student mobility program to peoples republic of china

Foreword

I am sorry that I miss your email because I forget to log in my email box and receive your dear message. At the same time I’m so happy. It’s my first time to receive foreigner friends email. Amazing happy you can fancy what my mood. Right?

As you said, you thanks me, but in my eyes, I believe I should thank you. You all six friends pride me a good chance to practice my spoken-english. Meanwhile, thanks for your understanding my lame English. Very very much…

And, I need to say you all are my friend, service yours is my pleasure indeed. It’s every Chinese students need to do I believe. Some others are just they can’t speak fluent spoken-english, and lack of courage. Maybe they are shy {haha!}. Recember, big smiles if I don’t know how to express.

Here are three photos we take togeter. Share with you. And I forget to have a formal photo with you all ~ pitty. But never mind the next day Thursday 9.28 we have an one to one face to face attend with you. I am forward and hoping we see again.

I hope your friend and you can all be happy and harvested in the next two week. Of course If there are any trouble you can call me number 15869119587. I must be very happy to help you and service you. You know it’s my pleasure.

Finally, I hope you all stay happy in our bussiness college. The GYM is open. If time free we can play badminton together, remember my tennis is better than table tennis, and my badminton is better than tennis.

Thank for your reading.

Regards yours,

MIKE.

黄志益 China Mike Student of Zhejiang Vocational College of Commerce and Hangzhou Business Man [email protected]

September 2012

Q Sent via email to friends and family back in Australia each evening, these 'storyboards' offer insight into daily on-campus and off-campus activities, as well as the local environment, human interactions, oddities and regular celebrations.

May our foreword offer insight into the pride and humility

we experienced throughout our tour of China…

Executive Summary

Q Lecturer Zhou Baopin and Lecturer Brendan Hibbert after the succesful Chinese painting workshop.

“ My belief is that if you like Mozart and I like Mozart we

already have something in common, so the likelihood of our

killing each other has been diminished. The arts perform this

pacifying function in culture. And that it’s practitioners create

commonalities, they create things to gather about. I always quote

a guy named Louis Hyde who wrote about primitive cultures

where there is exchange of gifts that are not to be kept, but have

to be passed on, and the passing on is a device that prevents

people from killing one another because they all become part of a

single experience. And this is what artists do: artists provide that

gift to the culture so that people have something in common.”

— Milton Glaser

The following reports contain reviews, imagery and personal commentary of the recent Central Institute of Technology’s student mobility program to the Peoples Republic of China hosted by Zhejiang Vocational College of Commerce in Hangzhou.

It has been designed to allow for various entry points into the seven perspectives of the team who have undertaken and reflected on the two weeks abroad, and readers are invited to review each report in no particular order. Each student was given the freedom to document the tour without a constrained framework or agenda. It also loosely offered students the ability to seek truth from the facts.

Unsurprisingly, the conclusion for each student and myself was the same. China is amazing.

Brendan Hibbert

Advanced Skills Lecturer of Graphic Design – Central Institute of Technology President of the Australian Graphic Design Association (WA Chapter)

October 2012

Q Embossed into brickwork, these characters denote the owner of the property.

Contents

ItInerary 4

1 LeCtUrer’S rePOrt 10

Seek first to understand 10

Selection 10

Preparation & prior research 11

Student handbook 12

Chinese cheats 101 13

We come from a land down under 14

Essential reading 15

Arrival and the unimaginable and profound scale of a global superpower 16

Why brushwork is revered & graffiti artists make the best typographers 19

Balance, awareness and friendship 21

Academic conversations, revealing state secrets and dancing in chains 22

Cross cultural awareness, appreciation and real world benefits of the tour 24

Furthering opportunities and recommendations 25

2 StUDent rePOrtS

2.1 Luke Sweet 26

2.2 Reanna Caddy 38

2.3 Elliott Klass 44

2.4 Jessica Kipps 54

2.5 Caitlin Moloney 64

2.6 Chiara Adams 74

tHank yOU 80

Itinerary

FOr SIX GraPHIC DeSIGn StUDentS, CentraL InStItUte OF teCHnOLOGyStUDent MOBILIty PrOGraM tO PeOPLeS rePUBLIC OF CHIna

20th September to 4th October 2012

Project Manager Ms Huang Yiqing Mr Zhu Youmin Stella Bu Senior Research Officer, Central Institute of Technology Jennifer Zhang Foreign Affairs Officer, Zhejiang Vocational College of Commerce

Date Venue Activities People in Charge

20th Sep 2012(thursday)

14:25 CX 6812arrive Hangzhou Xiaoshan Int’l Airport, to be picked up by ZVCC

Jennifer Zhang

16:00 Check in Bai Wei Ren Sheng Hotel, 470 Binwen Road, Binjiang District, Hangzhou, PRC, Tel: (+86) 571 56565636

Cateen card: Mr Zhu Youmin, SIM card: Ms Huang Yiqing, Bank for currency exchange:Jennifer Zhang

17:30 Bai Wei Ren Sheng Hotel

Simple dinner at the first floor and settle in for a rest

21st Sep 2012(Friday)

8:50 hotel foyer ZVCC staff will take the group to the meeting room #207 at the school of art

9:00-11:00 Meeting room #207 at the school of art

Meeting the staffs and student representatives of the School of Art to 1 introduce each other; 2 go through the agenda; 3 ask questions

Interpreter: Jennifer Zhang, or Wu Yiting, Hong Liangqi

11:30-12:30 Canteen,1st floor,Hotel

Lunch

13:55 Meeting at the hotel Foyer

To be met by the college staff

14:00-17:00 1. Campus tour, Orientation of surrounding facilities

17:30 Meeting at the hotel foyer

To be met by the college staff Interpreter: Wu Yiting or Hong Liangqi, Escorted by 6 Chinese students

