Entering China: The beginning of a 6 month journey.

I've aspired towards China as a place to work and live,  and being an International Business student from a country that once dominated world economics (England), I recognized the economic shift to Asia and anticipated a slice of the economic pie.

This is what motivated me to come here, and to work for The ODM Group, where I excite at the thought of surrounding myself with those more knowledgeable, to improve and expand upon what I have previously learnt. The beginnings of what will one day hopefully set me on a path to a successful career.

My initial impressions of China were of Shenzhen, the rapidly expanding city with ridiculous traffic for a Sunday afternoon. I was not expecting such a vast city with such quantity of skyscrapers, and yet among it all lies tranquil gardens with the echo of traditional Chinese music. The main distraction from the beauty being the extreme humidity, something i was not prepared for!

Shenzhen Lianshuahan Park

After Shenzhen I traveled to Zhuhai, my home for the next 6 months. Here I was pleasantly surprised to find it less chaotic then Shenzhen, but still with a city vibe, and although i have only be here for a day so far I enjoy the idiom of 'jumping into the deep water and learning how to swim' to describe my cultural experience.

Final days in Zhuhai

The day has come for me to leave Zhuhai. It is with mixed feelings that I am saying goodbye to the place that I’ve called home for the last three months. It will be great to finally come home and see my friends and family that I’ve been away from for so long. On the other hand it will be difficult to leave when I’ve met so many amazing people throughout my time here. But as they say – all good things must come to an end.

Guangzhou skyline

I’ve had the chance to experience a lot during these past few months, from visiting tropical islands to exploring metropolises such as Guangzhou. It has been a life changing experience and something that I will never forget. Coming back to China after I graduate is definitely something that I have considered more than once. While the travelling has been amazing, the main reason why I came here was to work. During my time at the ODM group I have gained a lot of professional and personal skills. Having so many nationalities working together really increases your knowledge about different cultures. Working abroad is also something that will look great on my CV and increase my employability in the future.

Yangshuo

Due to the location of Zhuhai in the Pearl River Delta I will get the chance to visit Hong Kong and Macau for the week that I have left here. Taking some time off and travelling before university starts again is something that I am looking forward to.

Whether it’s for working or travelling I hope I get to visit this place again. My time here has definitely opened my eyes for China.

Mt. Jingshan Park, Zhuhai - A Great Sunday Trip!

After 3 weeks spend in Zhuhai, I haven't really explored this city in personal yet. I normally work 10 hours per day, and spend my weekends outside Zhuhai. I therefore decided that it was time to stay a see what Zhuhai has on it's program. 

After another Saturday out having drinks with friends around here, we planned to use our Sunday hiking up a mountain to burn some calories, after lasts nights unhealthy dinner. The mountain is placed inside the Mt. Jingshan Park and leads hikers up to the famous Fisherman statue, looking down at his famous wife, The Fisher Girl, (Symbols of Zhuhai)   

View from the mountain - Half way up

In that fact that people are in different shapes, did we need to hike up the mountain slowly, which typically doesn't fit me, because I love physical exercises etc.. I took advantages of peoples bad shape and took some amazing pictures instead, meanwhile waiting for them.

The girls are posing for a picture - Close to the top

The girls caught us halfway up. Maybe they weren't in such bad shape anyway. 

The Zhuhai Fisherman - Looking for his Fishergirl

We finally reached the top of the mountain, after some beautiful 360 degrees panorama views on our way up the mountain. When we reached the top, we explored the famous Fisherman monument.     

The slide down the mountain 

Everybody was exhausted after the climb, which resulted in taking down the slide of the mountain. We used more than 2 hours climbing up the mountain, and only 5 minutes to come down :) 

This mountain in Mt. Jingshan Park is definitely a visit worth if you are planning to stay in Zhuhai for a while. 

This was another great experience as well. Next weeks trip is going Foshan, and I can't wait to blog about that next time. 

New country, new food

After two weeks in China, I already had some great experiences. One part of the Chinese culture is the great Chinese food. If you can't speak Chinese you should go to one of the numerous restaurants which have pictures on the menu, just to know what you're going to order.

But once you made it to order, it will be awesome!

