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A Study Trip to Huzhou
Students of Silk Road School (SRS), Sino-French Institute and International College of Renmin University of China (RUC) Suzhou Campus, went on a study trip to Huzhou from the 4th to 5th of November 2020, which aimed to deepen the integration of enterprises with vocational schools and universities, innovate the international training model of school-enterprise cooperation, fully mobilised enterprises’ ability, motivation and enthusiasm in nurturing students and to enhance the students' ability to serve the society.
On the 4th November, staff and students visited Shanlian Huzhou Writing Brush Factory where they learnt that a Hu brush take 128 steps and 20 to 90 days of processing before it is available on the market. They also learnt the inheritance and innovation of tradition Chinese craft industry and how the combination of culture and technology gave the traditional industry a new lease of life. They also visited Huzhou Silk Town and Huzhou Museum, where they understood the history of Huzhou’s development, the region’s characteristics, culture, and its splendid achievements after reform and opening up. Huzhou is a city with beautiful landscape and ecology which believes in the sustainable development concept and having a green city, Tianneng Power International Limited is one of the representative enterprises for the city’s green development. Ending the day, they visited Tianneng Power International Limited which was established in 1986 and has expanded all over China. The company focuses on making battery as well as energy saving devices and smart energy technologies. It ranked 13th in the world and 3rd in China as a battery production company.
On the 5th November, staff and students had a symposium with the Huzhou Municipal Government in the morning. Mdm Xu Jiqing, Vice Mayor of Huzhou Municipal Government warmly welcomed the staff and students and introduced the advantages of the city’s location such as transportation, ecological environment, history and culture, properties, and talents. In addition, she presented on the economic development, talent introduction policy, the city’s response to the pandemic and welcomed SRS students to start their businesses or seek employment in Huzhou. Students also obtain a better understanding of the local economic development through the presentation ofthe various departments. Professor Du Peng, Vice President of RUC and Dean of SRS, expressed his gratitude to the Huzhou Municipal Government for their warm welcome and praised the good ecological environment of the city, the balanced development between city and rural areas, and its outstanding prevention of the pandemic. He hoped that this research trip will be an opportunity for both RUC and Huzhou to work closely together, in respond to the enterprises’ new need for international talents, promotion of deep connections and mutual benefits between schools and enterprises, to push forward the integration of enterprises with vocational schools and universities and developing models for talent training, andto contribute to the nurturing of BRI talents.
After the symposium, the group visited representatives of homestay hotel economy in Mogan Mountain National Scenic spots to learn more about the design and layout of the inns. They also interacted with the bosses to make better sense of the business model.
The trip ended with a visit to Zhejiang AnjiDashanwu Tea Farm. Dashanwu Tea Farm’sDirector, Sheng Chaoyong, explained the selection process of the tea seedlings in the 80s and 90s and through his explanation, students acquire a better understanding of the entrepreneurship spirit of “dare to be first”. Anji County is vigorously developing modern agriculture represented by Dashanwu Tea Farm, and is leading its villagers to realise common prosperity, using actions to achievethe belief of “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”. These “new farmers” are actively responding to the national call on poverty alleviation, and are bringing the tea leaf plantation technology to provinces such as Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan, to help the local villagers to rise from poverty and become prosperous.
Maria Nazeer from the 2019-year cohort expressed that it was one of the memorable trips she experienced and she had a lot of fun at the Shanlian Huzhou Writing Brush Factory and the Dashanwu Tea Farm, as they resonate with her love for books and nature. “We were all anxiously waiting for a trip like Huzhou after Covid-19. I learned about the manufacturing of traditional brushes. I never knew that there is a difference in the material used in their nibs. The most interesting thing for me was the use of rabbit skin in the nib formation of brushes.I fell in love with the tea leaf farmsthe moment I saw them. The farms were in beautiful shape and I learned the history of Bei Cha from there.”
Richard Mbayo from the 2019-year cohort applauded the SRS administration for their tireless efforts to ensuring that SRS scholars get what they deserve as a way of creating a better understanding of Chinese society as well as China’s path to development. He also wished for a trip to Tibet or Xinjiang in future for students to have a special interaction with people in those regions due to their unique features. “Huzhou trip was one of the exceptional and finest trips students ever had, it is harmless to assert that the Huzhou trip was more interesting as the city hold a rich history coupled with being a city of tourists.”
Eric Han from the 2020-year cohort shared that the trip to Huzhou gave him a lot of thoughts on the long history and power of China. “The Huzhou museum gave hints on the origins of the BRI, which will come in handy during my research related to Eurasian Grand Strategy. Visiting Tianneng Power provided insights to the future of battery industries in relation to NEV.”
Huzhou, an important city at the South of Lake Tai, values the inheritance and development of traditional culture, thoroughly implement the concept of green development, promote development of rural tourism economy, revitalised modern agriculture to achieve a win-win situation economic growth and eco-friendliness. The 2-day visit provided SRS students an expansion of their knowledgein areas such as Huzhou city’s history, culture, model of running enterprises, development of properties, and a better grasp of China’s development path, model, and current development.
Written by:Lim Yin Ru
Edited by: Edward Kwame Tenadu
