John Whiting - Essay blog

On this day we got to tour a Walmart based in Shanghai.  We have really seen Walmart grow to a level that is almost unthinkable in the United States, but many experts believe that Walmart’s future expansion lies outside of the United States.   Although its current form of operations is very successful in the United States, Walmart needs to adjust in order to be successful in other countries.

We got to see this change first hand as we walked through the store.  One of the first things you notice when you walk in are large yellow signs that hang down from the ceiling.  It was almost sensory overload as you walk through the store and are bombarded with price signs.  This is how things are done in China.  The Carrefour we went to had the exact same format.

The other thing you’ll notice is that the restocking of shelves is done during the day as well as at night.  Unlike the United States where all stock is done at the end of the day or late at night, restocking is done as needed throughout the day.  This sometimes created a hassle as aisles would become clogged and customers would get frustrated trying to maneuver around the boxes.

The other thing I noticed was the larger selections.  Competition is the cornerstone of our economy.  We do have a selection of a few brands in almost every category.  In China, there is a much larger selection in certain categories.  Even within the same category, a brand will have a much wider array of products for the customer to choose from.  For example, to fit the taste of the consumer in China, Lays potato chips had various flavors that we are not accustomed to like Lime, Cucumber, and Blueberry.  Pringles also had shrimp and crab flavored chips.  Take an entire Walmart store, add a second level, and that is the size of the store we went into.  The entire bottom floor was filled with grocery while the second floor was all hard and soft lines.

I also noticed that there was a lot more demonstrations and product samples throughout the store.  While this is a typical practice at many grocers in the United States, they are mostly done on the weekends.  We went into the Walmart on a weekday afternoon when this would typically not be done back in the United States.  This must be a part of the Chinese culture where the Chinese are more use to trying products out in order to know that they will enjoy the products they were buying.  If you think about the average household income of the average Chinese person, this makes sense that they would want to maximize their dollar when purchasing groceries.

Lastly, probably the most shocking aspect of Walmart was the fact that they have busses that constantly bring people to the store.  With how expensive it is to own a car and the city of Shanghai being so bike and moped friendly, this makes sense for Walmart.  Walmart was literally packed with lines at every register, this makes me believe that this particular Walmart in Shanghai must be a destination store. 

I believe the business operations of Walmart have evolved to create a format that is more friendly to the Chinese consumer.  Too often companies do not do enough research in the area they are going in and fail.  Target recently had to do this when they opened a store in Hawaii and Alaska.  Although they are part of the United States, they have very unique cultures.

Shanghai (John Whiting)

After arriving in Shanghai, on our way to the hotel we got to see all of the lights of Shanghai since we arrived at night.  Some of the best lights were the area of the Shanghai Expo.  After checking into our hotel, I think I can speak for everyone when I saw we were astonished at our rooms!  It was probably the nicest hotel room I’ve ever been in.  I think everyone came down and complained about their room being too nice to Deborah and Jerry.  My king-size bed, amazing view, and waterfall shower did the trick to get me prepared for the next day.

A few of us learned our first night in Shanghai that when you step inside a taxi In China, you better pray you get back alive.  It was almost as if there are no rules when on the roads in China.  The best way to describe it is organized chaos.  Cars come at you from every direction, if no one is around with a red light you can go, speed limits don’t matter, and I’m surprised their horns still work with how much they use it.   It is actually very cheap despite the high gas prices, so that was nice.

We started off the next day at the Li & Fung Shanghai office.  From the front it didn’t appear like much, but the inside was amazing.  We learned a lot about the Chinese economy which help to put things into perspective a bit and would help set up the rest of our trip nicely in China.  We then went to Kohl’s factory where we saw pants and shorts being made that would come out in late summer fall.  We got to see the entire process from cutting the fabric and sewing together pockets all the way up to the finished product and even getting it ready for the stores.  At night we were treated to an INCREDIBLE acrobat show.  I’ll let the pictures do the speaking for me.

