We started the day at Global Logistics Properties, which after all, if you are in a city of over 23 million people, leaves you thinking about the logistics that come into play. Harrison Duan, UT grad, walked us through the whole process, helping us to understand the whole thing from real estate to investments and from warehouses to zoning issues. Thank you Harrison.
Then we were able to view first hand the Chinese approach to K-6 education by attending sessions at Jiading Experimental Primary School. Yes, that was Alice signing autographs in the hallway.
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March 15, 2011 at 1:15 am |
My favorite part about visiting the elementary school was seeing the yoga class and the Happy Room and “Emotional Release” wall (basically a punching bag on a wall for kids to release their anger or stress). We have heard about all the pressure children face to excel at school and this put that into a new perspective – imagine 3rd graders in the US being so stressed out their school had to build a punching wall for them? I don’t think I really felt stress until high school…interesting societal difference.
March 15, 2011 at 3:20 am |
While I really enjoyed the student tour guides, the visit to the school left me wondering how real this situation really was. Parents commented that they were not “volunteers” as they had been described but were required to be at our visit and play certain roles. The technology being employed at the school was no doubt impressive and collaborative, but I have to wonder how much of the “show” was an accurate reflection of the average Chinese experience vs. a well-played public relations performance.
March 19, 2011 at 3:21 pm |
The school visit was pretty interesting for the first half, but I’m still a little skeptical about their use of technology in the classroom. It was fun to see how the kids could work in different groups to put together different answers and then each could present them on the computer in front of the class, but I really didn’t see anything that couldn’t be done with normal white boards or chalk. This technology might be pretty helpful for getting kids in rural areas access to an education in city, but when they were all sitting in the same room, I didn’t see any advantages other than a few more bells and whistles. The smart boards they were using cost somewhere between $1-2K USD and I think that money could definitely be used better. But maybe that’s why they call it an experimental school and they are still trying to see which technologies will yield better learning…
March 21, 2011 at 7:20 am |
Harrison’s presentation was extremely interesting. I think it will be fascinating to see what happens to real estate as industry and manufacturing expand westward. I think some of the tier 2 cities graduate to tier 1 cities, but I also think some manufacturing cities could fall into disrepair a la Newark, NJ. I wonder if there is something inherent in the Chinese system that could prevent this from happening?
I enjoyed the tour of the school and the 1st grade yoga class. I was struck by how well behaved the children were. The educational presentations were a bit hard to follow.
March 21, 2011 at 8:20 am |
The real estate market is definitely at the forefront of most people’s minds in China. I was amazed to hear that prices have soared 300% in the past 5 years. One of the interesting facts that we learned visiting E-house was that most new home buyers are making down payments of 50 % – 60 % because they are supported by 6 family members and the home buying process is a family decision. The visit to the school was interesting; I wonder how representative this school is of the rest of the country.
March 21, 2011 at 8:42 am |
It was really interesting to visit the school in Shanghai and meet the kids. They were very excited to have visitors, especially American visitors, and we were excited to be there. I liked seeing them in their classroom. I thought it was interesting how well-behaved they were, especially when it came to the teacher getting their attention and them answering questions in unison. I also liked the “kicking wall” and the idea that they need to have an outlet to express anxiety or frustration over the high-expectations and pressures they face from their parents and teachers. I haven’t heard of this in the US, but I also don’t think the pressure is anywhere near what these kids see.
March 21, 2011 at 12:19 pm |
I really enjoyed visiting the Jiading Experimental Primary School and watching the kids’ reactions to us. I was amazed by the level of discipline in these students. I’m fairly certain that you cannot get children in the USA to maintain perfect posture, stand up when called upon, and not act up during class. The presentations at the end of the day were a bit of a drag because they were so formal and long, that being said it was interesting to see how important formality is in the Chinese culture.
March 21, 2011 at 2:15 pm |
I echo the thanks to Harrison at GLP – this was extremely insightful and he did a great job of answering questions and providing insights about MBA life.
The school visit was hot and cold. I thought from a classroom standpoint that the kids were great. I helped build a bridge from chopsticks and rubber bands (although unfortunately my large American hands were too much for the bridge and I crushed one of the support beams). I did feel uncomfortable, however that I was sitting in front of parents who were observing their children at school. I hate being a distraction from learning, but I hope that the children really took something away from us being there (they were so excited).
