Day 5 was a rather short day. Though we only visited a mere two places, we had gained heaps of experiences. That day, our destinations were the factory and museum of worldwide powerhouse MEILING Electronics, and the school we were on an exchange progamme with, Hefei ShouChun Middle School (合肥寿春中学).

Upon arriving at the doorstep of the MEILING Electronics’ mini-museum, we were all rather breath-taken by the surrounding view. Stepping into the actual room, we were greeted by tons and tons of electronics that MEILING had designed and produced, something that invited loud gasps from a group of curious teenagers. We were then brought around the place by the knowledgeable tour guide.  From refrigerators to radios, MEILING produces almost every kind of home appliance, each with their own special feature. Though the entire museum was filled with a myriad of home appliances, it was their main product that caught my attention: a refrigerator. This was no ordinary refrigerator. It was a special refrigerator with a television screen on top, which could be used by the owner to record the food that he is storing in the refrigerator, complete with the expiry date and quantity. This, to me, is an ingenious invention, something that people in the 21^st century can afford to rely on.

Next, we visited the factory where the electronics produced by MEILING were assembled. There, we were again guided around by an employee who had much experience in the factory, and were shown the process of putting together refrigerators by him. Though I do not remember all the steps to making this home necessity, I sure was shocked that the process was that tedious. My assumption that most electronics were put together solely by machines was proven wrong when I espied employees working together every step of the way to place the hundreds of components inside a single refrigerator. This reminded me of the factor China is well-known for: manpower. Nearing the end of the tour, the guide had fed us a fun fact, one which called for wide eyes and agape mouths. It was that the refrigerators of widely-known brands such as Panasonic were actually produced by MEILING! Every now and then, representatives from these companies would visit the factory to pick out their favourites from the lot produced. They would then purchase the line of refrigerators from MEILING and plaster their own names on top of it. This, though interesting, can be seen as rather controversial to us, frequent users and ardent fans of brands like Panasonic.

Our visit to MEILING Electronics was an extremely fruitful one. Not only did we learn about their business prospects, we had also gained insight on the importance of innovations. For one, to expand the scale of their business and improve the company’s economy, MEILING makes use of both China’s cheap labour which comes in large quantities and their partnership with distinguished companies from overseas. China’s cheap labour allows the company to hire many factory workers at a low price to assemble their products. This aids in the productivity and efficiency of MEILING, allowing them to produce more goods in a shorter amount of time and resulting in them being to gain more profit. MEILING has also made good use of their partnership with companies from other countries. In this day and age, this is in fact a practice common among companies. Since companies from other countries may be more developed and eminent, selling their products in the names of these companies may help MEILING gain more money through the sales of their products than selling it under their own name. Their previously mentioned partnership with Panasonic is a great example. Besides the two above pointers, MEILING’s creative inventions and innovations has also caught the attention of many. An example would be the special fridge mentioned above. These inventions are important to the growth of MEILING as they ensure that the company’s products are able to cater to the needs of the public, and nowadays, the newer generation. As time passes, the expectations of consumers change. Hence, companies ought to keep up with the joneses, lest their businesses may crumble. All in all, this trip to MEILING Electronics has allowed me to gain much insight about the business and economic aspects of China, some points that are significant to know about as I enter adulthood. 

That afternoon, after lunch, we made our way to Hefei ShouChun Middle School (合肥寿春中学) for our long-awaited school exchange programme, probably the highlight of the trip. Arriving at the entrance of the school, we brought to a multi-purpose room where we were greeted by the principal and the students. Thereafter, we had listened to an introduction by the principal and a student, who had impressed us with her sterling speaking skills. This had allowed us to easily pinpoint the differences between their school and ours, which were multifarious. Following that, we had a short period of time to chat with the buddies that we had previously communicated with via QQ, a Chinese communication application frequently used by the people there. Though for me it was not the first time chatting with my buddy, the atmosphere was still tense and awkward: partly because of the language barrier and partly due to the nature of my rather reserved personality. However, my buddy was a bundle of friendliness and tried her best to make me feel comfortable talking to her, something that touched me.

Subsequent to the earlier events, we were led out of the multi-purpose room and into the classrooms we were assigned to observe their lessons. Walking into the classroom, we were greeted by a large blackboard, similar to our whiteboard used in Singapore, and a small television screen, which served the same purpose as our visualizer. Once again, the students were exceedingly cheerful and welcoming, taking us to our seats and helping us out throughout the lesson. That day, the lesson that we had attended was Mathematics, which as expected, was taught completely in Chinese. We were given worksheets to follow along with the class. However, being the Chinese halfwit that I was, confusion took over me and I turned to the students around me for help. Of course, they were extremely willing to do so, patiently explaining the foreign terms to me, something I am thankful for. Before long, the lesson had ended, and we brought to another location.

Stepping onto the school field, a large stage was set up right in front of our eyes. Majority of the school’s students were already seated on the field which was surrounded by a track, similar to the one we have in River Valley, except half the size. We were brought to the spot directly in front of the stage, where a group of students had offered us their textbooks to sit on as the ground was wet. This, again, spoke volumes about their attitudes. Their sincere care and kindness touched and impressed me, an attitude that we as Singaporean students should learn to treat our guests with. Coming back to the event, the stage was set up for a poem recital competition held annually on their home grounds of the theme赤子情，中华梦. During this competition, a huge deal to the school, classes of pupils take turns to recite poetry about their love for their beloved country. One of the most recited poems was titled “我骄傲我是中国人”. This is proof that educating their students about their country’s identity and culture is of great significance there. Being given the opportunity to do something this close to the hearts of each and every one of the students will make them more likely to remember their cultural roots and stay loyal to their country. Without this loyalty to their country, students may not do what is best for it.

In the midst of the competition, we performed the items that we had spent weeks preparing. Being a person not so much into performance, I found it both refreshing and delightful to share bits and pieces of Singapore through arts.

After that, we headed for dinner before riding back to the hotel.

Day five was indeed an eventful yet tiring day.