17:30-19:00 Level 2 Hotel Welcome dinner by the College Foreign Affairs Office

STUDENT MOBILITY PROGRAM TO PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF CHINA, 20th September to 4th October 2012: Full report4


22nd Sep 2012 (Saturday)

8:55 Meet at the hotel Foyer

To be met by the college staff and transferred by the college bus

9:00-16:30 City of Hangzhou Excursions: Zhejiang Museum at the West Lake, Xiling Seal Society, Temple of Soul Retreat

Interpreter: Ge Chaoying

17:30 Cateen,1st floor,hotel

Dinner

23rd Sep 2012(Sunday)

8:55 Meet at the hotel foyer


9:00-16:00 City of Hangzhou Excursions:Zhejiang Art Galary, China Academy of Arts (Nanshan Road Campus)

Interpreter: Fan Yuwen

17:30 Canteen,1st floor,hotel

Dinner

24th Sep 2012 (Monday)

8:50 Depart for the school of art9:00-11:00 Rm405,the school

of artClassroom interaction activities with Chinese students of the Diploma of Graphic Design, Central students will be mixed into 6 teams to complete a task with Chinese students

Lecturer: Anny Lee, Interpreter: Jennifer

11:30-12:30 Canteen,1st floor,Hotel

Lunch



14:00-16:00 Rm223, No.2 Building

Experiencing Chinese calligraphy Lecturer: Xu Tonglin, Interpreter: Angie Zhang

16:20-17:00 Gym Table tennis practice Interpreter: Angie Zhang

17:30 Cateen,1st floor,hotel

Dinner

STUDENT MOBILITY PROGRAM TO PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF CHINA, 20th September to 4th October 2012: Full report 5


25th Sep 2012(tuesday)

9:00-11:00 Rm208, the school of art

Classroom interaction activities with Chinese students of the Diploma of Graphic Design, Central students will be mixed into 6 teams to complete a task with Chinese students

Lecturer: Yang Fan

11:30-12:30 Cateen, 1st floor, Hotel

Lunch



14:00-16:00 Rm305, The school of arts

Experiencing Chinese Music Lecturer: Chen Yabin, Interpreter: Angie Zhang

16:20-17:00 Gym Table tennis practice Interpreter: Jennifer Zhang

17:30 Cateen, 1st floor, hotel

Dinner

26th Sep 2012(Wednesday)

8:50 Meet at the hotel Foyer


9:00-11:00 Creative Industry Park

Visit to industry with Chinese students and for business opportunities

Interpreter: Jennifer Zhang

11:30-12:30 Canteen, 1st floor, Hotel

Lunch



14:00-16:00 Rm323,No.2 Building

Experiencing Chinese painting Lecturer: Zhou Baopin, Interpreter: Angie Zhang


17:30 Canteen,1st floor,hotel

Dinner



27th Sep 2012(thursday)

9:00-11:00 Rm407, the school of art

Classroom interaction activities with Chinese students of the Diploma of Graphic Design, Central students will be mixed into 6 teams to complete a task with Chinese students

Lecturer: Chen Xiu, Interpreter: Angie Zhang,


Lunch



14:00-16:00 China Academy of Arts

Visit to the art exhibition (Bauhaus) at China Academy of Arts Xiangshan Campus


16:30-18:30 Building 8 with downstairs bar

Experiencing Chinese cusine and DIY dinner. Followed by Eyes Around interviews


28th Sep 2012(Friday)

9:00-11:00 Rm405, the school of arts

Lecture by Brendan Hibbert Central lecturer, (Both ZVCC students and Central students will attend.),

Interpreter: Angie Zhang


Lunch

14:00-16:00 Rm311, the school of arts

Lecture by industrial guest speaker, (Both ZVCC students and Central students will attend.)

Speaker: Fan Peijun, Interpreter: Angie Zhang


17:30 Canteen, 1st floor, hotel

Dinner

29th Sep 2012(Saturday)

9:00-11:00 Gym Table Tennis Competition Interpreter: Jennier Zhang

Afternoon Free time



30th Sep 2012(Sunday)

9:00-20:00 Tour West Lake and night view of the city by taxi

Interprete: Ge Yingchao

1st–2nd Oct 2012 (Mon & tue)

Shanghai 2-day tour to Shanghai, The details such as railway station transfers, train tickets, hotels and activities in Shanghai are under coordination by Stella Bu and Jennifer Zhang

Interpreter: Fuwen

3rd Oct 2012 (Wednesday)


To be picked up by the college bus, Interpreter: Hong Liangqi

9:30-16:00 Hangzhou Last minute shopping at Hefang Street and silk market

Level 2 Hotel Farewell dinner

4th Oct 2012 (thursday)


Check out and ready to depart for the airport by the college bus

Interpreter: Angie Zhang


SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND

I believe that communication is the most important skill in life. We spend years learning how to read and write, and years learning how to speak. However, upon our arrival in China, it became painfully obvious that listening carefully to our translators would become the priority for two weeks. And ultimately, understanding another human being, and indeed culture, require an open frame of reference, untainted by personal expectations and previous experiences. It is a great way to tour and a perfect way to make friends. It forms the basis of this report.

SELECTION

A robust process of selecting applications via expression of interest and critically evaluating thirteen submission against weighted criteria helped form the team of six advanced diploma graphic design students that would tour China for two weeks from 20 September to the 4 October 2012.

