Tuesday morning we went to Shanghai’s Exxon Mobil facility. One of Xinli’s former students is currently working there and was able to help us get a tour and overview of their operation. When we got there, Jay, Xinli’s former student, and Mr. Liang gave us an overview of their company, what they do in Shanghai, and their products. They specialize in lubrication, mostly for engines. At this Exxon Mobil site, they are trying to work with local companies in China. Their plan for the future is to be able to spread the company’s reach to other countries in Asia.
We watched a safety video first, then we were introduced to the company and specifically the work that Exxon Mobil is doing in China. Once we learned more about their work, we learned more about their specilization, lubricants. Jay prepared a powerpoint for us and talked to us about lubricants. He said it was something he never learned about while in school, so it was cool to know that he was giving us an introduction to something we probably will never be taught otherwise.

After Jay explained in more detail the purpose and complexity of lubricants, we got to go upstairs to see the lab that the oil is tested in. There were many tests that they perform in the lab, but testing viscosity was the most important one. They had all sorts of equipment in the lab, and there was a huge atomic absorption spectroscope that they said cost $300,000. There was also an engine in the lab that they said was just a toy. I did not realize people had engines for toys, but it must be the geeky side of oil chemists.
After our tour, we returned to our hotel for the night. We were supposed to go see the skyline from an observation deck of a building, but it was unfortunately rainy and foggy, so we had to reschedule for the next day. I got more juicy dumplings. They are too good to resist.
Yesterday morning, I woke up and had a typical Shanghai breakfast. I have been getting a “pancake” every morning. It is an egg and dough bread and they put whatever you want inside of we it. I get sweet sauce that is the consistency of jelly and cabbage and then some type of meat. I have gotten chicken and pork. Some people are afraid of getting street food, but I think that it is part of the experience and as long as a lot of people are at the stand, I trust it. If local people are eating it a lot then I think that’s a good sign. I don’t want to limit my experience here by being afraid to try new things or by being too cautious.

We took the high speed train to Suzhou this morning. On the train we got a snack bag, even though the train ride was only 30 minutes. The train went 300 kph. That is about 187 miles per hour. So we traveled around 80 miles that quickly. The train uses special windows so the speed does not affect your vision. It looked like a magnifying glass in a way. It would be awesome if this existed in State College and you could get to Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York City, and D.C. that quickly.

You could tell that this study abroad program is for engineering students, because we talked about the acceleration of the train and momentum and the engine required to power it and I thought it was pretty hilarious that deep down we are all just curious about how the world around us works. It is cool to experience so many new things with a bunch of engineering students, because we question everything and are able to talk to each other about everything we see and how it works. I think I have gotten a better understanding of certain aspects of China and just all of the new things I have seen and experienced in general because everyone around me is so knowledgeable and is equally as curious as I am.

When we got to Suzhou, we all went to get food. Naturally, I got fried dumplings. I ate so many of them – probably 12. I love dumplings, but I will be deprived of them when I get back to the United States. I am not quite sure how I will recover.

In Suzhou we toured a garden that was made for an emperor in the Qing Dynasty. We found out that it took 3 years to construct the garden and then the emperor died only a year after it finished which is pretty unfortunate. We then went to get on a boat for a brief tour of the city. Suzhou has so many man-made canals, so you can take a boat around the city. It is definitely the Venice of China. It was beautiful. The canals were built in the Ming Dynasty, so they are really old. Rocks surrounded the edges and concrete was the predominant building material used. I noticed that at the base of some of the concrete pillars that supported motor vehicle bridges, there was some deterioration. I wonder if the pollution in the water got through the pores in the concrete and made the rebar expand. I will probably learn this in one of my classes, but for now I can only guess.

After visiting Suzhou, we took the bus back to Shanghai. The bus driver drove to Suzhou while we took the train, so he was able to bring us back. We then went to the Shanghai World Financial Center to see the view of Shanghai from above. I have seen New York City from the top of Rockefeller Building, but this view was even more amazing than that. The city is so big that you can’t even see everything from above. The buildings just keep going until they dissappear into the sky. The sun was almost completely set when we got to the top so the buildings were all starting to light up. It was very beautiful.

Today we will be visiting with local students who will be attending college in the United States next year and taking our final exam. We will then be having a final dinner together and saying goodbye to everyone, and to this lovely country we have spent the last month in.

Location: Sichuan Zhong Road, Shanghai, China