Zhejiang Yuexiu University

UWEE BRITF in Shaoxing

On 20 April I left for Zhejiang Yuexiu University in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, along with William Spiers and David Li (UWEE). See about BRITF here.

After landing in Hangzhou a car brought us to the very large and impressive campus where we stayed in the model hotel and restaurant, operated by the students of YIHA (Yuexiu Institute of Hospitality Administration), located within Zhejiang Yuexiu University of Foreign Languages, 2801 Qunxian Road, Yuecheng District, Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province.

We had breakfast, lunch and dinner in the Milan Restaurant, and coffee in the coffeeshop. We had the opportunity to taste a variety of dishes, and coffee. All very well done by the student staff! We gave them feedback also on how to improve some details. The menus are all hand-made… Cute…

About the university

Zhejiang Yuexiu University of Foreign languages is financed by a private Chinese biomedical group that also runs some five-star hotels (Marriott and other).
It has two campuses, this is the new one, with 10,000 students, the other campus counts 7,000 students.
It is a brand-new campus with modern buildings, state of the art class rooms, very modern, integrated microphone system, many screens.

It includes YIHA, YueXiu Institute of Hospitality Administration, 1200 students. It offers two undergraduate International Bachelor Degree programs: International Hospitality Management and International Events Management. Tuition fee would be about RMB 20,000 per year. Dormitory cost some RMB 4,000 per year. Total of four years. Extensive internships included.

See their introduction: YIHA Standard PresentationIPAD

The Library

We visited the impressive Library building with all possible facilities, see the pictures. We wondered if any university in Europe could boast having something similar.

Later on I donated my two books to the library.

The seminar

On 21 April Easter Sunday we first met the dean of YIHA, Georges Ubbelohde (from Belgium!).
The International Seminar on Internationalization and localization of Event Education invited dozens of universities and colleges event management leaders from all around the country to discuss ways to promote the development of event education in China so as to nurture more international event professionals.
Seminar was followed by a group photo in front of the Library.
Organized by: Zhejiang Convention and Exhibition Association; Zhejiang Oriental Convention and Exhibition Industry Research Institute; Zhejiang Yuexiu University of Foreign Languages.

Keynote speeches:

– William Spiers: “Internationalisation & Localisation of Exhibition Education – INTERNATIONAL VISIONS AND FEELINGS”
– Gilbert Van Kerckhove: ” International Exhibitions – Do’s and Don’t”

We later had lunch in the university canteen, huge and so clean.
In the afternoon we were given a tour of the library and campus, with Evelyn (Hangzhou), Holy and Chen. In the rain. The campus also has several shops and small restaurants.

Sightseeing

We were spoiled by our two guides who took us around Shaoxing City on Monday 22 April. We learned they were selected after a competition involving some 100 candidates. Impressive, flattering…
First came Shen’s Garden, with a history of over 800 years. Known for the love story of Lu You and Tang Wan.
Later Lu Xun hometown, his birth place and home.
Later I will post more pics of the sightseeing part.
After lunch in a local restaurant we walked around and had a boat trip.

After our return to our hotel we had coffee and met a Chinese lady author,  Fiona  who was introducing her book about coaching.
To close the day we had a great dinner in Shaoxing CBD, SIJIFENGQING XUNWEI Restaurant.

BRITF at the Binzhou Seminar

The 2019 Qilu Trip for High-Level Foreign Experts

The participation of BRITF at the Binzhou Seminar was the highlight of the trip to Binzhou and was held on Saturday 30 November 2019 in the Binzhou Grand Hotel. See earlier entries about our trip.
Government leaders of Binzhou government opened the seminar and gave introductions to the city, also using a well-done video.

Keynote speeches by BRITF experts

Presentations:
– “Promoting Quality Tourism” by Gilbert Van Kerckhove
– “The advantages to resume production by UK pedigree pig genes” (Artificial Intelligence in agriculture)by William Spiers
– “Smart Binzhou, smart tech, smart expats” by David Feng
– “Industrial Development” by Vitaly Mankevich (Russia)

Roundtable forum 1: with participation of Sydney Parmenter
Roundtable forum 2: with participation of Maurice Eliam.

I received a very nice book about Sun Tzu, “The Art of War”, on … silk pages…

It is a pity that the city does not take full advantage of that famous historical figure. I understand they made some kind of a museum about him but is is a flop.

BRITF and UWEE in Binzhou

Foreign experts BRITF and UWEE in Binzhou

From 29 November to 1 December I headed a delegation of our foreign experts (BRITF-UWEE) to Binzhou (Shandong), to participate in a seminar, meet the heads of the Binzhou government and visit some key locations.
It was my second visit to Binzhou. In September 2018 I visited the Binzhou Polytechnic and I also stayed in the Binzhou Grand Hotel.
Our expert group: Sydney, William, David, Mary, Maurice and delegates of UWEE.

We were also joined by the Russian delegation I had received in Beijing in the morning of 29 November. There was also a lady delegate from Malaysia (Ms. Kanmani, University of Malaysia).
We stayed in the Binzhou Grand Hotel where also the seminar was held.
I was delighted to find in the hotel’s buffet Belgian endive!

About Binzhou

Website: http://www.binzhou.gov.cn/en/about/html/?257.html

Binzhou is a city located in the northern part of Shandong Province in China. It is two hours away by car from Shandong’s capital city Jinan. The city is located near the Yellow River and is  one of the most important transportation hubs in Northern China. The Yellow River Bridge in Binzhou is an important passageway that connects the province Jiangsu, Shandong, Beijing and Tianjin together.

Established in the Shang Dynasty (1600 to 1050 BCE), Binzhou has over 3000 years of history. It is the hometown of many significant figures in Chinese history, including Sun Tzu (544BC to 496BC), who is the author of the “The Art of War”, which has been translated into many languages as one of the best-selling books on military strategies. Today, Binzhou occupies an area of 9,600 sq. km and has a population of 3.8 million.

The main industries in Binzhou are textile, chemical engineering, metallurgical engineering, machinery manufacturing, food processing and new technologies.

Welcome

On the evening of 29 November we were officially welcomed by the Party Secretary, the mayor, the vice mayor and other leaders (see the list). Banquets on 29 and 30 November. Also present, Mr. Chen Kangfu of the Jiusan Society. The Russian delegation brought the heavy-drinking spirit. Our French delegate Maurice finished it all with a small piano concert.
See some pictures taken in the hotel and during the banquets (Binzhou Grand Hotel and Binzhou Zhonghai Hotel):

Overall it was a nice and friendly welcome. Police lined the streets to let our delegation pass…

Visit of Russian delegation

Russians are coming!

In the morning of 29 November 2019 I officially received the visit of Russian delegation in the UWEE offices.
At the occasion I officially handed over their certificates.
In the afternoon we all headed to Shandong to later meet in Binzhou, to participate in the seminar and the visits.
Later in December the Russian delegation was officially received by Vice Premier Wang Qishan.

Guests from Moscow

The delegation was composed by Vitaly Mankevich, President of the Russian-Asian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and Vice Chairman of the China-Russia Friendship Association; Gao Muyang, also of the Russian-Asian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs; Sekerin Vladimir and Andrey Efremov of Moscow Polytech; (Ms.) Svetlana Kamysheva of the Pushkin State Russian Language Institute, see the website.