Made in China: Jan Plan Blog

U.S. firms increasingly see the Chinese market as important, and multinationals employ millions of Chinese in labor-intensive production, yet economic opportunities have disproportionately benefited coastal areas and social problems are on the rise. These Jan Plan students go directly to the source to examine the economic, political, and social issues associated with China's rapid growth.

Transformers, A Day at the Museum, and The Paper

1/24/2011
Robert Clockedile

by Jean-Jacques Ndayisenga?13

Cold, foggy, wet, and snowy, we had just left from HoiTak Hotel in Urumqi to drive an hour away to visit Tebian Electric Apparatus Stock. To arrange the visit, the local tour company told them that we were exchange students with the Xinjiang Electrical Institute. Everyone agreed to play their parts.

The Border, At Last

1/24/2011
Robert Clockedile

by Erik Baish ?12

This morning, everyone was graced with a wake-up visit from none other than Professor Brown. Since our room phones were turned off to prevent would-be ?masseuses? from calling in the middle of the night, a knock on the door became the easiest way to rouse the troops.

Wind Turbines, Coca Cola, and Soft Beds

1/23/2011
Robert Clockedile

by Becca McAfee ?13

First thing in the morning, we scrambled out of bed in order to begin our day of factory visits and our bus ride to Urumqi. Snow capped mountains in the middle of the desert greeted our eyes as we drove out of Turpan. The rapid change in terrain never ceased to amaze us. We drove in the middle of a beautiful valley headed towards our first visit

We Met the One Yuan Lady

1/22/2011
Robert Clockedile

by Lia Engelsted ?11

Our day began with a police escort. Since we are one of the largest groups of foreigners to ever visit Shihezi, the tour agency thought it necessary to set us up with the local authority in case any issues came up.

The Uighurs of Turpan

1/21/2011
Robert Clockedile

by Joe Yao ?13

With a few violent pulls on the leg by the train attendant, we woke up and found our train zipping through the snow-covered plains of Xinjiang. Xinjiang, literally meaning ?new territories? in Chinese, is the northwestern-most province of China. Accounting for nearly one third of the landmass of China, the province produces most of the cotton, natural gas and oil in China.

The Buddhas of the Mogao Grottoes

1/19/2011
Robert Clockedile

by Becky Newman ?13

After another eventful night on the ?hard sleeper? train, recalling the details of the previous day would normally be a little fuzzy. Luckily, our first stop was the Mogao grottoes, 25 kilometers southwest of Dunhuang city to, a sight not to be forgotten for a very long time.

Into Tibet

1/17/2011
Robert Clockedile

by Jean-Jacques Ndayisenga '13

Despite many lovely moments spent in Lanzhou, we were looking forward to leaving the city for the fresh-air of Xiahe Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. At 8:30am, everyone was ready with bags and dressed in warm clothes to protect ourselves from the brutal weather that was expected.

The Road to Wu Wei

1/17/2011
Robert Clockedile

Becca McAfee ?13Waking up in this characterful hotel (and my personal favorite), some went for an early morning walk and some gluttonously lingered in bed as long as possible. Fazal, Jean-Jaques, Derrik, and Martin strolled around the nearly dead city until they made it to the monastery. The 4th-17th of January are festival days and they were able to witness the 3,600 monks heading toward the early morning ceremony. I can only imagine how profound that must have been. When we were there the day... Read more »

On to Jiayuguan (and happy birthday, Becca)

1/17/2011
Robert Clockedile

Jake Kramer ?13

When the hotel waitresses brought us Western utensils this morning at breakfast, it was evident that our chopstick skills have improved significantly since nobody needed to use the forks or knives. Professor Brown presented Becca with an impressive four-foot tall birthday crown made of balloons twisted together at breakfast, and we sang to her the Chinese version of ?Happy Birthday? just like we did for Derek on his birthday.

The Great Wall

1/17/2011
Robert Clockedile

by Fazal Rashid ?11Jiayuguan ? or ?Beautiful Valley Pass? ? is the frontier of traditional Han China. It lies on the narrowest stretch of the Hexi corridor ? 25 kilometers of land surrounded by the Qilean Mountains in the east, the Black Mountains in the west, and the Gobi Desert in the north. This is where Silk Roadies entered China; it is also where barbarians were kept out. Historical Jiayuguan consists of a only-once-infiltrated 14th-century fortress and the terminus of the 9000 km long... Read more »

Donkeys and Camels of Dunhuang

1/17/2011
Robert Clockedile

Derrik Flahive ?13

We started off the day with a 4 hour long bus ride from Jiayuguan to Dunhuang. We enjoyed a great sunrise over the snowcapped peaks of the Qilian mountains. The mountains faded out of view as the stark and sandy loess soil of the Gobi desert dominated the landscape for the rest of the bus ride.

We Are the News

1/13/2011
David Eaton

Erik Baish ?12

This morning, the group collected ourselves, with vocal chords mostly intact, after our night of singing karaoke. Most of us had already done some laundry in the sinks in our hotel rooms and filtered into breakfast exchanging ideas for drying our clothes. By the end of the day, it became apparent that cranking up the thermostat was a crucial technique. Those who didn?t make their rooms into ovens had very wet laundry even after a long night and day of drying.

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