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UPEC - Shandong Field Trip 2018
2018-11-14

This year, we had the opportunity to join a field trip to Qingdao and Qufu, two cities in the Shandong province, which was organized by the Undergraduate & Postgraduate Education Center (UPEC). Our 4-day long journey included company visits to three economic powerhouses in Qingdao (Haier, Hisense and the Tsingtao Brewery) as well as discovering the trails of Confucius in his hometown Qufu. 

We started our trip on a rainy Thursday morning in Shanghai with 20 international students and our lovely organizers from UPEC at FDSM to head down to the railway station together for a ride to Qingdao with the highspeed-train. 

 

 

After our arrival in Qingdao, our tour guide James brought us to a local restaurant where a much-needed dinner awaited us. Some of us took the chance to taste local seafood. Yummy! Later that evening, we went out to see if the locals really drink beer from plastic bags. And spoiler alert: They really do!

 

During our staying, we visited Haier, Tsingtao beer factory and Hisense, three valuable and important companies on the global scene.

Every visit was marked by an introduction on the company profile, strategy, current position and future challenges. We could see the headquarters of businesses that are marking the development of China, whose boom was driven also by the efforts of its entrepreneurs and pioneers in research and development.

 

 

On the next day, we visited Haier and Tsingtao beer factory. At the Haier company museum, we saw how the local home appliances manufacturer Haier developed its own organizational style to come up with innovative, new business models.

 

 

A more tangible experience was the visit of the old Tsingtao brewery where we discussed the company’s strategy with the managers first and were able to taste different types of beer afterwards in the company museum. And as a German, I can say: Compared to other Chinese beer, they are doing a good job!

 

On our final day in Qingdao, we had the opportunity to visit the R&D center of Hisense. The exhibition showcased Hisense’s products and services which are a lot more than just TVs and air conditioners. From smart fridges to state-of-the-art surgery equipment, to even smart street crosswalks. You should see it yourself, if you have the chance!

 

 

Each of these companies made us discovering more not only about business, but also about Chinese culture and values. The words of highly motivated employees drove us to think not only in a merely profit-oriented perspective, but to see the actual value created. Indeed, the success factor behind these companies can be found in the vision they share and the collective effort they make to advance not only their market position, but also the contribution they do the general wellbeing and knowledge. The real strength lies indeed in the customer-tailored research and focus, which drove these companies to try to understand more our needs in different fields, from interconnectivity to the best drink to have on a night out.

The last step of our journey was the “small” (only 600,000 inhabitants) city Qufu, the birthplace of famous philosopher Confucius. Nowadays, the life of Confucius can be studied at various sites in the city: The Temple of Confucius with its famous Dacheng Hall is still an important pilgrimage site for worshippers of Confucianism. It is the right place to study the complex ceremonies that are still performed today. We had the opportunity to wear the traditional Han costumes and try to master the ceremonies. Not that easy to get every detail of the rituals right. The journey of Confucius can be further followed by visiting the Kong family mansion as well as his last resting place in the Kong cemetery forest.

 

 

That was already the end of four days in-depth experience of the diverse Chinese culture, economy and cuisine. Coming from Europe, we are used to see the enterprise mostly as contributing only to its narrow field, but this experience has shown us how the collective effort of many can actually bring by the prosperity and good results for a broader spectrum of society. Indeed, by promoting innovation and highly technological solutions, these companies, together with many others, are marking the rise of China on the global scene, contributing to its progressive increase in relevance not only as a manufacturing country, but also as the place where innovation actually happens. 

 

I am confident that all of us were fascinated by all the different experiences we could make and will return back to Shanghai with a new perspective on business culture and practices in China.

Thank you again to the UPEC-team for organizing this insightful and very fun trip. I will definitely join the next one again!

 

Thanks Philipp Pauquet and Maria Vittoria Longoni for reporting.

 

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