Last Day in Lanzhou

The plan of our last day before departure was to visit the Bingling Cave Temple, which is famous for its series of grottoes filled with Buddhist sculptures carved into natural caves and caverns in a canyon along the Yellow River. The temple is situated north of where the Yellow River empties into the Liujiaxia Reservoir, some 100 km southeast of Lanzhou. Because of the distance we started our trip quite early in the morning. After a bus travel of approximately two hours, in company of the representatives of Gansu government, we arrived in a small town called Yongjing. From there, we were separated into two groups and reached the canyon by speed boats after another hour of travelling. During the boat trip, we all really enjoyed the beautiful landscapes alongside the Yellow River.

After we got ashore, Miss Sun - one of the representatives of Gansu government - gave us a short introduction about the long history of the Bingling Cave Temple: the first grotto filled with Buddhist sculptures was built around 420 BC – at the end of the Western Jin Dynasty. During the following dynasties work continued and more grottoes were added until the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, different styles of artwork can be recognized easily.

All Buddhist sculptures were extremely impressive, especially the sleeping Buddha. All of them are fine artwork. Unfortunately, one of the main attractions, the Great Maitreya Buddha, was covered due to restoration, so we could not enjoy the sight of it.

Another highlight was the dinner with the representatives of Gansu government. As a sign of our friendship we exchanged presents and expressed our wishes for a long-term relationship. During the dinner we got the chance to see how the famous Lanzhou Beef Noodles are prepared and then we all got to enjoy the delicious meal in excellent company.

Jia Vivienne Zhong

Visiting of Lanzhou Institute of Biological Products Co. Ltd and Lanzhou New Area

We had a short trip through the chaotic morning traffic to our first company visit at Lanzhou Institute of Biological Products Co. Ldt. After arrival we enjoyed a speech about the products and activities of the company. The state-owned company was founded in 1934 and has specialized in researching and producing pharmaceutical products like vaccines. They reached revenue of over one billion Yuan with their staff of approx. 1400 employees which are working in 40 different departments. Even though they are not yet producing at the European standard, they are already using German machines and produce under GMP regulations.

After that, a short presentation of the FHNW was given to introduce the Swiss education system to our host. Further, they showed us around the 430000m² campus which includes R&D, production facilities, residential apartments and a restaurant where we had our tasty lunch.

With a full belly our journey continued to Lanzhou New Area in the remote part of Lanzhou. We were astonished that there is a city of 806 km² being built in the middle of the desert. Our first stop was the Planning Exhibition Hall in the brand new Gansu Provincial Government Headquarter. In a high-tech cinema a terrific 3D presentation was shown to us on how the government plans to build the city until the year 2030.

Our tour led us to the city center, which is a huge man-made lake surrounded by residential apartments. Even though it was not on the schedule our guides gave us a unique insight of the local solar power plant manufacturing area where we also could have a look at their latest innovations. Furthermore we were able to visit Lanzhou Tunnel Equipment Co., Ltd. of China Railway Construction Heavy Industry and a subway tunnel system manufacturer where they produce an impressive amount of 180 elements per day. After this long and extremely interesting day, we enjoyed an amazing meal back at the headquarter in a very nicely prepared dining room with the officials of this brand new city.

The day at Lanzhou University of Technology

We started our day with a comprehensive breakfast at the Zu Gong hotel in Lanzhou. They offered western style breakfast or typical Chinese breakfast which included the famous Lanzhou noodles. After a short bus travel through the crowded city we recognised that we are no longer in Beijing because of heavy dust on the streets and cars, which is because of the nearby desert that brings a lot of sand in the city. At the Lanzhou University of Technology a delegation of Chinese students was already waiting for us and helped us to feel comfortable from the beginning. We were then lead to a conference room where the head of the university warmly welcomed us and introduced the university. The Lanzhou University of Technology is the biggest university of the Gansu providence and is rated 82^nd place of the best universities in China of which about 1000 exist. Currently there are about 44000 students enrolled and they offer 55 bachelor degree programs. After the introduction Professor Minning introduced also the University of Applied Sciences to the Chinese people.

A big group including our delegation and Chinese students were then brought to the technical training centre where we could have an insight in the university’s mechanical and automation workshops. It reminded me on my apprenticeship as they had drilling machines and electrical switchboards. Each of us was given a Chinese buddy from the university to talk about the different universities. Then it was already time to eat at the school’s canteen where we were the biggest attraction for the rest of the local students. After lunch we had the possibility to talk more about cultural differences and equality which included cha & dian xin (tea & sweets). A professor gave us a very gripping introduction about the Silk Road which goes right through the Gansu providence. During the presentation some famous poems were shown were both a Chinese student and a Swiss student had to read them in Chinese or English. After the presentation the students lead us to a square were they showed us the art of suang jie gun (nunchakus) and jian zi (shuttle cock). The delegation was then invited to try these sports themself and also to see traditional scissor cut and hand paintings. Best comes at last we were driven on a hill of Lanzhou where we were invited to a traditional Chinese restaurant. Everybody could eat next to his buddy and continue the interesting conversation. The food was a mixture of some of the most famous traditional Chinese dishes and it tasted delicious. In addition some Chinese perfomers were singing traditional songs and moreover the Swiss delegation had to perform on the stage singing brother Jakob. To summarise the day we can say that we had really the possibility to see the real China and get to know about a Chinese student’s life.

David Bugmann