From my impression of the Shanghai, it seems to be the East’s answer to New York City. Everything about it is reminiscent of the West, from the upscale stores, to the diversity of international foods, to the abundance of advertisements of western movies and fashion.

And fashion was the name of the game today when we visited Donghua University, which sticking with the New York City analogy, was China’s Fashion Institute of Technology. Everyone there exuded cool. There fashion sense was impeccable, ranging from high fashion to streetwear.

There were treated to another presentation on the smartphone industry with a focus on ecommerce in China. The speaker explained the growing expansion of these companies, such as Taobao and Tmall, and how it is important to understand them as they might come stateside.

Afterward, we were divided into groups of two, escorted by a student to lunch and around the campus. It was surprising that a lunch that is considered “cafeteria food” could be so good, it almost makes me resent Market back at Pitt. Everything thing our guide told us about life at school was reminiscent of Pitt, with the only difference being a mandatory class on Mao Zedong. Aside from that, everything she told us sounded very American, not just having similar interests in cultures like the students at the previous university, but activities such as a going to party and things of the sort, something the students at the other university said they had no time for.