A "Sensing China" activity for international students

Soochow University held a "Sensing China" activity on November 11. The international students visited theFuture Campus tounderstand the educational philosophy and learn how tocultivate innovative, practical, and international talents through school-enterprise cooperation. They then visited theTaihu SnowSericulture Parktounderstand the history of Wujiang Sericulture and the silk reeling industry, the development of TaiHu Snow Sericulture Park, and the mode of school-local cooperation.

Yufeng Zhou, a new student in our international Master's program participated in this event and recorded his reflection.

Trying to sense China in a day's worth of time is a monumental task that I assure you could not be done; and not to my surprise this activity presented merely a fraction of what China has to offer. I feel that rather than sensing China, we were exposed more to sensing Chinese. There is a slight difference here, compared to the large amount of everything that China has, the Chinese culture is similar all around, especially in a university setting.

The planners of this activity first led us to the Future Campus of Suda in the southern region of the great lake. At this campus, we experienced a far more advanced study environment than at the campus of my own. However, the increased amount of technological prowess does not change a bit of the students’ wit and willpower that is seen in all my schoolmates. I have heard some in my group suggest that the significant increase in comfort would encourage the students to dwell in it and lag behind, but I later found a wall of significant cooperation labs and technology center naming plates that proves otherwise. This aspiring and motivating feeling all around the school is what I think is most famous among Chinese students.

Furthermore, I liked the architectural design of the campus very much. It is a healthy blend of shiny futuristic glass structures and vintage brick walls that display a warm neoclassical feel that gives a solid foundation for the whole campus. I especially like the shallow pond under the eavesdrip on top of the said brick wall. Luckily the day we visited the campus there is a slight shower going on and we saw a beautiful faint rainbow above the ponds. We made our wishes and happily proceeded with the day.

After having lunch, the group brought us to a silkworm exhibit center called Taihu Snow silkworm culture center located in a provincial wetland park. While having some of the best views Jiangsu Province has to offer, it also provides a great growing environment for the mulberry trees to thrive. During our stay, we learned probably more than anyone who doesn’t work in the field about how silk is produced and how mulberries are grown, how silkworms are treated and cared for, and about the traditions and history of silk in general. Stories were told that Lei Zu, wife to the Xuan Yuan emperor of early Chinese civilization, was the first woman who started the agricultural trend of breeding silkworms and making silk.

We saw the traditional wooden instruments that weaved silk from cocoons into threads and later into sheets that can be used for cloth making. We also saw the modern instruments of extracting silk from cocoons and making them into sheets of fluffy goodness that can be used to make high-quality blankets. We also experienced tie-dying silk handkerchiefs which gave us beautiful patterns that are unique to each of us. Everyone had a great time at the cultural center.

All and all this activity was greatly impactful for foreign students, even someone who has Chinese background can still enjoy the trip very much. I can only imagine the amount of amazement for my fellow schoolmates. I wish there were more activities similar to this one, I would happily take part in them.