ALP Trip 2019 Day 6: Home sweet home

8 June 2019

Brief introduction of our day:

Today we had the chance to visit Shanghai Museum and learnt about Chinese culture through relics like ancient pottery, currency, jade, attire, calligraphy, paintings and such. We then headed for the airport to catch our flight home! What an amazing trip it has been!

Last group picture in front of Shanghai Museum

Last meal in China, wiped clean!

On our flight home

Sun setting on our experience here in China

We have landed! 

Here are some of our reflections for the day:

(Colour, symbol, image)

A colour that represents how you feel: 

Cyan; a mixture of blue and green: 

Blue represents the sky, which fills me up with the cloud tears as I am sad to leave a place rich in cultural and magnificence.   

Green represents the land, to say that I am ready to go back to Singapore, filled with my experience in Suzhou and Shanghai.  

A symbol that represents new idea you have gained from this experience: 

The arrow in Huan Li's company logo:  

It is meaningful to me as the arrow will always guide me to success, through hard work and resilience.  

An image that represents your experience on this trip:
 

The many stars in this picture represent my countless learning experiences on this trip. China is like another universe to me with countless stars that shine bright and in fact, there is still so much for me to learn about this beautiful country. The colours in the picture also represent the mix of feelings I felt on this exciting trip. 

                                                                 (Teo Tien Ming, 3A4)

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On that note, we have come to the end of our last blog post! 

Our heartfelt thanks goes out to the following people for making this trip possible and such a wonderful learning experience for us:

Our School Leaders for granting us this opportunity and for their unwavering support,

Chen Dong and our mentors at 环力科技; Huanli Technology and Development Corporation for graciously hosting us and enriching our ALP learning experience,

Our tour leader, Frank and bus driver for filling us with little cultural tidbits of knowledge and for keeping us safe as we traveled from place to place,

Our teachers for the conversations we've had and for their care and concern on the trip,

and last but not least, 

Our parents and families for letting us come on this trip and for being excited for us,

from the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU (:

ALP Trip 2019 Day 5: Our day in Shanghai!

7 June 2019

Brief introduction of our day:

Today we set off for Shanghai and had a wonderful day of exploration and cultural appreciation! Our first stop was the beautiful and oriental Cheng Huang Miao before heading to Nanjing Lu and the Bund!

Taking in the sights at Cheng Huang Miao

Taking a stroll down Nanjing Lu

Look at that crowd at the Bund :O
Because of the Dragon Boat Festival, it was estimated around 50000 people were at the Bund with us!

What a backdrop to end off our day!

Here are some of our reflections for the day:

I used to think that Shanghai would be very modern place, but now I see that Shanghai is actually a place full of culture and heritage as well. 

                                                                                         (Ong Yi Qing, 3A7)

I used to think that Shanghai was a dull city, and that things here were generally more expensive but now I think that Shanghai is a very “bright” place (especially at night because of the beautiful city lights) and that the prices of goods here are similar to Suzhou and Singapore.

                                        (Amatul Musawar Binte Muhammad Ashraf, 3A7)

I used to think that Shanghai was not a vibrant city and that it would be very old-fashioned in its culture and streets, but now I think that Shanghai is a lively city that has beautiful scenery and bustling streets with modern stores which attract many different people from around the world.

                                                                    (Chee Yong Choon Javen, 3A3)  

I used to think that China was a less developed country than Singapore and feared that it would be less safe than Singapore. After being in this country and exploring certain parts of it for myself, I have come to realise how beautiful China actually is. I was also very impressed by the order and justice and magnificent treasures found in the museums.

                                                                       (Chin Wei Tao Derrick, 3A7)

I used to think that Shanghai had a poor environment with a lot of air pollution, a lot of litter on the road and a lot of old buildings but now I think that China is actually a very clean and organised country. I also used to think that China would not have halal food but now I know that there are halal food options which tastes really good.

                                                                                 (Chin Jie Xian, 3A7)

Time truly flies when you are having a good, enriching time! One more stop tomorrow before we head home! 

ALP Trip 2019 Day 4: Graduation Day at 环力科技; Huanli Technology and Development Corporation

6 June 2019

Brief introduction of our day:

Today was a bittersweet day as it was the last time we visited Huan Li. The mentors held a Q&A session for us to ask our burning questions and a mini graduation ceremony for us. What a nice way to commemorate our learning experience here!

                                                Our valuable Questions and Answer session

                                                                        Receiving our graduation certificates!