Our last day was filled with sightseeing!  We truly felt like we were in China as we visited a fairly large temple that featured numerous jade Buddha’s.  We also got lucky because they were performing a ceremony when we got there.  We were given a little free time to explore the market around the temple where we attempted to haggle the price down… some successful, others including me, not so much.   Either way, it was extremely fun and got a keepsake to take home.  We then went to the highest observatory deck in the world at the Shanghai World Financial Center.  The view was incredible!  They had windows on the floor so you could look straight down.  Last but not least… Walmart.  The entire first floor was all food and the 2^nd was everything else.  It was packed as more and more bus loads of people arrived from all over the city.  It was interesting to see the differences between this Walmart and ones back in the US.

Time to leave.  On the morning of this sad day I went to the market that we were at last night to do some last minute shopping.  My last meal in Shanghai was a Chicken Burger at KFC that had peas, carrots, and corn inside of the burger and it was quite delicious.  I knew we had a 13-hour flight ahead of us and I was dreading every minute leading up to stepping on the plane.  I am extremely grateful that I got to experience China on this spring break trip with 34 or so other individuals.  I said this would be a once in a lifetime trip, although it was, I definitely plan on coming back.

Day 5 in China (John Whiting)

Today was an extremely jam-packed day!  We started off at the Li & Fung offices again to hear Deborah Vinson and Bruce Bergstrom speak to us.  Deborah talked about their merchandising training program where they took current employees and would train them to become merchants.  Bruce spoke about Li & Fung and corporate sustainability.  This was an interesting speech because Li & Fung does not actually own any factories.  They need to work with their corporate customers and factories to ensure that each factory follows the guidelines of not only Li & Fung, but each of the customers whose products are made at the factories. 

We then were on our way to Shenzhen.  It seemed like a completely different world compared to Hong Kong.  There was a lot less English, people drove on the same side of the road that we are use to in America, and there appeared to be guards almost everywhere.  Our lunch buffet was a little more American, but it was delicious.  After lunch we went to the Li & Fung offices where we heard from Kohl’s product design that talked about technical design and some of the brands at Kohl’s.

To see what retail was like in China we stopped at a store called Carrefour.  This was my first experience at this store and it is sort of a mix between Costco and Walmart.  Perhaps the most shocking and cool part of the store was their produce section which had live fish, chicken feet, jellyfish tentacles, and cut up chickens to name a few out in the open which was interesting to look at.  Nearly everyone on the trip bought some kind of snack whether it was blueberry, lime or cucumber flavored Lays or Peanut Butter and Chocolate cream Oreos… MMMMMM!

Obviously these snacks were not enough for hungry college kids so we went to eat at the Peking Garden restaurant back in Hong Kong.  We were all stunned as they took a large ball of dough and twisted it and slapped it against the table to create many strands of noodles.  The course this restaurant was most famous for though was its Beggars Chicken, which is wrapped in leaves and baked in the ground.  It is customary for patrons to crack it open with a hammer for good luck.  It was very juicy and had a unique flavor.

Kristi & Megan: Last bits of Hong Kong & Shanghai!

Monday, March 29

Today was our first visit to China! We spent the morning at Li & Fung learning about their efforts in sustainability and their new design program for current employees. The design program filtered current employees into a year of education and training in order to prepare them for new roles in product design. It is obvious that Li & Fung invest in their employees and allow them to explore their different interests within the vast roles that Li & Fung play in the retail industry.

 

After our presentations we were off to Shenzhen for a Kohl’s product presentation. In Shenzhen, we learned about the product development process including technical design, color matching, and brand management. It was especially cool to see how color is matched from across the world. It was amazing how technical the process truly is.

Once we arrived back in Hong Kong we went to dinner at the Peking Garden Restaurant where we were treated to an amazing meal of Peking duck, Beggars chicken, and fresh noodles made right in front of us!

