Joy to the World

Today we had a corporate visit to Joy Global in Tianjin. We took a bullet train to the location which traveled in excess of 200 mph. Joy Global Inc. is a worldwide leader in high-productivity mining solutions. Through its market-leading businesses – P&H Mining Equipment and Joy Mining Machinery – the Company manufactures and markets original equipment and aftermarket parts and services for both the underground and above-ground mining industries and certain industrial applications. Joy Global's products and related services are used extensively for the mining of coal, copper, iron ore, oil sands, gold and other mineral resources. Below are a couple photos of us on the train—it is beautiful; so modern and clean. The seats spun around because the train just runs from one end of the track to the other without turning around. Some of the students enjoyed creating their own seating areas.

 

 

We arrived at approximately 10AM and began our visit with an overview of the company. We then toured the plant, which is divided into 2 buildings. Unfortunately we weren’t able to take any photos in the buildings due to security reasons. Below is a photo from the conference room. Our Joy hosts took photos of us throughout the visit and will be emailing them to me. I will post them once I receive them.

 

 

We arrived back to the hotel about 4:30 PM, which gave us time to relax before dinner. Some students road bikes, but most of us opted to take another shower—it is terribly humid here. We attended our farewell dinner with the BJTU students and faculty. It’s so difficult to leave everyone. They are all such wonderful hosts and we will miss them. They are gracious and kind and were so happy that we visited their country. We went to the Carousel Revolving Restaurant, which is at the top of a very nice hotel. We ate anything and everything with food ranging from a sushi bar, beautiful desserts, hot pot (the chef prepares these as you wait), and traditional Chinese food. The students said it was their favorite meal so far—yes, even over the KFC lunch! I was so proud of our group. Many tried some very different foods such as dragon fruit, octopus, pig’s feet, eel, and ox tongue (which surprisingly tastes like roast beef). At the end of our dinner, our students presented our hosts with gifts, which is a tradition when visiting Asia.

 

 

Parents—you would be so very proud of your son or daughter. They have embraced the culture more than I ever expected and I am honored to be traveling with them. Our entire group has stayed together and are becoming great friends. There are no cliques, as I have seen in the past. You all should be proud of them and yourselves for raising such wonderful children. J Thank you for allowing them to be a part of our Asia 2010 tour.

 

Tomorrow we’re off to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, then will complete our visit to Beijing with a shopping expedition. We will leave Beijing at 7:40 PM and take the overnight train to Xi’an. Until then, Zaijian (good-bye)!