Tuesday, 20th July 2010

Hurry up! The bus driver is angry because we are too late. We had to be there at 8 and is already 8.10!!!

Today is hotter than the previous days and, as usual, the sky is of un uncertain grey. We start to get used to it!
The first lecture in the morning with Professor Chen Yu, by now our friend, is about the relationship between national Government and the local authorities. Even without our beloved coffee, we managed to pay attention all time: the topic was very interesting.
Even more interesting was listening how the teacher explained his point of view about Chinese political situation; he clearly specified that he was telling us just the facts and judging was our task!
Before starting the second lecture, we had a wonderful coffee offered by our best Italo-Chinese friend Mattia.
Professor Pang Longming discussed about the principles of Confucianism and the bases of Chinese philosophy.
The new adventure of the day was the University Canteen; even the easiest thing is difficult there because of language barriers, but thanks to our Chinese classmates, we finally managed to order the lunch…











After the lecture concerning banking, financial sector and government financial policies, we went to visit the group SIH, a Saic – Iveco joint venture. It was a great opportunity to see how a big Italian company entered the Chinese market and to understand how it succeeded in managing relations with the territory and the workers.












While coming back, we had an unbelievable experience: in the middle of the ring road the bus took the wrong direction and make “retromarcia”. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAhhhh!!! Streets are like a jungle here!! At dinner time (and dinner time here means six o’clock) we decided to go in a luxurious restaurant to eat the famous Pekinese Duck: it was delicious even if we didn’t expect its head and tongue on the table. At the end of the dinner, we got a “certificate” that we ate an authentic top level duck!













At last we had a coffee at Starbucks. This shop is placed on the top of a amazing building that represents a traditional building of an old Chinese village (to tell the truth the style of the building is a little bit trashy). The palace and the skyline on the river are very beautiful, here pictures for you!
















This day was very intense, never stopping and exciting at the same tame. Thanks to Chong Qing and its beautiful people.

Federica e Valentina

Monday, 19th July 2010

What a Monday everyone!!!

What’s best to start your first day of school with a good Chinese breakfast with hot noodles and a cup of green tea??

Lidia and me, your guides for today’s blog, are pleased to welcome you to our great adventure; come to discover China with us! You’ll find that to follow this path you’ll need to put in your rucksack some unforgettable “tools” like patience, a bit of courage, a spoon of passion and thirst for discovery….and obviously a good Chinese dictionary (personal suggestion :D).

After having met our ancestor Marco Polo (as the first Italian to reach this land) during our “cross cultural communication lesson” we went to a typical “street restaurant” where we built a long table by using plastic chairs and small desks of wood, along the pavement.
Don’t be afraid; appearance is deceiving. In fact as soon as we sat down two men came and invited us to choose a dish; they were so kind and thoughtful that they nearly sent away other people to make us space. We ate a delicious fried rice with vegetables (Lidia even learnt to use chopsticks!!) and scramble egg. Some of us tried instead a kind of pasta sunk in a hot soup; the right plate for days with 95% humidity.

Later on we had to prepare some songs to perform at the evening party that Chongqing University had arranged that evening for us !! We decided to create a choir and to sing our anthem and “Oh bella ciao”. It was a big success even if we improvise, so proud to have create a perfect sound in so small time !!

Chinese students also performed with typical dancing and paintbrush writing. We also played with them at“loose your seat”and we did lots of pics. We enjoyed it so much and we laugh till crying. They firstly helped us to break the ice and then they taught us that the best way to get in contact with people is to share habits and culture!!

Here we are now (23.30 p.m.) relaxing on our bed making you part of this fantastic first day….but as Marco Polo said….

…. “we have told the half of what we saw…..”

...to be continued…

your foreign correspondents

Fede e Lidia

Sunday,18th July 2010

And finally on the 16th of July we take the plane to Chongqing...

First of all this means at least 24 hours of flight with 6 hours of jetlag.

We had the luckiest arrival in CQ without any trouble; someone else had problems with the baggage or delay in their flights. However the majority of the team arrived to the campus on Saturday afternoon.

Rooms are very wide and comfortable; if something (shower, internet connection) doesn’t work immediately there is a very simple solution: let’s move to another room. Good luck!

After a small break and a shower, we’re ready to discover China: the curiosity of taking a first look of the city overcomes sleep and tiredness. Our magnificent tutors are waiting for us in the main square of our district: Three Gorges Square, that will become our meeting point (exactly next to Starbucks).

First meal in China: sushi bar.

Yes, this may sound weird, but we suggest you to try this wonderful buffet before any comment!

After avoiding any possibility of starving we need to organize ourselves in order to buy the bare minimum: water, towels, glasses and so on.

The supermarket is simply Chinese… it means every kind of everything, with thousands of Chinese people gazing at you like an alien.

As soon as we come out of the store, we learn an amazing thing: if in CQ the weather is windy, it means that it will be rain. Good luck twice.

On Sunday morning we are ready at 11 o’clock, and we start the day with a lunch in Mattia Bellomi’s favorite place: a tiny but tasty restaurant that serves every kind of noodles or rice. In the end the owner is very happy when receives 100 RMB (about 12 €) feeding 16 people! Good boy!

In the afternoon we wonder in the center between a wonderful library and an messy electronic store in which you could find anything you’re looking for. In fact we didn’t find anything!

The dinner takes place in the main center of CQ, a typical Asian-like city-center: skyscrapers, towers, malls, lights, advertisement, crowd. The most representative monument of the city is a column that represents the resistance against Japanese army. The clock at the top is sponsorized by Rolex: contemporary China!

After a Lavazza break (the only Italian oasis in a 35-million-people city) and half an hour of taxi (taxi drivers shouldn’t have the driving license) finally we’re home. Our new home.


Today we start our Cinese Summer School!

Francesca e Lorenzo

Welcome to China 2010

Hello everyone!

This is the very first blog from the first China Summer School organized by Bicocca University with the support of Fondazione Cariplo.
We are very proud for this new venture, which sees a good number of students approaching inner China.
We look forward to hearing from you and sharing your adventures.

Good luck!

Fabio Corno,
summer schools coordinator