The selection process highlighted how several personal attributes and characteristics are valued more highly and sought after when assembling a mobility tour. Strengths such as the ability to use design as a vehicle to communicate; describing situations that achieved measurable outcomes, both in team scenarios and individually; and well selected references to support and confirm the applicants calibre.

Those selected were the most outstanding responses from the thirteen applications submitted and arguably the strongest from the initial called out to over fifty students.

Lecturer report


The final selected team consisted of:

(images top to bottom) Jessica kipps Caitlin Moloney Chiara adams reanna Caddy Luke Sweet elliott klass

and

Brendan Hibbert (Lecturer)

PREPARATION & PRIOR RESEARCH

Organisational, administration and itinerary planning work prepared by Central’s International Project Officer, Sarah emmerson [[email protected]] and Central’s Senior Research Officer, Stella Hu [[email protected]} was essential in the smooth processing of VISA applications and in mentally preparing and physically mobilising the team of six students and one lecturer. I wish to acknowledge and praise this support and professionalism of both Sarah and Stella in ensuring the tour was successful before we even left Perth.

Thumbnail spreads of the Student Handbook (following page) and itinerary prepared by Sarah and Stella appear in this report (previous page).

Central Lecturer Jay Scroop also prepared the team with a preamble of ‘what to expect’ and supply of phonetic English–to–Chinese translations to assist in daily life while in Hangzhou (following page). It was a vital session that also outlined ‘subtle’ table manners, such as how to show respect when ‘charging glasses’ and other such courtesies – What I now consider crucial knowledge for Australian’s bound for China.

R I had never heard of Hangzhou prior to this tour. Here is it's location (South of Shanghai) in case you haven't heard of it either.


STUDENT HANDBOOK

Authored by Sarah Emmerson

Study Tour, Zhejiang China 2012

Student Handbook

SAFETY AND SECURITY ................................................................................................

CRIME

• Petty crime directed at foreigners, particularly pick pocketing, purse snatching and theft of laptops, passports and mobile phones occurs. Resisting can lead to violence or injury. Travellers have been targeted on overnight long distance trains and buses and on public transport. Foreigners have been assaulted and robbed, particularly in popular expatriate gathering areas including the bar and shopping precincts of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and other major cities.

• Foreigners have also been targets of a number of scams when travelling in China. An increasing number of tourists are being approached and invited for a drink at a teahouse, cafe or bar nearby for any number of reasons including “to practice English”. Afterwards the tourist is presented with a vastly inflated bill and is not permitted to leave until they pay the bill by credit card. Physical violence, including serious assault, and credit card skimming or duplication has occurred.

• There have been reports of foreign travellers being drugged and robbed in China after accepting offers of food, drink or transportation from strangers.

ATM SCAMS

• There have been incidents of ATM scams including the use of fake ATMs that take the user's card. ATM robberies are also common. It is recommended you use ATMs when accompanied, inside a secure place such as a bank, and during daylight hours to reduce risks.

LOST OR STOLEN PASSPORT

• If your passport is lost or stolen while in China you will firstly need to obtain an official loss report from the local police (this report can be used when checking in to a hotel and will be necessary for obtaining a new passport and Chinese visa). You will need to obtain a replacement passport from the nearest Australian embassy or consulate (see key contacts), as well as a Chinese visa to allow you to leave China. Issue of a visa by the Chinese authorities can take up to five working days, and can be delayed significantly longer during Chinese holiday periods.

• Australians who have lost or had their passport stolen in China should not expect the Chinese visa renewal or replacement process to be expedited for them to meet travel or flight schedules. We encourage you to keep a copy of your passport and Chinese visa in a safe place when travelling in China.

• If you are the victim of petty crime or a scam, you should report it immediately to the local police. Even though they may not be able to get your money or goods back, they can issue you with an official loss report for insurance purposes.

KEEPING IN TOUCH

Check with your mobile phone company what roaming arrangements they have in China and the rates they charge. In most cases, the costs are very high and it’s cheaper to use a local SIM card. Various phone cards can be purchased for convenience and to save costs. Within your host country, you can purchase pre-‐paid phone cards for use or the local sim cards. Usually when you buy SIM card, no documentation is required. You can buy charging cards in the amount of 50 RMB and 100 RMB to recharge in post offices, stores and newsstands easily. If possible SKYPE is an easy and cheap way to stay in touch with your family.

EXPECTATIONS UPON RETURN TO AUSTRALIA ……………………………………………………....................... Participants are required to attend a post event debrief. This will allow for a discussion on the Outbound Mobility program. What worked well and what could be changed or done better in the future will be elements of this discussion.

PERSONAL REQUIREMENTS ……………………………………………………………………..

BEHAVIOUR

Practise a professional attitude and behave in a manner which depicts this attitude at all times. Remember you are an ambassador for yourself, Central and Australia. Central’s Code of Conduct applies even when students are offshore.

PUNCTUALITY, RESPECT, COURTESY:

Be punctual to all sessions. Punctuality is a reflection of the consideration of others. During the trip, the group will travel about at scheduled times and all delegates are expected to strictly follow the schedule. A positive and culturally sensitive attitude is the most important skills you will bring with you on the program.

LAWS AND CUSTOMS

When you are in China, be aware that local laws and penalties, including ones that appear harsh by Australian standards, do apply to you.

• There are strictly enforced laws which prohibit demonstrations without prior approval from the government. If arrested, you could be jailed or deported.

• Penalties for drug offences are severe and include the death penalty. Other serious crimes may also attract the death penalty.

• Gambling is illegal in mainland China.

• Photography of military or government buildings may result in a penalty. You should seek permission from local authorities before taking photographs.