Lastly, the presentation was interesting from a cultural standpoint. To see all of the formality that is put into all the presentations and the entire process itself was very different and eye opening. From a content standpoint, I was confused if we were the intended audience, and I also thought it was interesting what was chosen to be translated.
March 21, 2011 at 2:17 pm |
The talk with Harrision further reiterated to me how important relations with the government are to Chinese corporations. In almost every aspect of his business, the government can make or break the situation. It was also crazy to me that he said the value of his apartment has gone up 300% since 2005, which just shows the rapid growth of Shanghai.
The visit to the elementary school was fun and I loved how excited the kids were to see us. One thing that I wondered about there was how able the parents are to assist with homework given that the students are employing such high-level technologies at all times – technologies that even their parents not be skilled with. The school seemed very progressive though, and the kids were adorable and well behaved!
March 21, 2011 at 2:58 pm |
The visit to GLP was great– Harrison answered our questions very well and gave us a great idea about how a company whose operations are so simple – “a big box” – can succeed through predicting where the new customer needs will be. Also, it was interesting to hear that one of the main reasons GLP listed on the NYSE was to attract both foreign and domestic investors…being listed in a premiere stock exchange gives them the “face” needed to negotiate deals or investments.
March 21, 2011 at 3:01 pm |
Sorry, I meant the Singapore securities exchange.
March 21, 2011 at 6:02 pm |
Today was an interesting day for me. I feel really fortunate to be seated next to some amazing parents that worked hard to make sure that I understood what was going on. I really appreciated that because without them I would have been completely lost. One father that I sat next to was completely candid and told me about how it was to be a parent in China. It made me realize that a parent’s concern for his child is universal. He wanted to know how to be a good dad as far as his child’s education was concerned. We discussed how he was unsure if placing so much pressure on his son to achieve good grades was the right thing to do and told me that during the weekends that his son took additional classes to earn certificates that would hopefully set him apart from the rest of his class when it came time for college, mind you his son is in the fourth grade. He said that this was what most of the children do on the weekends. It made me a bit sad because from me growing up, while I had activities on the weekend, it was mainly a time to be with my family. Since this man was being so honest I took the opportunity to ask him a few questions that had been on my mind. First I asked him how typical a school like this was in China, he smiled and said, “Experimental, not typical.” Then I asked him if he had really volunteered to be here today, as they had been stressing that these parents were volunteers. To this he laughed and told me he had been given a task and told what time to be there and expressed how bored he was at the whole thing. It was great to have that insight.
March 21, 2011 at 7:07 pm |
I will echo many of my peer’s comments around the stress focused on the 4th graders in China. I had heard students often studied 10 hours per day 6 days a week, but it didn’t hit home until the Q&A session where nearly every parent commented or posed questions around the stress of elementary school. I think the intense focus on memorization beginning at such an early age is what has left China without many innovators. In order to move beyond its role as a manufacturer, the Chinese educational system probably needs to be revamped.
March 21, 2011 at 7:39 pm |
Our conversation with Harrison from GLP was very insightful. On our previous visit to Tianjin, we got to visit a warehouse and see their operations, but Harrison was able to further shed light on GLP’s overall picture.
As for our visit to the elementary school, its evident that there are some really, really smart kids at this school. My fourth grade schooling did not consist of building bridges out of chopsticks that could hold the weight of a fourth grade student. Yet, that’s exactly what the fourth grade class we watched was completing. Another difference I observed is how engaged each and every student is. It may be because they have an audience, but I really doubt that. Education is taken more seriously in China versus the US.
March 22, 2011 at 12:54 pm |
Visiting the school today was interesting for several reasons. The childrens’ excitement at having American visitors was fun to see. I will never forget Alice signing autographs like a rockstar! It was also striking to see the differences in behavior of the kids between this school and American public schools. From the uniforms to the regimented seating position and standing at attention whenever answering a question. I think we all knew about the pressures these kids face in school to succeed, but this visit really put it into perspective for me.
March 22, 2011 at 1:31 pm |
Meeting with Harrison in the GLP offices was a great experience for us. I was lucky enough to be at his table the night before at the alumni dinner, so I had heard about some of the good times he had at McCombs and on his Global trip to China nearly ten years ago. In fact, it was during this trip that he first met with GLP, a meeting which eventually helped get him the position with GLP he has today.
Seeing the parental involvement at the school made me realize some of the pressure Chinese children must feel to succeed in school. I was in the ‘yoga and meditation room,’ a class we used to call nap time when I was in elementary school. We then heard a presentation for four hours intended to talk to the parents about the experimental education tactics used by the school. Although most of it was in Chinese so we could not understand it, the large number of parents there showed their interest.
