Today was the first day of company visits in China, and I will be the first one to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by not only the amount of fun I had while on theses visits, but also the quantity of knowledge I gained from them. Going into the trip, I was much more excited to see some of the historical elements of China than to visit some of these companies, but I think that myself and probably the other students gained a lot from these visits. First, I was happy to see the care taken from these companies to ensure our happiness and to promote our learning. For example, the CTO of Cheetah Mobile was willing to take time out of his day to teach college students some of the new and innovate mechanisms a highly advanced company is developing in an ever increasingly modernized society. Not only that, but the scenery of the physical office itself was absolutely breathtaking, and the work environment is nothing less than a dream of mine for my future employment. There were some incredible aspects of this company such as the slide, massage room, and a stunning karaoke club that sets Cheetah Mobile apart from many other companies. I was also shocked to learn that a vast majority of their employees are under 40, which makes me question the chain of command and respect that employees have for each other. The Microsoft visit was also quite cool, and the HoloLens was technology that I’ve never had experience with before; in the future, I want a chance to be able to actually put on the HoloLens and experience firsthand Microsoft’s innovative technology. The last part of the trip that stood out the most for me was the answer to one of my questions posed at the end of the Microsoft session. I asked, “what should a college student like myself do in order to be more marketable to a company like Microsoft,” and the response was something that I hadn’t expected. I was told that a good way to become marketable was to come to China more than once and learn some Chinese, which is something that I hadn’t previously thought about. In a world where competition is increasing every day, it’s important to be able to distinguish myself from others around me. For these reasons, I thoroughly enjoyed the visit to Cheetah Mobile and Microsoft, and I hope that the future visits are just as helpful.