• All foreigners including long-‐term residents are required to register their place of residence with the local Public Security Bureau within 24 hours of arrival. Failure to do so could result in fines and detention. If you are staying at a hotel, this is done as part of the normal check-‐in process.

• You should carry evidence of your identity at all times and present it upon demand of police authorities. Your passport or a Chinese residence card is an acceptable form of identity. Failure to carry ID or comply with the registration requirement could result in fines and detention.

• Restrictions apply to certain religious activities, including preaching, distributing literature and associating with unapproved religious groups. Falun Gong activities are banned in China. Falun Gong related demonstrations and activities contravene Chinese laws. If you participate, you could be arrested, imprisoned and/or deported.

• A completed OPC (Outgoing Passenger Card). These will be given to you upon check-‐in or are available in the Customs area.

Transit through Hong Kong: Coming into Hong Kong on a Cathay Pacific flight, you will approach Arrivals on Level 5 at the Airport. If you already have an onward boarding pass, simply follow the signs to the nearest Transfer Point and proceed to the Departure Hall on Level 6.If you need to check in for your onward flight, please approach the Cathay Pacific desk in Areas E2 or W1.

WHAT TO TAKE?

Hangzhou weather is generally warm and mild year round, with abundant sunshine and rainfall. The average temperature in September is around 23 degrees with cooler evenings. Make sure you take clothes you can layer. Below is a list of recommended items to take: • Toiletries • Any prescription medication in original package and with script • Camera/mobile phone/computer

• Converter/Adapter (for electric current), these are available from travel stores and at the airport • Contact Lenses or Eye Glasses (extra pair) • Money belt (invaluable for carrying important travel documents i.e. tickets passport, money)

PACKING REQUIREMENTS

• Be aware that airports have strict security requirements for safety reasons • Never carry items for strangers and make sure that you have packed your own suitcases and know

what they contain • Consider purchasing TSA (Transport Security Administration) approved luggage locks which can be

easily opened and locked again by customs and security officers, thus minimising theft due to broken luggage locks.

• Double check carry-‐on requirements before leaving for the airport • Pack your most personal and valuable items in your carry-‐on bag • Make sure that nothing in your carry-‐on bag can be construed as a weapon e.g.: nail files, nail scissors,

pen knife, etc. • Pack lightly but prepare for changes in temperature by layering clothing. • Be aware of the rules for taking liquids, aerosols and gels on flights into and out of Australia for

carryon baggage. http://www.dotars.gov.au/transport/security/aviation/lag/index.aspx • Update your address book, including phone and fax numbers, email and home addresses • Don’t overpack! You can buy anything you need in China

BAGGAGE LIMITS

Charges for excess baggage can be high. If you do over pack, it is cheaper to send the extra luggage via unaccompanied baggage services than using the airline for excess baggage. Cabin Baggage On Cathay Pacific, each passenger has a free baggage allowance of one cabin bag not exceeding 56x36x23cm in size. These dimensions include wheels, handles and side pockets. In addition to the standard cabin baggage allowance, you may carry onboard one of the following items free of charge:

o a small handbag or

o a small backpack or

Travel Itinerary Please note that this itinerary may change. Additional meetings may be scheduled and scheduled meetings may be moved or amended subject to the availability of the organisations presenting.

Wednesday September 19 - Make your own way to the Perth International Airport

- Depart: Perth at 23.55 on Flight CX 170 L for Hong Kong

Thursday September 20 - Arrive: Hong Kong at 07.50 (Hong Kong International Airport) - Depart: Hong Kong at 12.25 on Flight CX 6812 L to Hangzhou - Arrive: Hangzhou at 14.35 (Hangzhou Xiaoshan International

Airport) Exchange A$100 to RMB at HK Airport You will be met by Jennifer Zhang from ZVCC phone 13 7068 14592

- PM – simple dinner and then rest

Friday September 21 - AM: Meet the staff and students of the School of Art to introduce each other and discuss the agenda

- Afternoon: Tour of the campus

- PM: Welcome dinner hosted by the president

Saturday September 22 - Excursions: Zhejiang Museum at the West Lake, Xiling Seal Society, Temple of Soul Retreat

Sunday September 23 - Excursions: Zhejiang Art Galary, China Academy of Arts (Nanshan Road Campus)

Monday September 24 - 9am – 11am Classroom interaction activities with Chinese students of the Diploma of Graphic Design

- 11.30 – 12.30 Lunch - 2pm – 4pm Experiencing Chinese Music and tea ceremony - 4.30pm – 5.30pm Sports activities - 6pm – 7pm Dinner

Tuesday September 25 - 9am -‐11am Classroom interaction activities with Chinese students of the Diploma of Graphic Design

- 11.30-‐12.30 Lunch

- 2pm – 4pm Experiencing Chinese calligraphy

- 4.30pm – 5.30pm Table tennis

- 6pm – 7pm Dinner

Wednesday September 26 - 9am – 11am Visit to industry with Chinese students and for business opportunities

- 11.30 – 12.30 Lunch

- 2pm – 4pm Experiencing Chinese painting

About Zhejiang Zhejiang, literally meaning a winding river, is one of China’s smallest and most densely populated provinces with a total area of 101,800 square kilometres and a population of 54,426,900. Zhejiang Province is situated on China's south-‐eastern coast, on the southern part of the Yangtze River Delta. Its north-‐east is adjacent to Shanghai, which can be easily reached either by bus or train. The history of Zhejiang goes back to ancient times with neolithic Hemudu Cultural Ruins dating back as early 7000 years ago are regarded as one of the cradles of Chinese civilization. Its capital Hangzhou is renowned for its historic relics and natural beauty. It is known as one of the most beautiful cities in China. One of China’s most beautiful sites, West Lake, is located right in the heart of the city. Hangzhou's economy has rapidly developed since 1992. It is an industrial city with many diverse sectors such as light industry, agriculture and textiles. It is also considered an important manufacturing base and logistics hub for coastal China. About Zhejiang Vocational College of Commerce Zhejiang Vocational College of Commerce (ZVCC) is located in downtown Hangzhou. It grew out of Zhejiang Secondary Commercial School which was founded in 1911. ZVCC has six portfolios: Accounting, Economics and Business, Information Technology, Cuisine and Tourist Management, Applied Engineering and Arts Design. It currently has around 8,000 students. Central has had a relationship with ZVCC for five years. We deliver our Diploma of Graphic Design at the College.

