Go-Karting in China!

One noticeable aspect about Zhuhai, is that despite it being a small city; in terms on Chinese cities, you will never find yourself at a loss of exciting actives to do.

Recently my friends and I went go-karting on a track that's conveniently only a 10 minute walk from my apartment, much like everything else in Zhuhai.

Go-Karting in China!

The first thing we noticed, it was extremely cheap - around 40 RMB ($6) for 10 minutes, which is much cheaper than in the UK. Plus with this you get the options of the type of go-kart you get to drive, such as larger ones with enough seats for a family of four, or a faster single-seat kart.

As with many things in China, the safety regulations are much less strict than Western countries, so there is was no real concern about safety gear, speed or how you go about beating the other racers!

As you can see above, the raise track is situated in a forested area, which makes the competitive sport surprisingly peaceful and relaxed.

My experiences in Zhuhai so far!

Hello everyone! I’m Stella from Malaysia and today is my first day at ODM Zhuhai. The office is located in Jida, and the space is huge and so far it has always been sunny. Everyone is extremely friendly and welcoming. I decided to work in China because I’ve met many Chinese international students while studying abroad. I learnt how to speak Mandarin from my Chinese friends and learned a little bit about China. My curiosity of the changing customs and traditions within China is what prompted me to look for an internship here in Zhuhai.

I applied my visa through a travel agent in Malaysia. All I needed to do was to pay a small service fee and submit my documents to the agent. Then they will submit my documents on my behalf to the Chinese embassy in Kuala Lumpur, and my visa will be ready for collection in 7 working days.

Waiting to board

I arrived in Guangzhou during the Qing Ming (tomb sweeping) week which is a public holiday for the Chinese nationals. 

On the bus to Gongbei, Zhuhai from
Guangzhou
Baiyun Airport

 I was fortunate to book a hotel room during the peak holiday season with the help of Ricky, one of ODM’s Chinese staff.

C inn Jida

Guess what's for dinner？

Donkey meat (I heard "yu rou" fish meat,
turns out to be "lu rou" donkey)

During the weekends, I went room hunting with Ricky and managed to find a decent room nearby the office for 800 Chinese Yuan. From what I learnt, it is standard procedure in Zhuhai to pay 2 months’ rent as deposit in advance where the deposit will be returned once your contract ends. The process of renting a room is much easier compared to signing a one year lease for a single apartment.

Day 2- Prawn noodles for breakfast

Dimsum at Xiangzhou

Zhuhai is cleaner than most of the Chinese cities I’ve been to such as Guangzhou and Beijing. I really like the living environment and the convenience of getting around town. The public transportation is really convenient and cheap; a one way bus ride cost 2 Chinese Yuan which is less than a dollar. Taxis are abundant and you can easily get into one without calling or using mobile apps.

So far, I’m learning about the company and its principles. Can’t wait to learn and experience more!

Visit to a Chinese restaurant

It's likely you've eaten 'Chinese' food from the West and loved it, but Western Chinese food doesn't even compare to genuine Chinese food made from within China itself.

My roommates and I visited a Chinese restaurant yesterday that's considered 'expensive' in comparison to other restaurants in China, but it still only ended up costing us around 75 RMB ($12) each for a delicious meal and drinks.

Outside the restaurant

As you can see, it's a great looking restaurant, which is the perfect mix of both a traditional and a modern style.

Outside the restaurant

As you can see above, it's a great looking traditional restaurant.

When you get seated, expect to be welcomed by all the staff, who see it as an opportunity to test their English, while it's an equal opportunity for you to test your Chinese!

You'll immediately be given a kettle full of tea, without ordering it. Not only is this for drinking, this is also for the cleaning routine of your plate, cup, bowl and chopsticks. This is done by pouring the boiling tea onto each, and effectively washing them.

The amazing food

All the attempts at saying which food we wanted in Chinese were most definitely worth it, for the amazing meal we had!