March 22, 2011 at 3:14 pm |
I really enjoyed our meeting with Harrison. He seems like an awesome guy and I wish we had the chance to spend more time with him at GLP. It might even be fun next year to get key Alumni to maybe lead an entire day around the city if available.
Our school visit had its ups and downs. It was interesting to see what school is like for Chinese kids. It was also crazy to see how excited they were when they would see us. The Yoga class was awesome. Our visit did get a little drawn out towards the end. The constant need for translation and just sitting in an auditorium for several hours was exhausting. Overall good day, but could use some refining for next year’s trip.
March 22, 2011 at 3:23 pm |
I really enjoyed the tour of the school – the full size model of the school, wall of trophies ‘showing off’ the success of the students, gym, classrooms with Dell computers, and of coarse the emotional release wall and Happy Room. It’s really amazing to see how much pressure is put on these children at such a young age. It was fun to see how excited the students were about the American visitors and also to watch them in class and how eager they were to respond to the teachers questions and present their findings on how to best wash vegetables (though I was lost at the beginning of the class when I had no clue what was going on).
It would have helped to have had a translation for the presentation from the principal and teachers, since the powerpoint presentation only had a word here and there in English, making it difficult, if not impossible, to follow. Because of this, I found it hard to see how we were the intended audience for the presentations.
March 22, 2011 at 4:14 pm |
I also enjoyed the visit to the elementary school and it was a great learning experience to interact a little bit with the kids and see how they acted in the classroom, especially with their teachers and peers. I loved sitting in on the yoga class and being able to see how behaved and regimented they were. However, I was disappointed with the afternoon presentation because it didn’t seem like we were the intended audience and we therefore didn’t get a lot out of the experience.
I did find Harrison’s presentation and meeting very valuable though. I really appreciated hearing from a fellow alum and thought his experience working with GLP were very interesting. I was also impressed with the growth of the company and it will be interesting to follow the real estate market in China over the next few years.
March 22, 2011 at 4:16 pm |
Harrison’s presentation at GLP was awesome. One of the primary reasons I decided to go on the China global trip was my desire to learn how Chinese companies interact with the government on a daily basis. Harrison was willing to address these questions and extremely articulately discussed how the government both positively and negatively affect GLP’s business. Also, Harrison mentioned that his condo had appreciated 300% in the last few years and was now worth $1MM. Harrison if you’re reading this post, please call your Realtor. You should have put up for sale signs yesterday. That bubble is going to pop.
The visit to the classroom was great. It was great to interact with the kids and see a Chinese school. It was interesting to see the emphasis on memorization. The students greeted us with perfect English and instructions on what to do or what we were about to see. However, when I engaged a few of the kids they struggled to converse. This isn’t surprising, but was interesting to see how good they were at memorizing English.
It was also interesting to see how easily the students can be confused or tricked. One of the student wanted to asked for my autograph, but mistaken asked for a signature from one of my classmates. The Chinese student was too embarrassed to correct her mistake and ran away before getting my signature. I honestly feel terrible that she didn’t get the autograph that she wanted and that she now is stuck with an autograph that is frankly worthless. I was able to take a group picture with 30 of my biggest elementary school fans. Good to know that I still have it!
March 22, 2011 at 7:52 pm |
I was really looking forward to Harrison’s talk about GLP after eating at his table at the Alumni dinner last night. He was great to talk to and had a lot of insight into how to make the most of out our MBA experience beyond the classroom.
Going to the school was a very interesting experience. People always talk about technology in the classroom as if it’s going to improve and elevate learning but it just seemed excessive and unneeded in certain settings. Observing the Yoga class for the kids, the video didn’t seem to add anything that the teacher wasn’t already doing. I can’t really comment on the rest of the day cause I don’t speak Chinese, but the kids were super cute and I was so impressed with their speeches and how much English they knew at such a young age.
March 22, 2011 at 8:14 pm |
It is undeniable how adorable the students were today. I was struck by how excited they were to see us. I was thinking how I would have felt as an elementary student welcoming MBA students from abroad. I wonder what they were told about us and how they were prepared for our arrival but they certainly did make us fee welcome! The techology in the classroom I visited was very impressive although I do not think it was typical for all elementary schools in China. I was also moved by the student who asked about college prep and if she should attend a university in China or in the US. I was certainly not thinking about college as a fourth grader and this question showed what extreme academic pressue these students are under at such a young age. The competition for quality jobs for the large number of professional graduates every year is trickling down to the elementary level. To close, I thought it was interesting how much the Chinese seem to like Americans. This is not always the case when we go abroad.