MONEY AND VALUABLES ...............................................................................................

• The currency is the Chinese Yuan Renminbi. Currency rates vary daily and from one money converter to another. You may expect the $1AUD to equal around 6.65 RMB.

• Find out what services are available with your Australian credit cards (e.g. cash advances, Cirrus and Maestro network). Please note that cash advance charges are quite high and it is advisable not to use these unless you are desperate. Have sufficient local currency on arrival for immediate expenses.

• If you take travellers cheques, keep a list of cheque numbers separate from the cheques.

• In large Chinese cities ATMs that allow cash withdrawals using Visa, Mastercard, Cirrus, Maestro, AmEx and JCB are widely available. Opportunities to make purchases by credit are common, particularly in international hotels and restaurants. In smaller cities, using international cards may be more difficult.

• Irregular shaped cards issued by providers such as Virgin or Aussie may not work at overseas ATMs, and there are reported incidences where these cards have been ‘swallowed’ and not been returned back.

• Be careful when carrying money, consider wearing a money belt. • Make sure that someone at home has authority to act on your behalf i.e.: is authorised to be your

Power of Attorney. They should be able to transfer money to you immediately. • Make two photocopies of valuables such as your passport, tickets, visas and travellers' cheques. Keep

one copy with you in a separate place to the original and leave another copy with someone at home.

TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS ...............................................................................................

TRAVEL, TICKETS & ARRIVAL

19th September 2012 Depart: Perth at 23.55 on Cathay Pacific Flight CX 170 L for Hong Kong 20th September 2012 Arrive: Hong Kong at 07.50 (Hong Kong International Airport) Depart: Hong Kong at 12.25 on Cathay Pacific Flight CX 6812 L to Hangzhou Arrive: Hangzhou at 14.35 (Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport) 4th October 2012 Depart: Hangzhou at 11.15 on Dragon Airlines Flight KA 627 L for Hong Kong Arrive: Hong Kong at 13.30 Depart: Hong Kong at 15.05 on Flight CX 171 L for Perth Arrive: Perth at 22.35

Online check in: You can check in for Cathay Pacific and Dragonair flights 48 hours prior to flight departure. Perth International airport advises that you should check-‐in approximately three hours prior to your flight departure time.

To assist you when departing Perth Airport, please have the following documentation ready and in your hand as you proceed through the departure area:

• A valid passport

• Boarding pass

KEY CONTACTS ................................................................................................ In China Stella Bu Email: [email protected] Phone: +86 1360 0510 602 Jennifer Zhang from ZVCC Phone 1370 681 4592 Australian Consulate General Address: Level 22, Citic Square, 1168 Nanjing West Road, Shanghai Phone: (021) 2215 5200 Email: [email protected] All Australian citizens can access the consular emergency centre which is open 24 hours. The number is +612 6261 3305. Emergency numbers Police: 110 Ambulance: 120 Fire: 119 Address of college Zhejiang Vocational College of Commerce 470 Binwen Rd, Binjiang District, Hangzhou People’s Republic of China, 310053

Telephone Number: (571) 5810 8022 Contact Person: Zhu Youmin Taxi’s: 2881 1111 In Australia Name: Sarah Emmerson Email: [email protected] Phone: +61 8 0427 173 604 The details of your trip have been registered at http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/ so that you can be contacted in case of an emergency but remember that Central will have your details and information about the trip if families are concerned. Remember, Stella is always contactable by phone on +86 13 6005 10602

GENERAL INFORMATION ................................................................................................

DRESS

• There are no particular dress restrictions. Chinese students dress in a similar fashion to Australian students.

HEALTH

• Students are to inform Central about any health issues or prescription medication prior to leaving Australia.

• Please see your local doctor as soon as possible to discuss any inoculations or preventative measures

that may be required prior to departure. All travellers should be up-‐to-‐date with routinely recommended immunisations.

• The high levels of air pollution in industrialised areas in China, may aggravate bronchial, sinus or asthma conditions.

• Tap water in China may not be safe to drink, depending on your location. Travellers are advised to drink only bottled water.

MEDICAL MATTERS

You should arrange to have full medical and dental check-‐ups prior to departure. Dental emergencies can be incredibly expensive so make sure you visit a Dentist before you leave.

Have all necessary vaccinations. Information can be found on the Travel Doctor website at http://www.traveldoctor.com.au/

Take copies of optical prescriptions (a spare pair of sunglasses or contact lenses if possible).

Sending or taking medicine under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) out of the country may be illegal unless it is for your personal use, or the personal use of someone travelling with you. Fines are steep and range up to $5,000 and/or two years in jail. Before sending or taking medicine subsidised under the PBS, you should: • contact the Chinese embassy to ensure the medicine is legal there • take with you a detailed letter from your doctor explaining any ongoing/existing medical conditions and

medication that may be required in case this is demanded by Australian and overseas customs officials. Include both the chemical and commercial names of any medication

• Leave personal medication in original packaging so it is clearly labelled with your name and dosage. For more information please go to http://www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/

INSURANCE

Please ensure that you have paid for your own health and travel insurance prior to departure. This is a requirement of your travel.