Presenting gifts to our mentors for their time and effort in hosting us (:

Our heartfelt thank you to Chen Dong for hosting us and giving us a once in a lifetime experience at his company!

Time for a celebration with our Hari Raya Lunch!

We had a halal meal in celebration of Hari Raya with our muslim friends Amatul and Tien Ming and it was delicious!

In the afternoon, we headed to Pin Jing Lu, Suzhou Museum and Jing Ji Lake to take in more of Suzhou's culture and heritage. Suzhou is truly a beautiful city full of the old and the new, traditional and modern touches. If you get the chance you should visit too!

Walking on the cobblestone lanes which hold so much culture and heritage

The backdrop of this photo was the loving work of I. M. Pei, what a tribute to his legacy!

Can you spot the youthful Mr Mong and Ms Amanda amongst us :P

The gate to the east and the high rise developments in Suzhou Industrial Park

What a windy day it was! (Fun Fact: We almost lost our banner to the wind, oops!)

Here are some of our reflections for the day:

(3-2-1 reflections on our learning during our attachment at Huan Li)

Three things I have learnt from our attachment at Huan Li:

- I have learnt that it takes a considerable amount of teamwork in an extremely competitive market to be able to keep up their good reputation as a company and be able to rise to the top. 

- I have also learnt more about the whole process of making one of their many models of water pumps and the different roles employees play to ensure that every pump is made up to high standards. 

- I have seen the lengths that the company goes to ensure that their employees are happy to work at Huan Li so that they will continue working there.

Two things I found interesting or would like to learn more about:

- I found their manufacturing process very interesting, especially the use of all the high-tech machines and the amount of raw materials they had. 

- I would like to learn more about what drove them to get ahead of their competitors and to innovate so well to become one of the best in the industry. 

One question that I have:

- How does Huan Li manage to stay ahead of the game in the water pump industry?

                                                                                  (Lee Chee Hsien, 3A7) 

Three things I’ve learnt from our attachment at Huan Li: 

- I have learnt that in order to run a successful company, we would need to conduct extensive research to understand more about our competitors, to ensure good quality products and how we want to price our products. 

- I have also learnt that to keep a company up and running for many years, it is important to maintain good relationships between employer and employees so that we can have good teamwork. 

- Lastly, despite being one of the top companies, the engineers at Huan Li are always striving to improve the quality and performance of their products. They also make the effort to ensure that consumers can trust that they produce the best quality product. 

Two things I found interesting / like to learn more about: 

- One thing I will take away with me is that our learning does not stop after our education. I used to think that once I complete my education, I stop learning but after visiting Huan Li I understand what my teachers mean when they say that learning is for life.

- I really appreciate that the mentors at Huan Li were trying their very best to speak English so that we can understand what they were explaining to us. This is especially because English is only their second language. My experience here has inspired me to improve on my Chinese just as how our mentors were trying to speak English fluently.

One question that I have / would like to research more: 

- How did 陈董 become such a great leader and how does he overcome the obstacles that come with running a big and successful company?

                                                                       (Elton Foo Ming Jie, 3A6)

Three things I have learnt from our attachment at Huan Li:

- I learnt that before a product can be launched into the market, a lot of testing is required. For example, I did not know that the raw materials such as plastic has to be tested for colour, durability, melting point etc. before it is used for manufacturing. 

- I also learnt that the manufacturing assembly process is complex but has a logical flow to it. The example our mentor gave was for instance, when you want to drink water from a bottle, you have to remove the cap first before you can drink the water. Otherwise if you don’t remove the cap, you won’t be able to drink from the bottle. This simple analogy has taught me that we need to take logical steps to achieve our goals. 

- Lastly I’ve learnt that in order to balance between the quality and the pricing of the products, it is important to ensure quality first. After researching on competitor's products and prices, the company can then determine the price range for their own products and can increase the price of their own product by 2-5% from the competitor’s price because of the quality they give.

Two things I found interesting or would like to learn more about:

- I find it interesting that strong teamwork is essential in a big company like Huan Li as I use to think that since each of the employees seem to be working on their own tasks, not much teamwork will be required but it is actually the opposite.

- I also find it interesting that they use machines to manage the manufacturing of a huge amount of products. Not only do they use machines as it is safer, the machines can work for a long hours without rest. This way, the company can easily meet the demands of the consumers. 

One question that I have:

- A question that I have is how do ensure that their local and global customers will have trust in them that their quality is as promised?

                                                                          (Nakamura Yumi, 3A7) 

                                       It is our last night in Suzhou, how time flies! 
                         Stay tuned for our jam-packed day in Shanghai tomorrow!