Tuesday, March 30

Today we toured PolyU. All I can say is AMAZING. We watched a fashion show in 3D, walked through a design studio where students were creating garments out of straw and other interesting materials, and saw some other technology that the school is leveraging. After our tour we ate lunch and departed for a denim mill and a sweater factory tour.

Our first factory stop was the denim mill. We walked through the entire process of what goes on at the mill. Some of these processes include hand weaving the material, washing the denim with stones, and inspecting each roll of fabric.

Next we headed to the sweater factory. It was definitely smaller than the denim mill, some very advanced technology. This factory is able to design a product in one day, and within 24 hours create the entire sweater! What impressed me the most was the company’s care for its’ workers. They hire from local struggling areas, and are very understanding of problems when arise at home. The factory manager was extremely enthusiastic about her job, and you could tell she had a positive impact on all the workers.

To finish the evening, we had another amazing dinner provided by Kohl’s!

Wednesday, March 31

Today we had the morning off to explore the city, but we ended up catching up on some sleep and packing up our room that had turned into a bit of a mess over the last few busy days.

That afternoon we flew into Shanghai and got our first glimpses of this beautiful city! We could not wait to explore more of it in the daylight. Our hotel here is GORGEOUS and we could not feel any luckier. Our corner room overlooks the city and has windows on every wall (including in the bathroom!) We ended our busy day of traveling with a delicious buffet at the hotel!

Thursday, April 1

We began today with an announcement from Jerry. He said there was good news a bad news. Good news was that we were going to be touring the city in a blimp. Bad news... APRIL FOOLS! Unfortunately, many of us were extremely excited and believed the "good news," since Kohl's has already treated us extremely well. After the news we were started our day.

We visited one of Kohl's Factories. We saw how the factory receives the design, the rolls of fabric the clothing is made from, and also toured a room where workers were assembling some Apt. 9 pieces. There were lines of people each contributing to the creation of one pair of pants or a pair of shorts. The working conditions seemed to be very well at this factory, and we were both impressed with all of the work that is done there.

To end our day, we attended the Chinese Acrobat Show. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this, it is very similar to Cirque de Solie. Kristi’s flip camera died, so we were unable to take video for you, but we would definitely recommend the show to anyone visiting the area!

Friday, April 2

Today was quite a busy day! We started our day early with a visit to the Jade Buddha, a worshipping area for Buddhists. After taking in the gorgeous scenery we got the opportunity to try some real Chinese tea! We spent the day sightseeing around Shanghai, including a visit to a garden from the Ming dynasty, and getting in as much souvenir shopping as we could. We could not have asked for a better last night in China though- we were asked to an alumni dinner with Chanchellor Martin! This was an amazing opportunity to network with former UW students now living in Shanghai. We ended our night (and our trip) with a chorus of a Badger favorite, “Varsity.”

Saturday, April 3

Although we are very sad to leave Shanghai, Kristi and I are excited to get home for Easter. Madison... Here we come!

Both of us are going into the retail industry, so it was very important for us to understand how a company like Li & Fung interacts with a retailer like Kohl's Department Store. This was an opportunity of a lifetime, and we will never forget all that we learned. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU Kohl's and Li & Fung!!!!!!!!

First Day in Hong Kong: Friday, March 26th

Friday: March 26th
Written by: Sarah Ackerman, Angela Armeli, Whitney Bauer, and Joe Antolik

1. LF Trading and Kohl's Sourcing
    Today was our first full day in Hong Kong.  Marc Compagnon, Rick Darling, and Deborah Vinson all spoke with us and gave us a tour of the corporate headquarters.  We began the day with an amazing brunch, getting to know Deborah and Rick some more. 
    Marc Compagnon, executive director of the Li & Fung Trading Group, gave us a presentation with a lot of interactive dialogue.  The Li & Fung company is over 100 years old.  Today, the Fung brothers who are the 3rd generation of Fung owners own it.  LF employs 14,000 people, has 15,000 suppliers, and has 2,000 customers.  We were all shocked by how many of its customers we all know!  Among the many are:

Kohl’s
Bed Bath and Beyond
Disney
J. Crew
Heineken
Kraft
Zara
Liz Claiborne
Givenchy
Lord and Taylor

    LF strives to be dominant in the supply chain industry.  Marc showed us a pie chart that broke down into hard goods and soft goods.  70% of Li & Fung’s business is within the soft goods market, and 30% is within the hard goods market.  The top 4 production and sourcing areas are: China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Bangladesh.  It was fascinating to hear they can virtually work on a 24-hour clock.  Companies in the West can send information to these regions and while it is night for one, it is day for the other—no time is lost!
    Specific to Li & Fung’s supply chain techniques, Marc stressed they focus on five: orchestration, borderless manufacturing, parallel processing, store ready, and cross docking.  All of these help to ensure large orders with a short lead-time.  Since the company is so large, each component is essential for the success of the company and its clients. 
    LF’s largest client, today, is Kohl’s.  While many of us know a lot about Kohl’s, it was interesting to hear how it partners with LF.  The Li & Fung/Kohl’s relationship began around 1996.  Since then, LF has grown with the company and now overseas a great deal of Kohls’ private and exclusive brands, such as Simply Vera, Food Network, and Dana Buchman.  LF USA in New York City deals with a great deal of the product development for such brands.  Production and sourcing are dealt in Hong Kong and Shenzhen with the help of LF.  Since Kohl’s is so large, Marc informed us about KAG, Kohl’s Apparel Group.  Li & Fung has a designated team that works only on Kohl’s efforts.  Marc oversees these efforts that take place in 22 countries!


The Li & Fung Corporate Headquarters

 
Eating Brunch at the Office with Deborah Vinson!

Marc Compagnon with Sourcing summary chart

Deborah Vinson presenting to students

 Marc Compagnon, Jerry O'Brien, Rick Darling

2. LF Research Strategy
       Li and Fung continually seeks new avenues through which to grow their business.  In an effort to involve the company in every facet of the supply chain from concept to consumer, Li and Fung launched their onshore business model with LF USA in 2004.  Through acquisition, LF USA bolstered their portfolio with highly talented New York designers as well as licensing rights to entertainment-themed brands.  This positioned LF USA to target and satisfy the needs of the top ten US retailers by approaching them as a wholesaler.  Previously, Li and Fung (as a trading company) struggled to do business with these lucrative customers since they either sourced in-house or had a relationship with another third-party sourcing partner.  Now, Li and Fung is replicating onshore model success with LF Europe and eight-month old LF China.

      In addition to varying business models, Li and Fung diversifies among the product categories it develops.  Their newest venture, LF Beauty, aims to double the company’s revenue from the Health, Beauty and Cosmetics (HBC) area.  LF Beauty offers customers a full-service solution, from product development/sourcing to point of sale promotions, in order to outsource an HBC line.  This business component gains importance as HBC takes off in Asia.

Students gathered in the Li & Fung Showrooms






3. Business Observations

    Our first official day in Hong Kong was jam packed with interesting and informative presentations about Li & Fung Limited.  We observed quite a few things in regards to the Li & Fung corporate culture, as well as insights into the business world of Hong Kong.  Most striking of all was definitely the amount of people we met, from all over the world, who spoke impeccable English.  After anticipating and expecting the language barrier to be an obstacle in our travels, we were all surprised with how easy it was to discuss almost anything with the people we met in Hong Kong.  I was so impressed at how fluidly and easily these people flowed from English to Cantonese (or Mandarin) that I have begun to attempt to study and learn Chinese so that one day I will be able to do the same.  Although many people in Hong Kong are proficient in the English language, after speaking with Deborah Vincent she emphasized how crucial it was when doing business in Asia to have at least some knowledge of the Chinese language, as it can be a huge hindrance without it.

                Another observation that stood out to us on our first day was the relaxed, and yet impeccably professional attire of the Li & Fung associates we met.  Many were dressed smartly in jeans and blazers, and looked polished, but approachable.  This was a reflection on the personalities we found at Li & Fung.  Everyone we met was enthusiastic about our visit and extremely welcoming, answering any and all of our questions and providing us with extensive knowledge about all their company does and stands for.