VISA

Central will apply and pay for your visas. We will require you to complete the visa application and provide your passport.

o a briefcase or

o a laptop bag.

Checked Baggage

There is a free baggage allowance with no restriction on the number of pieces you take. The maximum allowable combined weight of the baggage is 20 kilos.

CUSTOMS, QUARANTINE & OTHER RESTRICTIONS

Departing Australia • You may take any personal goods out of Australia without having to pay duty/tax on these goods when

you return (other than items that you purchased duty/tax free in Australia before your trip and which are in excess of your duty free concession).

• Goods purchased duty or tax free in Australia must be taken with you and inspected at the departure point. You may also need to declare these on your return.

• More information about customs matters can be located on the Australian Customs Service website at http://www.customs.gov.au under the section for ‘Travellers’.

Entering China Be very clear about customs requirements and quarantine restrictions that apply to you in china. Check this article out for some useful tips: http://www.chinatravelsavvy.com/advice/customs-‐procedures/ Leaving China Be aware of things the Chinese customs officials may frown on when leaving China: http://www.echinacities.com/expat-‐corner/10-‐items-‐that-‐may-‐get-‐confiscated-‐by-‐chinese-‐airport.html

THE IMPORTANT DOCUMENT FOLDER

• Photocopy your airline ticket, passport, visas, credit cards, traveller’s cheques. Pack one copy in hand luggage and leave one copy at home with a relative or friend. It’s also a good idea to scan these and email them to yourself so you will have an electronic copy.

• Travel Insurance information • Medical records and any required prescriptions. • Bank details in case you need to contact your branch in Australia about a missing or stolen credit card.

THE BASICS

It seems too obvious to mention but it is important that you get to know a little about your destination prior to your arrival to assist in your adjustment. These websites can help give you some background information about China: • http://www.lonelyplanet.com/china • http://wikitravel.org/en/China • http://wikitravel.org/en/Hangzhou • http://www.morehangzhou.com/ • http://www.lonelyplanet.com/china/shanghai/history • http://www.artzinechina.com/display.php?a=81



Thursday September 27 - 9am – 11am Classroom interaction activities with Chinese students of the Diploma of Graphic Design

- 11.30 – 12.30 Lunch

- 2pm – 4pm A visit to China Academy of Arts Xiangshan Campus (tbc)

- 4.30pm – 5.30pm Experiencing Chinese cooking


Friday September 28 - 9am – 11am Lecture by Central lecturer (Both ZVCC students and Central students will attend.)

- 11.30 – 12.30 Lunch

- 2pm – 4pmLecture by industrial guest speaker (Both ZVCC students and Central students will attend.)



Saturday September 29 - 9am-‐11am Free time

- 11.30-‐12.30 Lunch

- 2pm – 6pm Table tennis competition (6 teams)

Sunday September 30 - 9am-‐11am Tour of the West Lake

- 11.30 – 12.30 Lunch

- 12.30 onwards Tour of the city including night view

Monday October 1 - Travel to Shanghai (Stella will inform you of travel arrangements and hotel

Tuesday October 2 - Shanghai and travel back to Hangzhou

Wednesday October 3 - Last minute shopping in Hangzhou - PM farewell party -

Thursday October 4 Depart: Hangzhou at 11.15 on Dragon Airlines Flight KA 627 L for Hong Kong Arrive: Hong Kong at 13.30 Depart: Hong Kong at 15.05 on Flight CX 171 L for Perth Arrive: Perth at 22.35 -


hot tsu(chew) yum

Hotsoup

tsu. Chew. Eat

Gun bay Drink

nihow. Hello

en how Good

Shi shien. Ta

yim you. English

Washua yimmyoo I speak English

Wat you a wish four yimmyoo

I only speak English

Dway boo chey Sorry

Piow liow. Beautiful

Oo may I don’t want to buy

ni hung ku You are cool

Shwey Water

Han bung. Excellent

Mama who who So so

Don Boo dong. Understand?

Shoe da (sure dat).

Yes

Boo dong No

Haddar haddar Ok Ok

Dot dot dot. Yep yep yep

Minyou Attention girl

Chegoor Attention male

Sha ma. What?

Wi sha ma. Why?

Shinto Line

Ju ni. Precise

Hon Jo. Wine

Pee Jo. Beer

Bin. Ice

Mayo mayo. Na na na

G ro(zero). Chicken

Gno ro. Beef

Chin tsai. Green veg

Mi fan. Rice

Bowza. Dumplings

e wa bowza. Bowl of dumplings

Bobo Waterfall

Sore gwai. Turn left

Mum your gwai. Turn right

Sore mien/bien. your bien.

Left side Right side

Doi bien. Opposite side

nar lee (gnarley) Where

Jilli ting. Stop

e. r San. 123

War. I

aye, I. Love

knee, ni. You

Pung yo. Friend

Lao wai Foreigner

e g so. Keep going straight!

Ow da li ah Australia

My dun.(am) I done?)

Check

Foo yen (Shang.) Attention

Bo how e/I say Excuse me

Shu shi sha 15 min break

CHINESE CHEATS 101

Authored by Jay Scroop


wE COME FROM A LAND DOwN UNDER

A self-initiated biographical style A5 booklet was also prepared prior to leaving Perth, with the intention that a hand-stitched booklet would make for a more substantial gift, offering background into each students design aesthetic, including their favourite aspect of Perth life, a short biography on each of the team and provide a talking point far more exciting than simple business cards. In the field, the booklets were a huge success, accompanied with a mini-ceremony each time they were issued to Chinese staff and students due to their limited edition and hand bound finish.

