaurant not far away which was exactly what everyone needed. Two very generous peers Sultan and Ahmed covered the bill for us which was more than generous! Thanks so much again you two 👍👍. From there we headed back on the metro and headed to a typical Chinese shopping mall. Had many similar aspects to a North American one, but with many different variations of stores and products available. One neat thing a few peers and myself tried was a 9D virtual reality game. I wish we had such things in Vancouver haha. We left the mall shortly after and split into two groups. Some of the class went back to the hotel to work on a assignment and get some R&R and the other other part of the group went to an authentic Chinese dessert place which I heard was well worth it. After another few night caps at our favourite place across the street we headed to bed to get rest for another day of adventure in Guangzhou.

 

With the sun rising began another new day here in China. Once getting another morning dose of breakfast and preparation we headed out to the metro enroute to Jinan University. This university caters to many international students from around the globe and currently has a few Capilano students taking exchange programs there which we got to meet and see. After getting there, we were greeted by the Dean and he gave us a brief presentation of the university. From there we went to a classroom and got acquainted with some local students. This was by far a great experience talking and exchanging information from totally different perspectives. Enjoyed it very much. THey even published a news article about our visit.

 

Then we went across campus to a Chinese restaurant for lunch. This was by far the best authentic meal I believe our group has had so far. Everything tasted amazing and after not too long, the plates were almost empty. After our great meal we went back to the class we had attended and showcased our Canton Fair presentations to teachers and students alike. Everyone did very well on this assignment and the local students I believe learned a lot from how westerners present assignments. From there we went and boarded a Pearl River Cruise! This was an amazing experience to cap off a great stay in Guangzhou. Seeing all the bright neon lights on the surrounding buildings and the iconic Canton Tower was a great show! After the cruise finished we taxied back to the hotel and took over our friendly neighbourhood pizza bar to celebrate Kaaren’s birthday! We finished the night strong.

 

 

 

 

 

This group of CapU students and faculty are currently in China on the 2016 China Field School offered through the Wong and Trainor Centre for International Experience and the School of Business at Capilano University.