                Along these lines, one of the major differences we saw, just when briefly walking the streets that first day, was that the people walking around Hong Kong were dressed very professionally, in high heels, nice suits, etc.  There were hardly any tennis shoes in sight!  This more formal culture of dressing appears to be common in Asia and seems to contrast significantly with what we see just when walking around our own campus.

Easter decorations in one of the many mall entrances

4. Cultural Observations
       Whenever a person travels to a foreign country, they are warned about culture shock, and our first day in China provided a definite shock. After having an evening to recover from our 15-hour flight from Chicago, our first day was filled with opportunities to really experience the local culture.

The first thing on many people's agendas for the day was obtaining money. As a Special Administrative Region of China, Hong Kong has its own monetary system, and we found ourselves needing to trade in our USD's (U.S. Dollars) for HKD's (Hong Kong Dollars). Though the word "dollar" was familiar, the exchange rate took a bit of getting used to and our fast math skills were put to the test. The language barrier was not too great to overcome, luckily for us. Because Hong Kong was a former British colony, the English language and many more "Western" customs are present in the region. When visiting the train station near our hotel, we saw this juxtaposition of culture as a cafe displaying full roasted ducks sat only steps away from a Starbucks. Even McDonald's was serving variations of their classics to include a menu of both "Happy Meals" and "Rice Burgers."

While the day appeared to be beautiful and bright at the start, we all noticed the difference in visibility caused by local air-pollution, which hit a record high only days before our arrival. The poor air quality in the area is attributed to the high manufacturing activity in the nearby Pearl River Delta, and this only amplified the importance of our discussion on environmental concerns and sustainability for that day and the days to follow.

Tuesday, March 30: Photo Essay

Cultural Observations
By: Stephanie Kachur

The essays for today have talked a lot about business, with presentations, tours, and business observations, but we would be remiss if we went all the way to Hong Kong and failed to mention some of the cultural differences we have noticed.  Our first big cultural observation (other than the fact that people in Hong Kong drive on the left side of the road) happened in the elevator.  Many buildings in Hong Kong do not have a 13th or a 14th floor.  As many of us know, 13 is considered an unlucky number to the English, and since Hong Kong was a British territory for so long it makes sense that buildings would avoid including a 13th floor.  We had to talk to our instructor, Nancy, to find out why the 14th floor is avoided, and it turns out that while 13 is an unlucky number to the English, 14 is an unlucky number to the Chinese.  This is because the Chinese for the number sounds very similar to the Chinese for "sure death." 

An elevator panel missing a 13th and 14th floor.








Another cultural observation we made, which probably will not surprise anyone, is that people drink tea anywhere and anytime in Hong Kong.  Tea is served with every meal and even in between meals, like at business meetings and presentations.  What did surprise us is how tea is sometimes served.  We had tea at the Four Seas Restaurant on the PolyU campus and the tea was served in glasses.  I think many of us came to China with preconceived notions about some cultural aspects, such as serving tea, and then seeing tea in a glass cup challenged our preconceptions and made us look at the culture in a more realistic and dynamic way.

 Lunch at the Four
Seasons.  That's tea
     in our glasses.









The above picture also highlights another cultural observation: the lazy susan.  The family-style meals we were served in Hong Kong (like at the Four Seasons) are very different from a family meal in the United States.  In Hong Kong, instead of ordering individually or passing plates, a family meal is ordered and then food is either placed on your plate by the server or placed on the lazy susan.  Food on the lazy susan becomes communal dishes and everyone spins the lazy susan to get to the food in the middle.  Even condiments are placed on the lazy susan, so you never have to ask anyone to pass the salt in the middle of a meal. 

