China Study Tour 2007
In May 2007, Dr. Hung-Gay Fung led a group of eight students to China for a two-week study
tour. Their mission: learn as much as they could about one of the fastest growing economies in
the world and the fascinating country and culture that support it. The Asian experience started
in the capitol of China – Beijing – where the group had the chance to visit not only such famous
sights as the Summer Palace, the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, but were
also granted visits to the Chinese Bank and the Chinese Academy of Social Science where lectures
enriched their visit. At the city of Nanjing, where UMSL’s established partner university is located,
the group spent another five days exploring some of the regions most well known companies such
as Nanjing Phoenix Contact & Co., Ltd., A.O. Smith Company, and YCP-BASF Company. To round
out the tour the group visited the Presidential Palace, the Confucius Temple, and the splendid
Old City of Nanjing.
To learn more about typical Chinese ancient buildings and commercial settings with
shops and restaurants that are over 100 years of age, the group spent two additional
days in Guangzhou at the beautiful Pearl River Delta. As the trip went from north
to south, the two last stops of the study tour were Shenzhen and Hong
Kong, two cities that actually share the Chinese border. As Shenzhen is
one of the fastest growing cities in China the group visited a joint venture business
of local and foreign capital and took an interesting tour through
the largest painting factory in Southern China.
At Hong Kong they had another day of fun at the breathtaking
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre as well as one
of the most famous Chinese temples. Everyone enjoyed the two
weeks in China and learned that cultural experiences enrich
and enlighten ones personal and professional life.
“It was surreal visiting all the places I had heard
about as a child. I learned more about economics
and history in two weeks than I could have in an
entire semester. I know that the people I traveled
with will be my friends forever.”
—Jason Bockman