The booklets were covered in heavy card detailing Central’s Graphic Design pathways and information pamphlet, so students and staff alike could instantly identify with our course format. This was a strongly branded Central approved marketing flyer (see below) and included Central’s logo co-badged alongside the Government of WA crest and Training WA.

R Sample pages from the biographical A5 booklet, where each student offered a personal insight on four pages, covered with Central's graphic design course pathway flyer.


ESSENTIAL READING

Prior to departure I was fortunate to read a fascinating analysis of censorship patterns of Chinese social media sites by researchers at Harvard University. The report scraped Chinese social media sites to produce this: criticism of the [Chinese] Government and its leaders are actually OK, but grievances that spread virally or suggestions of collective action are removed within 24 hours.

The report is entitled: How Censorship in China allows Government Criticism but Silences Collective expression and the abstract follows:

“We offer the first large scale, multiple source analysis of the outcome of what may be the most extensive effort to selectively censor human expression ever implemented. To do this, we have devised a system to locate, download, and analyse the content of millions of social media posts originating from nearly 1,400 different social media services all over China before the Chinese government is able to find, evaluate, and censor (i.e., remove from the Internet) the large subset they deem objectionable. Using modern computer-assisted text analytic methods that we adapt to and validate in the Chinese language, we compare the substantive content of posts censored to those not censored over time in each of 85 topic areas. Contrary to previous understandings, posts with negative, even vitriolic, criticism of the state, its leaders, and its policies are not more likely to be censored. Instead, we show that the censorship program is aimed at curtailing collective action by silencing comments that represent, reinforce, or spur social mobilization, regardless of content. Censorship is oriented toward attempting to forestall collective activities that are occurring now or may occur in the future — and, as such, seem to clearly expose government intent.”

You can download the full paper here:

http://gking.harvard.edu/gking/files/censored.pdf

Most interesting are the clever ways Chinese bloggers route around automated keyword filters using images, puns, and “homographs” — characters with different meanings that have similar shapes. This results in some massive “community management” mechanics: much censorship is largely manual labour on the part of hundreds of thousands of Internet police and “50 cent party members.”

While criticism, dissent and rebellion are celebrated, commodified and institutionalized here (Aussie’s love a good protest or sensationalist ‘trial by media’), grievances that have potential to mobilise or stories about political organising or collective action potential are harder to come by. Indeed, the size and sophistication of the Chinese government’s program to selectively censor the expressed views of the Chinese people is unprecedented in recorded world history.

The paper describes in detail the desire to limit the freedom of speech of Chinese people and paradoxically also exposes an extraordinarily rich source of information about the Chinese government’s interests, intentions, and goals. Unfortunately, I didn’t take the opportunity to discuss this with Chinese staff or students after we arrived, however, it brought into sharp focus the fact that not everyone in this world enjoys an open and free internet. There are of course alternatives and ways around the ‘Great Firewall’ via VPN and similar, but the shear scale of this censorship and blocking operation is mind-numbing.


ARRIvAL AND THE UNIMAGINABLE AND PROFOUND SCALE OF A GLOBAL SUPERPOwER

The impression of billions of people, thousand of students or even a single intense bilingual individual with confidence and ambition stirred my existing concepts of civilisation and philosophical conceptions.

This tour posed big global questions the moment we arrived. While looking for primary points of difference, and ‘seeking first to understand’, I felt that growing up in a ‘monolingual or unilingual’ Western culture had actually reduced my understanding of the East. Australia suddenly felt very inward focused. It was refreshing to witness the Chinese emphasis and obvious efforts to improve communication lines, in particularly their ‘East meets West’ projects that are embedded in their curriculum. This then naturally lead to the question of, ‘what does Australia have to offer and contribute to a superpower other than natural resources?’

The closer we engaged with students, staff, translators and the ‘common Chinese’ people outside of the college, the more frequently the answer to this question was glimpsed. It was essential to see the humbling conditions and feel the crush of population in the high-density housing, or the six-per-room student dormitories to appreciate the resourcefulness of the Chinese to adequately feed millions every day.

The answer was a fresh perspective on the Australian offering — it’s unique position, unpolluted natural environment, innovative business ventures and the opportunities to learn from Chinese efficiencies and apply them in an Australian context. This mobility program played a crucial role in the comprehension of these ‘real’ economic benefits. Luke Sweet’s report (following) also promotes this as an opportunity for Central to seize this partnership to embed an international business unit within the design course at Central. He makes a valid and convincing argument and I’m sure all lecturing staff would wholeheartedly support it.

Never in conversation did I hear: “I want a bigger house” nor did I hear “I would love to own a car”, instead, what I observed when participating in class activities (in particular, student presentation with lecturer anny Lee) was an emphasis on self-betterment that centred around “We have to practice more on our presentations to the client” and a directive that “we need to look less Chinese…embrace Western styles’.

It was a position that was reinforced in several other class critiques. There was a noticeable academic discipline in the Chinese and I was astounded with the frequency and consistently strong use of English captions and titles on presentation slides. In fact, bilingual is a way of life in China – it seems to open up the potential of cashing in on the ‘wealth of the west’.


For a culture with such a rich history and expansive cultural heritage, I found this most ponderous. The team idolised the complication and sophistication of Chinese characters and language and we celebrated students natural typographic balance and strong (almost innate) sense of scale and contrast. Yet, it was common to see presenting students caption their work with English titles and descriptions. Never in Australia have I seen or expected presentations by my students to be dual sub-titled, nor would I expect any of my students to consider this a ‘best practice’ technique when presenting work to a globalised market.