A final observation to leave you with involves the scenery around Hong Kong.  I have been in cities where there has been some nice landscaping around buildings and in parks, but nothing compares to the landscaping you see in Hong Kong just on street corners.  There is green almost everywhere you look, from potted plants alongside highways to trees living inside shopping centers, and everything in between.  This landscaping is just one of the reasons Hong Kong is such a beautiful city, but it is definitely a major contributing factor.

Beautiful Hong Kong landscaping by the bus depot.

Sherry & Stephanie - April 3

Today is the day we have to leave China, but hopefully most of us will come back some day.  While many of our travel companions woke up early this morning to get in some last-minute shopping at the markets before we have to leave this beautiful city, the girls in room 3109 decided to take things a little slower and stay in for the morning (and finish packing).  We did, however, have one last opportunity to stroll through the mall attached to our hotel and buy some bread from our new favorite bakery for the last time before leaving for the airport. 

As we leave China, we can't help thinking about what an amazing opportunity this has been for all of us, and how thankful we are to everyone who has helped make this trip possible, from Kohl's and Li & Fung for incredibly generous financing and planning, to our friends and families who supported us in our decisions to spend our Spring Break doing something academic and meaningful (and maybe also provided some financial support).  So, here is a huge THANK YOU to everyone involved (including, of course, the faculty who gave up a Spring Break free of students to take us on this trip, and our travel companions for making the trip such a great all-around experience).  See everyone back in the States!

Scenes of our plane taking off from Shanghai.

Sherry & Stephanie - April 1

Today was our first full day in Shanghai, and we started things off right by visiting Li & Fung's Shanghai office first thing in the morning.  We were greeted by Pamela Chan, who provided us with a great overview of LF Asia and how things are changing in the China market.  She talked about the opportunities and challenges for companies operating or looking to operate in the Asian markets, and how Hong Kong can be used as a gateway market to gain a foothold in Asia before committing to a large-scale endeavor.  Pamela's presentation was an excellent combination of business and cultural factors and was a prime example of why it's important to study international business and have opportunities like ours to travel to other countries to study business in foreign environments. 

Eagerly awaiting the start of Pamela's presentation at Li & Fung's Shanghai office.

Sherry & Stephanie - March 30

Today was a very busy day for us, starting at 8 in the morning with a presentation by Kohl's and going until around 9:30 at night when we finished a fantastic meal at Jumbo Seafood.   A highlight from our activities today was a tour of a sweater factory in Hong Kong.  The factory was a sharp contrast from what we usually picture when we think of factories and manual labor.  The sweater factory was very clean, well-lit, and all the workers looked healthy and happy.  Also unlike what we usually think of when someone mentions a clothing factory, this was not a mass producer of common goods, but a manufacturer of luxury knitwear, so the quality of materials and work at the factory were very high. 

After our tour we were treated to a Q&A session with a factory manager, who was more than happy to tell us about the factory's origins and business philosophy.  One thing I liked that the speaker told us was that instead of locating the factory where it would be convenient for management, the factory was instead situated close to where most of the workers lived, even though the area was not as nice, to make the commute to work easier on employees.  (Of course I'm sure the rent is lower in that part of the city, but that just makes this a win-win for management and employees!)

The Fangs and Sightseeing in HK

Photo Essay: Sunday, March 28th

Megan Conlin, Danielle Croegaert, Stephanie Davis 

  

We began our Sunday morning with brunch and a wonderful presentation from two former UW-Madison students, the Fangs.  The Fangs business focuses on Asia/China, specifically thirteen countries in Asia with around 800 POS!  The Fangs work closely with many well-known brands to sell and distribute their merchandise in the Asia/China area.  They also design some of their own products.  After being in the retail business for many years, the two have noticed that retailers in Asia are missing the customer service, visual merchandise, and marketing aspects of the business.  Below is a picture of Jeffrey and Christine Fang. 

Jeffrey also took time to explain the economic climate in the regions they focus on.  China has a steady double digit GDP growth, BUT it has created a society with 2 poles, the rich and the poor.  Jeffrey explained that 1 in 1,700 people in China has wealth of 10 million Yuan, and the other 1,700 people are most likely classified as the poor.