March 22, 2011 at 9:10 pm |
I got a lot of value out of the Global Logistics presentation by Harrison. The main takeaway that i took from his comments about business school were the value of relationships with your peers. He commented on a few things that he would have done differently, which resonated with me because building relationships has been a priority of mine since beginning of b school. Nice to feel like you haven’t wasted your time or had poor priorities! I would have liked to have spent more time with Harrison, but perhaps in a different format (interacting with him and his colleagues somehow).
I enjoyed seeing the kids, it’s always refreshing to be around the enthusiasm of a child. However, it was difficult to follow the afternoon because we didn’t know ahead of time that we would be participating in some sort of academic conference. I would have liked to have had more interactivity with the kids – though we didn’t speak the same language fluently, it would have been nice to play games or read english stories to them. That could be a suggestion to improve it for next year, to perhaps instead have more interactivity (though i’m not sure what flexibility you have to change that).
March 22, 2011 at 9:11 pm |
Visiting the kids at the Jiading School was wonderful. I think we were just as excited to see them as they were to see us. After touring the school, I sat in on the yoga class. I thought it was a little strange that a) they take yoga as a class, and b) that it was in a tiny classroom instead of gym class. I couldn’t help but wonder if this is a regular class for them or if it was just for show for the Americans. Either way, I enjoyed watching and was very impressed at how disciplined the students seemed in class.
I thought the math class and meeting after seemed a little scripted as well. But I think I realized that the Chinese like to put on a production and it was their way of showing hospitality and showing what they do, perhaps.
March 22, 2011 at 9:47 pm |
The school was very organized and prepared for our visit. We were greeted with a large welcome sign and several students who acted as our tour guides. I loved seeing how excited the kids were to see all of us. It was really interesting to sit in on a class. Every student had their backpack on the back of their seat and they sat with their hands behind their backs. When they raised their hand, they had it positioned with their pinky finger forward instead of palm forward like we do in the US. Every class started with a welcome chant from all of the students and ended with one as well. I was very impressed with how well behaved the kids were during class.
March 22, 2011 at 9:53 pm |
Harrison’s presentation was very educational and interesting. I enjoyed seeing GLP’s company overview and learning about their corporate strategy, especially after getting to take a tour of one of their buildings. It was very eye-opening to see the footprint that GLP has in Asia and how much they can offer their global clientele in terms of logistical strategy in addition to the real estate services they provide.
Our trip to Jiading was a very unique experience. I’ve never seen a group of Americans get the welcome and attention that we did. The strange and amazed looks we got from the students were pretty amusing. I’m sure most of them had never seen a large group of Westerners in their life. I also thought it was interesting to hear the contrasts between US and Chinese educational philosophies.
March 22, 2011 at 10:12 pm |
Harrison was interesting and knowledgeable about GLP, the Chinese economy, and US policies. He was a great speaker and for trips to come I would suggest having him provide some context before visiting the GLP warehouse. That said, he tied everything together and was extremely polite and engaging. It was fun to hear from a local that had lived in America and knew both countries (and business within each) so well.
The primary school was like stepping onto the red carpet (at least for Alice and Jeff). IT was incredible to see how warmly we were welcomed by teachers, parents, and kids alike. The yoga class was great to watch as students had to sit in perfect, uniform positions and stand when they spoke. Everything was in perfect harmony and it reflected traditional Chinese beliefs. I wish we had some sort of translation but overall that was the highlight of the school experience. The presentations, on the other hand, were harder to sit through as we could not understand what was going on nor did we have much context as to what they were discussing.
Overall the kids were extremely well-behaved and upbeat, it was encouraging to see!
March 23, 2011 at 12:40 am |
Visiting Jiading school was interesting as it showed a lot of similarities as well as a lot of differences between American and Chinese student.
One memorable aspect was the happy wall as well as the angry wall where students could let out aggression on an inanimate object. I think one would be less likely to see this in the US as recent studies have shown that punching bags do not help reduce aggression.
Another interesting thing I noticed was that while the students we watched in science class were so composed and well behaved, students in the hallways tended to be running and loud. My theory is that students may cut lose even more so outside of class since class is so highly structured.
