Today was another great day! There was a good balance of factory tours and free time to further explore Shanghai. The group met in the lobby of our beautiful hotel (shown below) at 8AM after a huge, gourmet buffet breakfast.
Here the boys wait for the bus to arrive, wide awake and ready for another day of touring.
We headed off for our 2 1/2 hour bus trip to the Jiangyin Shule Hometextile factory where we were greeted with a very warm welcome.
The tour started with a brief presentation by the "big boss" of the company who addressed us in Mandarin while his colleague interpreted.
After the presentation we were guided through the various production facilities. We were impressed to see how environmentally friendly the company’s methods are. We learned that they have received the Environmental Impact Appraisal Certificate from the city of Jiangyin. They also have environmental management system training where they stress the importance of energy and water conservation, recycling, and waste reduction.
It was also amazing to see how many steps there are in producing these home textiles. One of our guides was especially excited for our group to “feel the magical power” of the machines, which worked on an enormously large scale. From singeing to dyeing, printing to bleaching, sewing to quilting, the companies production process is expansive.
After the tour of the actual manufacturing equipment, we got to go inside to see some of the product offerings. One of the especially exciting products that we got to see was the official bedding used for all of the athletes in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
After the tour, we were escorted to the dining room where we ate with some of the company’s employees. We sat with Derek (pictured below) who aids in the factory’s partnership with Kohl’s. He hopes to visit the Kohl’s Menomonee Falls headquarters in December so we were sure to warn him about the brutal Wisconsin winter weather.
After lunch, we thanked the company, said farewell to our new friends, and jumped back on the bus for the journey back to the hotel.
The rest of the night was ours to enjoy. A group of us headed to the bar next door for a celebratory St. Patrick’s Day drink with our new pet panda Bruce (pictured below.)
After that, like all good retail students would, we ventured off for more shopping! One of the most memorable stops was at a local shoe store where we faced HUGE language barriers with the shop owners. There was a lot of pointing and hand gesturing used and the only English said by the owner was a comment on our “big American feet.”
Finally, we ended the night with pizza and a movie in the hotel (pictures below of the AMAZING accommodations!) to take a break from our Chinese cuisine. It was a fabulous and relaxing way to end our stay in Shanghai and we can’t wait to see what Hong Kong has to hold!
-Bethany Mielke & Anna Lautmann
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