This OELP trip to YangZhou and Shanghai have definitely increased me knowledge of china and it's impact on Singapore. I realized that china is a really big market for development and increase of economy. One very good example is the Shanghai Volkswagen company in yangzhou. It has many branches in china and on the road, most of cars are Volkswagen. It meant that Volkswagen is a well known and trustable brand in china. Big company are eyeing on larger scale markets like china and Vietnam which have more lands and more human resources. This will decrease the money needed for the manufacturing of products which will increase the profit. Singapore being a smaller scale market might be forgotten and left out as the time go by. This will affect Singapore's economy and it would be harder for people to find jobs in Singapore. Causing some to leave the country and migrate leaving Singapore with even lesser human resource, forming a vicious cycle.
In china, most Chinese are Buddhist and they believe in Buddhism. They thinks that there would be an after life and what you did in your previous life affects what you are now. For example, if you keep stealing things and commit lots of crime, you would go to hell and recarnate into animals, like pigs and dogs. However if you do good deeds, you would be able to go to heaven and recarnate as a Human and they might have a good and comfortable life. They also believe in gods. Before exams they must go to the temple to pray to get (luck?) to be able to pass the test with flying colours.
Yangzhou have is a place with long history and rich culture. The Chinese did not demolish the old houses that the rich stayed in and changed them into a museum. They also change a house that a salt merchant used to stay in into a restaurant. By doing so, tourists who go there would be able to eat yangzhou traditional dishes and enjoy the old atmosphere in the restaurant. By doing so, they would not have to demolish the building and at the same time they are able to do business, preserve the old building which contains lots of cultures. Those having dinner in their restaurants will also get to know about the traditions and cultures.
In china, their educational system is about the same as us. The subjects we study is about the same. However their science and math is taught in Chinese, not English. They also had a lot of rest time in between lessons and a afternoon nap time. This may sound good but there are prices to pay. Their normal lessons are until 5/6 in the evening. Their cca is optional and it's just a mere 45 min. They can change cca every week, no need to stay in only one cca like us. They prioritize studies and put studies in front of anything and everything. They pay full attention in class and they do not talk. This speeds up the teaching rate as the teacher don't need to stop and scold the students before continuing. There are pros and cons of their educational system.
