Group A went to Yiwu on the fourth day in Hangzhou while Group B visited Yiwu on the second day in Hangzhou.
Yiwu International Trade Market is a huge area which sells wholesale goods – from toys, to camping equipment… they have it all!
This is the map of Yiwu International Trade Market with five districts of goods! We were really afraid of getting lost, but thankfully there was an app which served as a guide for us.
One of the very interesting items we found was this educational robot! It can even sing karaoke with you!
We then headed back to school for the Yiwu challenge – where groups would pitch an item (bought in Yiwu) to the teachers! It was very hilarious and fun, as the groups were very creative in their pitch.
On our second day in Hangzhou, Group A went to Alibaba to attend a course and also learn more about Alibaba’s history.
We were first greeted by Rebecca, who introduced the overview of the Alibaba group to us, helping us all be more familiar with Alibaba’s business models, and values. Next, we had another speaker teaching us in-depth about Alibaba’s business and how they operate.
Ngee Ann Polytechnic is also the first overseas institute to attend this course!
We were also given 30RMB coupons to have lunch at Alibaba’s cafeteria! It was a fun experience as we queued for food alongside employees and got overwhelmed with the many choices we had. The food there was amazing, we definitely had a very satisfying lunch.
After lunch, we got to tour around Alibaba’s offices and got to try out the quirky ‘challenges’ they have around! We also got to see their company T-Shirts and prizes for workers who stayed in their company for more than a year (up to 10 years!)
After touring around, we went back to continue listening to their business model. After the previous speaker finished his sharing, the next speaker came and told us more about the events Alibaba have annually and what are the benefits of working in Alibaba. All of them have something in common – Being extremely passionate about their work. We really respect how driven they are, contributing to Alibaba’s success.
We definitely had a very fruitful experience at Alibaba!
After yet another hearty lunch, we set off to West Lake!
We got one of these boats and set off for a ride around the lake. Despite the hot temperatures, being around a water body provided some coolness to us. From the boat ride, we could also see the landmark featured in the 1RMB note!
Afterwards, we set off to this village!
We got to visit this temple and got to climb all the way to the highest floor and the view from there is absolutely breathtaking.
On the fourth day of the trip, Group A visited Ctrip’s Headquarters while Group B visited Volkswagen.
Since we were in Group A, we got the opportunity to visit Ctrip, which is a one-stop travel services company. We got to understand more about their business model and what they have achieved.
When we reached, we were all in awe as the place looked really futuristic and their area was huge as well.
We were then given a thorough presentation on Ctrip’s business vision, goals, and more.
Afterwards, we were then led to a room where it shows live data of the customer’s locations when booking via Ctrip. Unfortunately, photographs were not allowed inside. It was still a cool experience nevertheless.
We ended our Ctrip visit quite interestingly – They have this application whereby when you upload your picture onto it, a poem will be generated based on the picture you have submitted. The system will roughly know where and when the picture is taken. Our students and teachers had a blast sending many photos – scenic photos we have taken the day before, group photos with friends, and unglamorous photos of their friends sleeping on bus!
Back in Shanghai University, students from Group A did a sharing on their takeaways from the Ctrip visit.
We started our activity-packed day with a visit to the Urban Planning Museum where we got a birds eye view of Shanghai and learn about Shanghai’s development.
Afterwards, we headed to the Oriental Pearl TV Tower! With a height of 468 meters, this building is one of the tallest in the world! It’s even taller than the Eiffel Tower – which is only 324 meters tall.
This is the view from one of the highest floors in the building! It was absolutely breathtaking.
After a hearty lunch, we embarked on the Pujiang Cruise that offered a panoramic view of Shanghai.
In the cruise, we were entertained my magicians who performed tricks that kept us on our toes.
The final stop of our super eventful day was the Chenghuang Temple – a well-known Taoist temple that attracts many with its rich history and shopping corners.
We also got to try the HUGE Xiao Long Baos. Filled with crab and soup, this dumpling was a treat from start to finish.
7Dragon 2019 