On our last day in China as a group, we were visiting a cultural site I had been looking forward to the entire trip: the Yuyuan Garden. The Yu Garden was one that I had researched for the class’ pre-departure presentation, and I think knowing a little bit of the history behind the garden really…
Tag: Summer 2018
Reflection: Not as in Mulan
It has been a couple of weeks since Plus3 has ended, yet I am still on the other side of the world from home in Hong Kong. While I have been here, I realized that Plus3 will be one of my most memorable experiences traveling abroad. In two weeks, I have immersed myself in China’s…
Day Twelve: Some Delphi(ne) Engineering
At Delphi ICE, we met Dr. Han, the head of the branch and an alumnus of the Swanson School of Engineering at Pitt. Dr. Han completed his PhD. of Mechanical Engineering under Dr. Slaughter in only two years, deriving equations to describe dynamic behavior at micromechanical levels. While he says that he doesn’t think that…
Day Eleven: Contain Yourself
In the morning we boarded the bus and met Mac Sullivan, an American who now lives in Shanghai with his wife and two kids. Mac works in the third party logistics industry; companies come and talk to Mac to make sure that their goods are transported quickly, cheaply, and safely. The third party logistics industry…
Day Ten: Back to School
Today we visited the Eastern China University of Science and Technology (ECUST). Once we arrived, we were greeted by Dr. Regina Huang from ECUST’s School of Business. We began with a Q&A about the Chinese financial market. We learned that it would still be some time before China would open their stock market to the…
Day Nine: Historical Huangpu
The sick boi squad rolled out early in the morning, taking the subway to get to the Tianzifang market, an area in the former French concessions with narrow streets and countless storefronts. It was very cool to see the skyscrapers of the city rising in the distance, framed by the low European architecture. Lilliana told…
Day 6: 768 Steps Later…
Today was the day that we all have been slightly worried for since the beginning of this trip – the day when we climb the Münster in Ulm. The Münster tower is taller than the Cathedral of Learning, taking 768 steps to reach the top. The steps are in a narrow stairwell that spirals all…
Day 5: Neuschwanstein and Fried Doughnuts
Getting up for our 7:40 departure time this morning was rough, but luckily, today is the day that we went to the Neuschwanstein castle, which made the early leave much easier because I had an exciting destination to motivate me. After the two-hour bus ride and the extra two hours of sleep, we arrived in…
Yu Garden and Going Home!
Last day of the trip. Wow. Got to say that I’ve really experienced a lot on this trip. Going through food poisoning and experiencing the hospital was cool I guess. Anyway, our day started with an early trip to the Yu Garden. This garden is hidden amongst the skyscrapers. Our tour guide led us a…
Final Summary
Ethical Issues in My Profession Electrical engineering is innovation at the forefront of technology, and it comes with a significant number of ethical issues. After visiting smartphone companies, learning about data, and experiencing the country-wide dependence on weChat firsthand, I’ve realized that cyber security and the protection of people’s data is crucially important when designing…
Day 13: Reflections
Our last day in China was our first cultural visit in Shanghai. We visited the Yu Garden, which was a beautiful and well-preserved area in the city. Like many other cultural sites, the undertones of it being an opium house were more than outweighed by the gorgeous architecture. The garden has all of the…
Day 12: From the States to China
Today began with another company visit, to Delphi. By now, I’ve gotten the hang of dressing business casual and knowing what to expect from presentations. However, Delphi had a surprise for us! Our presented actually did graduate research at Pitt and worked under the mechanical engineering advisor. His story is interesting, because he loved learning…
Day 11: Logistics
Today we got a tour guide named Mac, who grew up in the States but now lives and works in Shanghai in the forwarding industry. On the but he talked to us about logistics and stayed with us through the company visit and port visit. At Ocean East International Logistics we learned about how…
Final Summary
The two weeks spent in China have been 2 of the most fun weeks I’ve had in my life. I would recommend Plus3 to any freshman or prospective student. It was truly an amazing experience. Starting out with a group of kids that I didn’t really know at all (except Benji) and becoming friends with…
Delphi Technologies and American Chamber of Commerce
On the hottest day of the entire trip of course we had two company visits. First to Delphi Technologies and then to the American Chamber of Commerce. Finally this visit was more catered toward engineers so it was a bit more bearable for me. The gentleman that made the presentation for us about Delphi actually…
Day 4: Continental and Regensburg
This morning I got up and enjoyed my now-normal brie, croissant, and orange juice for breakfast before we set out for our Continental site visit at 9:30. Once I knew that we would be visiting Continental, I was expecting to learn about the tire company that I knew them as during our visit; therefore, I…
Day 10: The French Quarters
Today we visited the Shanghai university, ECUST, and learned more about Chinese culture and about business in China. We ate lunch in their canteen, and the food is surprisingly cheap. It only cost $3 for a plate of about 30 dumplings, which was surprising considering how urban the area is. I’ve learned that Chinese…
Day 9: The Shanghai Skyline
On the train ride to Shanghai I mostly slept, but my group also discussed our business idea with Professor Li. The big takeaway was that we need to figure out a way to make our business sustainable, so that competitors don’t take away our customers. One way to combat this was to make a…
Day 8: Shopping!!!
Today we visited the terracotta warriors, which was very interesting to see. I hadn’t realized that so many of them were destroyed, since only the first room is ever really in the media. Just like the temple of heaven, it’s an amazing feat but it’s slightly off-putting to enjoy because you know it’s involved…
Day 13: Yu Garden & The Last Day
Sadly, today was our last full day in China. I tried not to think about it too much because although I’m excited to go home I’m also sad to leave. The day started off nice and early with another great continental breakfast at the hotel. We then headed to the bus for the last time…