Finally, I found the use of technology including touch-screen based computers and live blogging very impressive. I am interested to understand what percentage of students have access to this degree of technology or even basic computer technology. I know from our class presentations that the rural areas in particular are sorely lacking in technology.
March 23, 2011 at 6:06 am |
I enjoyed this visit a lot! Harrison’s talk was great. He is a really nice guy and I enjoyed how he not only spoke about his experience at GLP but also his experience from McCombs and his Global trip. It was nice to hear his perspective and advice.
The school visit was really cool. I loved seeing the kids and interacting with them and yes – signing autographs! I sat in on the yoga class and found it really interesting. I think you’d be hard pressed to find a school in the US that teaches yoga so I was intrigued that they were doing it in the classroom. The school felt very similar to a US school in a lot of ways. I wish we could have been able to understand a bit more of what was going on at this visit though!
March 23, 2011 at 8:38 am |
The meeting with the GLP was a pleasant surprise. I was nervous of the value add after our visit to their warehouse but Harrison was really great. He had great insight and it was about so much more that the warehouse business.
However, the highlight of the day for me was visiting the Jiading School. Attending one of their classes was just so interesting. The students were so interested in us as well and really thought it was a treat for us to visit them. I struggled during the long presentation in almost all Chinese but I still really enjoyed getting to see those kids.
March 23, 2011 at 9:08 am |
I really enjoyed the visit to the Jiading School especially since my project revolved around the use of technology in education. I was impressed with how prepared the school was for our visit and how well the students that hosted us spoke English. Our hosts also had stripes on their shoulders to signify that they were the best students, which I thought was an interesting differentiator and emphasized the competitive nature of school in China. I was surprised and enjoyed the students reaction to our visit. They were all so excited to see us! Seating in on the yoga class was quite an experience. The children are all so well-behaved and poised even when doing yoga exercises. Although when they were in the hallways, they seem to run amuck!
The presentations at the end were hard to follow, but I’m not sure if we were the intended audience. I did however enjoy the questions at the end and found it very curious that a young student asked if she should go to University in America. I coudn’t believe this was already something on her mind!
March 23, 2011 at 10:09 am |
It’s safe to say that all of us were grinning from ear to ear when we passed by the classrooms and had masses of cute Chinese kids beaming at us and waving. I think both groups were equally happy to see each other. I wanted to do a second lap to go through that again! During our class visits, it was amazing to see how every student was engaged and raising their hands to participate. I don’t think they have class clowns in China!
March 23, 2011 at 3:15 pm |
Global Logistics Properties was another one of my favorite company visits while visiting China. UT Alum, Harrison Duan gave us a very thorough explanation of the warehousing business in China and also gave us an inside look at the business relationships that occur with the government and the advantages of having personal connections to government officials that help with conducting one’s business. It was also another glimpse of the powerhouse that is the Chinese economy and the paradigm shift from an export economy to a consumption economy that will drive the warehousing business for years to come.
Next up was the visit to the Jiading Elementary School where we were greeted with complete excitement by the school children. We had english speaking children greet us at each landmark on the school tour which highlighted the success of the school programs that all mandate english classes for young children. Also, as we passed by classrooms, the children were completely distracted from class and took the opportunity to wave, say hello, or take pictures with our group of American MBA students. It was a pretty cool experience. One of the other takeaways from the day was how much technology is integrated into the school system there, and the use of laptops and the internet is present in 4th grade classrooms which just blew me away. These kids are probably just as good at searching the web as I am. I also sat in on a class where the students were building bridge structures out of chopsticks, and it reminded me of doing the same thing in grade school but using popsicle sticks instead. Just another example of how similar we all are, even though it is easy to assume otherwise.
Later that night a group of us went and visited the Yuyuan Tea House, famous in Shanghai and also had the most delicious dumplings of the trip in the Old Market. Great full day in Shanghai!
March 23, 2011 at 3:20 pm |
I was amazed to see the discipline and attentiveness of the students at Jianding. They were attentive the entire class and only allowed themselves to become momentarily distracted by our visit. One girl who was reading in the library didn’t even look up to acknowledge us as we walked through. In American the student would have stopped reading immediately and probably wouldn’t have started up again until we left.
We ate dumplings in Shanghai afterwards at a famous dumpling restaurant, which were really good. I had never tried a soup dumpling before, but was very pleased with how good it was.