My first few days in Zhuhai, China!

I've only been in the amazing city of Zhuhai for 4 days, and already I'm absolutely loving it! Luckily for me, I'm going to be here for another 4 months!

When I first flew in from the UK the first thing I noticed was the heat - despite the fact it's still considered the Chinese winter season, anything is warm compared to Wales in the UK!

It's not just the weather that's different, it's also a completely different lifestyle in China than anywhere else I've ever been - everyone seems to be much more traditional and culture plays a huge part in most peoples lives here - which means its a great opportunity to learn about the culture while living here, and in the short 4 days I've been here, I've already learnt so much.

One of the things I've learnt, is how amazing the food is here - each meal is so unique either the way it's prepared or the ingredients that are used, you can find some fantastic dishes, as long as you keep an open mind!

I came to China as an intern for the ODM group - today being my first day. It has been brilliant so far, as not only was everyone incredibly welcoming, they've also been great in helping me to learn more about Chinese manufacturing, which I hope I can continue to expand my knowledge of. I chose to intern in China for a number of different reasons, such as:

• Being really interested by the Chinese culture.
• The fact that trade is continually developing here, which has made it the biggest economy in the world, which means there are endless opportunities that comes with this.
• Wanting to learn a new language.
• It's an amazing experience, that will look fantastic on my CV!

and of course.. the food!

ODM Group and Mindsparkz Christmas Dinner 2014

    XMAS has already arrived at ODM and Mindsparkz. We arranged last night a Christmas dinner at The Factory in Huafa We all had amazing dinner together sharing experiences and success stories throughout the year.
 
    This dinner also was special for our Chinese staff since it was the one of many yearly Chinese festivals,   the Winter of Solstice. Usually Chinese families get together on that day and have a big dinner, eating Tang-yuan, which represents best wish for family reunion. Special occasion to bond our international team!

Our team enjoying XMAS meal

    The Factory is located in Huafa Century Center with the popular western music. It's a very causal place where foreigners and Chinese have dinner, drinks and communicate with each other. It's the one of the most popular foreign bars in Zhuhai. There is no doubt that ODM staff as well as other interns in Zhuhai, like to go there for a few drinks on weekends.

    At ODM Group, we usually organise activities for interaction between colleagues such as company lunches, BBQ and games. We also organise factory visits and short trips around Guangdong so that our staff can learn the practical processes of factories and still have a fun time together!

    ODM Group and Mindsparkz wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Come Together 2014

The annual Come Together charity event this year was held on Saturday the 13^th of September in the Beishan Theatre in Zhuhai with an outstanding number of people involved.

So what is Come Together all about?

Come Together is an annual charity music festival underlined by the idea to bring expats and locals together for a great day of live music, fun games and a variety of delicious food with the wonderful aim of raising as much money as possible for local charities in Zhuhai, China.

This year, the money raised went to two amazing, local charities; the Charity Promotion Association of Zhuhai (CPAZ) and the Zhuhai Autism Society. Both charities are delighted with the total amount that the event raised; an unbelievable 155,000 RMB.

ODM Group at Come Together 2014

The event was absolutely fantastic and it was incredible to see people share the same ambition of raising for a common cause. Come Together 2015 will be a stunner!

Last week our event organizers handed in donations to primary schools in Zhuhai and spent time with the children. 

The Zhuhai Autism Society

As part of the donations, the society contributed with over 10 yearly tuition fees for the education of kids as well as with musical events that will definitely stimulate their learning.

For education and skills training RMB 15,600 (USD 2,500) pays for 10 students for a year in the Gu Lang Training Centre (48 classes each of 1h 30min split equally over 2 terms). For more severe cases RMB 1,500 (USD 240) donation pays for 1 autistic child to live in a 24hr care boarding centre for 1 month. Each care centre has 10 children maximum.

The Zhuhai Autism Society receiving a well deserved award

All for a good cause. How about you - are you ready to get involved for Come Together 2015?

