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Its been a few days since I updated anything here, so here's a quick update and some photos:
SHANGHAI:
This past weekend we returned to Shanghai for an NC State alumni banquet. We went via train, which was 100 times better than flying because it was fast, very comfortable, and stress free. China's rail network is already quite impressive, but the government is replacing the entire network with extremely high-tech, modern high-speed trains. When the project is completed in 5 years China will have the world's fastest rail network and the world's most extensive rail network.
We were extremely blessed with gorgeous weather; it was 70 degrees and sunny. Incredibly, the smog cleared and we had blue skies for the weekend. That NEVER happens in Shanghai; my Chinese friends did not believe that we had seen the sky in Shanghai until I showed them the photos.
This time we stayed in a very different part of Shanghai, the wealthy Westernized part. This area of Shanghai is the richest, most Westernized part of all of China. The area is filled with glitzy Western brand-name stores like Gucci, Nike, Adidas, Prada, and others. Real, authentic brand name stuff is rare
in China, so all of these stores were very expensive- even more expensive than in the US. This area of town also features Western dining such as Cold Stone Creamery, Dunkin Donuts, Krispy Kreme, and the usual KFCs and Mcdonalds. Employees in all of the above stores/restaurants spoke perfect English.
Our alumni banquet was held at a very high end restaurant, and the food was excellent. Everyone agreed that the best dish served was grilled duck in some kind of tangy sauce- it was really good. It was also interesting to hear all the NC State alumni tell how they ended up in China. And we finally got to meet Jim, the NC State alumni who funded a good portion of our trip. Jim managed plants all across Asia for an engineering firm and is now retired, married, and living happily by choice in Shanghai. He showed us his multi-million dollar two-story condo, which overlooks a traditional Chinese garden on one side and the Shanghai skyline on the other. Jim has a dining room made entirely of glass that overlooks the city of Shanghai and an early Picasso painting in his personal art collection.
NIGHT MARKET:
Last night
we visited the Night Market in Hangzhou, which basically sells knock-offs of everything you can imagine for extremely cheap. The vendors are fun to bargain with, and if you are good at bargaining, you can get the prices down incredibly low. I got a good-quality Rolex knock-off, but the big prize was DVDs. I bought pirated copies of Avatar, District 9, Iron Man 2, Zombieland, and 2012 all for 4 US dollars. They all are the real movies and they all work perfectly. Let me know if you want any movies and I will pick them up for you.
SUZHOU AND DESIGN PROJECT:
Today we traveled to Suzho, an industrial city 2 hours from Hangzhou. Suzhou is a large city based around a huge industrial park. Inside this industrial section of the city factories and manufacturing facilities sprawl for miles and miles as far as the eyes can see. Most goods labeled "Made in China" are manufactured in one of the thousands of industrial parks in China like the one in Suzhou.
The city itself was surprisingly clean and pretty. Smog wasn't as bad as I expected, and trees, grass, and lakes line the city. There didn't appear
to be any slums, and the workers in the manufacturing facilities appeared to be well-paid.
Our purpose in traveling to Suzho was to visit Caterpillar's manufacturing facility there (Recall that we are doing our design project with Caterpillar). This facility is only a year old, and it is very impressive. Unfortunately, no cameras are allowed within for obvious reasons, but I can tell you that the factory is shockingly clean, quiet, and well-organized. This is no sweat shop; there is tons of safety equipment, and the workers seemed well-trained, well-paid, and well-educated. The factory produces some of the largest machinery Caterpillar sells, and it outputs three completed machines per day. We were able to follow the model we are redesigning all the way down the production line and watch the completed Loader be driven out of the factory into the parking lot (there is a photo of the completed machine). Unfortunately, we have signed a non-disclosure agreement with Caterpillar since we are designing a future product of theirs, and so from here on out I will not be able to give much information about the design project itself.
Until next update,
David
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michael
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I bought the car at a used car place that specializes in cars under $5,000. It seems to run well. I started my internship today. So far it seems kind of interesting, but as I learn more it will probably be more fun.