New country, new food

One of China's specialties is salmon slices. You get them on ice and eat it like sushi with soy sauce.

New country, new food

One property at this salmon dinner is that you get everything of the salmon fish, when you order the slices. That means you will get the ordered filet slices and the rest of the fish fried as starter.

I'm really impressed of the amazing Chinese food I got until now and I'm really curious what I can discover in the remaining 6 weeks.

Weekend Trip To Shenzhen!

I have now spend nearly two weeks in China and I'm already about to fall in love with this place. The food, the cultural differences, the architecture and my job here.
As mentioned in my latest blog in here, will Zhuhai be my residence for the next 3 months. One of the benefits by living Zhuhai is that the city is geographically placed very well if you want to explore Southern China - So this is pretty much want we all do every weekend.

Last weekend we where a larger group, who decided to go to Shenzhen. The city is next to Hong Kong and only 1 hour away from Zhuhai by ferry, so we didn't need to use many hours on transportation.

Shenzhen is a major city in the Guangdong Provence with a total population around 15 million people. Shenzhen's modern cityscape is the result of its vibrant economy, because of a lot of foreign investments. I was therefore looking forward to explore this modern city.

Shenzhen's modern cityscape

When we arrived there in the evening, we went around those fascinating buildings and actually got lost because we where truly too much fascinated of this enormous city. 

Exploring Sea World square 

Next morning we went around the city, and discovered that the city actually has more than only tall skyscrapers on its program. The Sea World square is a new area, with inspiration for western buildings. 

Old sculpture in Splendid China Theme Park

After breakfast in Sea World area, we decided to go and explore some of China's history. The theme park, Splendid China is a park where China's history is visualised in a new and more fashionable way. 

Random selfie with Chinese people outside Splendid China

Splendid China, was definitely a good experience. The experience was not only supposed to be good for ourselves, in the matter of fact that a lot of Chinese people finds it pretty much attractive to have pictures together with foreigners, as in everywhere in China. 

After such a good experience in Shenzhen, can I not wait to blog about my next upcoming experience here in China. 

My first days in China

Hello everyone out there, my name is Tom and I'm a 19 years old male from Germany, currently studying for my undergraduate degree in Business Management and Sales at Heilbronn University.
I just started a marketing and sales internship at a outsourcing company called the ODM Group.
I'm staying in a shared apartment with two other interns from the UK in the south of Zhuhai, called Gongbei.

Sunrise over Zhuhai seen from my balcony

Arriving on Thursday I just had 5 days in Zhuhai, but I could already experience very much.
On Sunday, I went together with other interns from InternChina on a waterfall trip in the mountains outside of Zhuhai. Having around 35 degrees we went a little bit through the Chinese jungle and hiked up a mountain to the waterfall.

View from the mountain 

  It was totally worth it climbing the mountain

I'm really looking forward to the next 2 month here in China and can't wait to start working for the company and learning new skills.

The New Yuan Ming Palace - Zhuhai

After only one day spend here in Zhuhai, I planned to visit one of the city's biggest tourist attractions here, The New Yuan Ming Palace. This place is definitely a visit worth, and especially because it is located in relatively central in Zhuhai so you don't need to use hours on transportation. And about that, I really not needed hours of transportation this day, because we where a bigger group of interns here in Zhuhai who went out on bars the night before.
After a cold shower around 10:00-11:00 am my flat mates and I took the bus down to the palace to discover the place.

The Palace seen from outside

The palace is a smaller copy of a bigger one, which is placed in Beijing and even though, it still has around 10.000.000 visitors a year. The palace has beautiful surroundings as well with a huge lake and a mountain from where you can jump on cable cars and enjoy the view up. 

The view of Zhuhai from the cable cars up the mountain

After a cold beer and a break from the sun, we spend 40 RMB each so we could enjoy the view up the mountain next to the palace in cable cars. This trip was just simply amazing and breath taken in the same time, you barely forgot all about your hangover from yesterday. 

Hiking down the mountain

After a stunning view we decided to hike down all the way down, which was just as beautiful as the trip up the mountain, because we reached the sunset. 

This trip was really an amazing experience, and I'm really looking forward for new experiences like this within next 3 months in Zhuhai.