A Trip to the Wensli Silk Factory

On the second day in Hangzhou, several of us awoke at 5:30am to walk around West Lake. We ended up climbing a nearby hill upon which were situated many houses and one large temple. Hangzhou is considered the happiest city in China and this was quite apparent walking the streets and paths in the morning where one could find large groups of people engaged in either Tai Chi or Waltz-like dancing. The people of the city, even in their old age, are quite active and one gets a great sense of the contrast between Western individualism and Eastern communality.




Later, we had another lecture with the students from Zhejiang University about project management. One culture difference that was apparent was that students in China talk quite loudly while their professors are speaking, which seemed quite distracting. I learned later that the students had also already had the same lectures before, so they might have been simply uninterested. Anyways, after the discussion, we ate in the university cafeteria and then headed for the Wensli Silk Factory where we got to see how they produce and manufacture silk products such as ties and pajamas. We even had our group picture printed out on silk with the help of computer technology.




Finally at the end of the day, many of us ate dinner at a local Hot Pot. The students again helped with the ordering process, but food was eaten more in a buffet style. There was a pot in front of everyone that was filled with boiling broth within which you could cook your food. A conveyor belt alongside the table provided a wide selections of food.