2018 Emerging Leaders Study Program to Beijing, Nanjing & Shanghai

 

On 24 November 2018, group leaders from the Confucius Institute at the University of Melbourne led a group of 15 participants to three major cities in China to embark on the 2018 Emerging Leaders Study Program. The first stop was China's capital, Beijing; an incredibly large city, full of rich Chinese culture and history. The highlight for many of the participants was climbing the Great Wall. After witnessing some amazing attractions in Beijing, the sightseeing was topped off with delicious local cuisines; the favourite being the Peking Roast Duck. The group also participated in a formal briefing at the Australian Embassy in which a panel of the Embassy's Australian staff discussed their experience of working in China. After an exciting three days in the Capital, the group journeyed to Nanjing, the ancient capital of China, where they undertook an intensive Chinese language course at the renowned Nanjing University. The participants were fortunate to have two of the best Chinese language teachers at the Unviersity, which rapidly accelerated their Chinese language skills. The group engaged in several activities and events at the Unviersity. They performed with the Nanjing University Folk Orchestra, attended a Taichi class run by Master Yang, took part in an EMBA event in which they interacted with Chinese students, and learnt to create Nanjing's traditional Qin Huai Lanterns by hand, as well as traditional red stamps in a Chinese Stone Carving Class. The last stop of the Study Tour was Shanghai, which left everyone in awe. The combination of modern and traditional China created a beautiful visual which the group witnessed from the view on top of the Peal Tower. The last activity was a briefing at Austcham in which the group learnt about Aus/China relations and doing business in China. The group were home-bound on 6 December 2018.

Thank you to all the participants for making the 2018 Study Program such a wonderful experience.