However, Jeffrey explained the fastest upcoming area in Asia is the Southeast, which he labeled the "Asean Countries." With a population twice the size of the United States, Jeffrey predicts this is where the upcoming markets will emerge within 10 years.  Singapore is part of the "Asean Countries," and it's the most modern and closest to the rest of global retailing.

We were delighted that the Fangs could share all of their knowledge with us, and we greatly appreciate them taking the time to share with us the retailing atmosphere on their side of the globe.

After the presentation, we began our sightseeing adventures by traveling to the other side of Hong Kong by bus.  Our friendly and lovable tour guide, William, provided us a brief history of Hong Kong as well as many interesting facts about the island on the long bus ride to our first stop.

During the ride to Lantau Island, we drove away from the bustling city and witnessed Hong Kong's very beautiful scenery and vegetation.

We were all very surprised to see the nice amenities of Hong Kong's prison, including a luxurious tennis court.  William said that prisoners enjoy living here. 

Finally arriving to our first destination on Lantau Island in Hong Kong, we were awed by the sights of the Tian Tian Buddha, better known as "Big Buddha" to locals and tourists alike.  This Buddha is one of China's largest and was built in 1993.

We were also very fortunate enough to be able to travel to see Big Buddha up close, but had to travel up 268 steps in order to view the beautiful 112 foot bronze statue. 

The long hike was well worth it!!

At the top of the steps, we witnessed six smaller bronze Buddhist statues, making offerings to Big Buddha, and then had the opportunity to go inside of Buddha to shop and view the many offerings (including oranges and trinkets) that loyal Buddhists leave him everyday. 

 Following our trip to the top of Big Buddha, we had the opportunity to roam around the grounds surrounding the statue.  Several people chose to shop the market in the area.

Others chose to travel to Po Lin Monastery, a Buddhist temple established in 1906, just steps away from Big Buddha. 

Inside the temple were much smaller and intricate Buddha statues surrounded by ornate religious details and decorations.  We were impressed by the serene, yet powerful atmosphere of the religious sanctuary.  This is most certainly something that we don't witness everyday at home. 

Although Big Buddha and the Po Lin Monastery are fairly new monuments in the history of Hong Kong, it is safe to say that we all felt a sense of pride for the historical value that this location provided in our overall cultural experience on the island.  This stop on our tour was only the beginning of our amazing tour through the sights and cultural destinations of Hong Kong.

Our next destination on our sightseeing trip was Stanley Market.  Stanley Market is an outdoor shopping area with people selling a variety of things in booths that line both sides of the streets in the area.  Things that you can find at the market range from silk ties, handbags, hand carved name stamps, all the way to t-shirts.  Many students bought the hand carved name stamps for themselves or for family members as gifts.

The market is very culturally different from any shopping places we have in the United States.  Not only are the items available for sale different, the way transactions are made is different as well.  At the market almost nothing is a set price.  Bargaining at the market is a skill many of us had to learn in order to get a good price.  We had a lot of fun at the market and wished we had more time; however, we had more exciting destinations to get to.  Our next stop was Victoria's Peak; a mountain in Hong Kong also called Mount Austin that overlooks Victoria Harbor.  The view from the peak was amazing; we could see the harbor and all the impressive buildings of Hong Kong that line the harbor. 

 After experiencing The Peak, one of Hong Kong's most popular attractions, we went down to the Harbor to view the Symphony of Lights.  The light show was a spectacular view of lights on more than 40 sky scrapers around the Harbor, as well as laser beams and searchlights that dance around the sky synchronized to music.

We ended the night with more exciting adventure.  A boat ride around the harbor in what looked to be a pirate ship. 

The boat took us on a 45 minute ride around Victoria Harbor as we lounged on the comfortable couch like chairs on the boat.  The boat ride was the perfect end to a great day of sightseeing and seeing the most popular cultural sights of Hong Kong.