Looking for an internship in China?

Undertaking a course in business or product development? Looking to have a valuable internship year abroad? Why not come to China to experience the most diverse culture in the world and gain insights to manufacturing in China. It is definitely a valuable opportunity and will make you stand out amongst other professionals in your industry!

We are currently looking for young, fresh and talented professionals!

Description of the company

The ODM group specializes in manufacturing promotional products and new concepts within factories in China, where we act as a main supply chain management agent. We have the expertise in quality control and production management through our main central buying office in Zhuhai. To add, we also have an in-house design team, Mindsparkz, which specializes in product design, IP management, web development and prototyping.

Below you can find the available roles:

Marketing Internship

Candidates undertaking a marketing internship will contribute to our yearly-based marketing plan where they will analyse our past trends and develop new proposals to execute strategies.

The main role within this internship will be contributing to the SEO of the company and looking ways to increase our online activity.

Generally this will be done through social media networks as  Wordpress, LinkedIn,Twitter, Facebook, etc. 

Also an important role is given to video blogs: Check out our previous intern´s video blog. Video blogs are mainly used to feature a promotional product that we think is going to be ideal for the season and have decent buying pricing.

Requirements: 

• Candidate needs to be pro-active and updated to new tendencies Eg: if there is a new software or network that will help the company, they will need to advice the company on this new tendency. 

• We are looking for native English speakers with excellent grammar skills.

• The ideal duration period of this internship should be at least 6 months or more.

Sales internship:

Account Management: Manage customer accounts for the company under supervision of Sales Manager, take a part in general administrative work (writing invoices, sending of the samples, writing QC reports),  to be able to meet all the needs of our biggest clients

Prospecting: Develop a targeted approach to look into new clients in different industries and different markets. The company is constantly looking for new clients and your main responsibility would be to generate sales leads and turn them to clients eventually. Candidates with experience on cold calling and exposure to customers will be strongly considered. 

Marketing: Contribute to the general SEO of the company through weekly-based blogging on key live case studies around the marketplace.

For some long-term complicated projects, the intern will be sent around Chinese factories to manage production and undertake quality controls where you will be able to get a practical insight into chinese manufacturing & production processes. Candidates with a basic knowledge of Chinese Mandarin will strongly be considered too.

Candidates undertaking an internship with us will have the opportunity to visit Trade Shows in Hong Kong and Guangzhou to identify new products and market trends. 

Requirement: 

• Need to be fluent in English and another European language which will be used to prospect into 2 new markets. Candidate needs to be self-motivated, proactive, organized and able to think outside the box.

• The ideal candidate should be looking for a internship of 6 months or more.

• Candidates should have a degree in any business related course or be in the course of getting one.

Design Internship:

Our design department is looking for a creative, hardworking graphic and product designers. In this role, you’ll be focused on designing and producing work in line with our company style and personality. 

You will be working under the supervision of our Creative Director and alongside a group of international industrial and graphic designers. As a design staff member, you will be providing a high degree of  design, both graphic and industrial,  as well as technical support to the projects and campaigns of our clients.

Essential Functions:

• Provide  design support for all departments, which include layout alterations, color correction, resizing existing creative, and designing new projects based on previous designs.

• Manages multiple priorities under deadlines, independently and working with a team

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Proficient with Adobe Suite: Especially Photoshop and Illustrator

• Product designers must have skill in both hand sketching as well as the Solidworks CAD software

• Knowledge of  design principles

• Demonstrates creative flair, originality and a strong visual sense for branding and integrating visual elements across multiple mediums

• Strong attention to detail in proofing and making accurate edits.

• Fast-paced, well-organized and thrive in a high-volume, deadline-oriented workplace

For this specific internship we are able to cater any duration periods, generally for people staying over 1 month.

We will also consider applicants for traineeships and applicants wanting to act as our QC rep around Chinese factories.

Please contact us for more information:

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