R Anny Lee's progressive fashion brand project called 'JJ' was presented using a simulated designer-to-client format. Likewise, Chen Xiu's class reminded students that 'Today you are the boss' and replicated real-world industry scenarios — This is an excellent example of the reformative and industry-aware approach to vocational practice currently used by the college. The wide-spread use of bilingual capitioning during these presentations was outstanding.


R Eric illustrates a solution to more senior students debating a 'typographic' double meaning. He was rewarded by lecturer Chen Xiu with kind words celebrating his 'confidence' to stand up in front of the group and visually explain 'what he thought'. Loosely developing the concept of 'future' vs 'doom/destruction' with minor alterations to the central horizontal strokes. He was clapped after completing this sketchy solution by both Chinese and Australian students.


wHY BRUSHwORK IS REvERED & GRAFFITI ARTISTS MAKE THE BEST TYPOGRAPHERS

The combination of class activities, traditional workshops and off-campus experiences made the tour a resounding success. It was a tour akin to the golden-ratio or divine proportion in that we found the perfect balance of a range of cross cultural experiences.

The golden ratio (symbol is the Greek letter “phi” shown at left) is a special number approximately equal to 1.618. Our on-campus

class actives and specialist workshops and lectures tipped the balance to ensure the tour didn’t degenerate into just a holiday or sightseeing experience.

The raw expression, and mastery of brush work by lecturer Mr Xu tonglin and later in the Chinese painting workshop with lecturer Zhou Baopin afforded a glimpse into the fundamental ancient strength of Chinese culture. Furthermore, this vastly important underpinning skill of rendering type forms to communicate is the keystone of any graphic designer’s repertoire – regardless of language.

Simply watching lecturer Chen yabin (ellen) caress the zheng (an ancient Chinese instrument) or Mr Xu’s posture during constructive, energetic calligraphic brushwork and the dancing brush of Mr Zhou’s painting on a Chinese fan was a delightful and meditative experience. The dedication, confidence and playfulness of these masters allowed the team to be swept away in artistic reverence. I would note that these particular events were the single most important personal development components of the tour. And while Western graffiti-artists make English letterforms and words come alive, the rejoicing of brush movement by Mr Xu clearly illustrated the passion needed to succeed in artist life.

R Passionate, knowledgable and accessabile, Mr Xu's masterful calligraphic talents afforded us a glimpse into this most famous of Chinese traditional artform. The inclusion of Chinese students alongside Australia students elevated this workshop into one the key shared learnings opportunities of the tour. The subsequent insight, understanding and cultural awareness deeply affected the team's respect for this quintessential Chinese activity.

W Ellen and Zhou had a huge impact on the professional and personal development outcomes of the tour by modelling mastery of their art.


BALANCE, AwARENESS AND FRIENDSHIP

Six Australian students afforded excellent penetration into large Chinese classes. There was real presence and seriousness as the seven of us entered the classroom. It would instantly capture the attention of Chinese students and bring the class to order and quieten proceedings. Breakout groups would then typically equate to a 1:5 ratio which facilitated group discussions and activities to achieve intimate, meaningful dialogue and interactions. Likewise, lengthier class time allowed for the six Australian students to move within the class between each clustered groups and cover ground rapidly.

A smaller contingent would simply not have the same effect, and the result would be a token, celebrity like introduction and offer very little to the bulk of the class. Two or three students would not be able to move into satellite groups and control, reach out and achieve any meaningful or prolonged engagement.

Students demonstrated unique and ingenious solutions when translating and communicating with one another during these small interaction activities. Google translator was a real-time alternative to multiple human translators, laptops were placed side-by-side and work could be shared via USB and modified by each student and Chinese students often had enough English to communicate and relay the translation back to the bulk of the group. This was unscripted and un-moderated. As modern day youth are socially wired, students would maintain communication after the class via QQ/Facebook or SMS chat.

Crucially, this willingness to talk and be an ‘extrovert’ in these situations was a natural attribute each team member brought with them. Additional weight at the selection stage to this personality type should remain a ‘desirable trait’ for future mobility tours. It is the key criteria on which real friendships are based. This was a once in an lifetime tour and the itinerary reflected this. However, it was the students personality type, confidence and maturity that developed and nurtured these spontaneous friendships. Equally valid as one of the key outcomes of the tour – real human friendship with passion for design the universal ‘thing in common’.

R 'I love you' was structured with thought and careful attention to detail. Amazingly, Luke (田間) was able to make friends and break hearts simultaneously, as 'Luminescence' & Tiffany would later discover.


ACADEMIC CONvERSATIONS, REvEALING STATE SECRETS AND DANCING IN CHAINS

One of the main reasons for the staggering number of foreign students across borders is globalisation. Globalisation, as outlined in report prepared for the Commonwealth of Learning and UNESCO, entitled Higher Education Crossing Borders: A Guide to the Implications of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) for Cross-border Education authored by Dr Jane Knight is outlined as:

“…the flow of people, culture, ideas, values, knowledge, technology, and economy across borders, resulting in a more interconnected and interdependent world. Globalisation affects each country differently. It can have both positive and negative consequences, according to a nation’s individual history, traditions, culture, priorities and resources. Education is one of the sectors impacted by globalisation…”

While globalisation has immensely affected the sharing of knowledge and design style, student mobility is not at all new to many of us. Since medieval times students and academic scholars have left their home country in a quest for education and knowledge often because there are no institutions of learning located in their home country.

Accordingly, it was a great honour and privilege to not only present an outline of my mobility and learning since high school to a class of Chinese students (translated in real time by angie Zhang), but to share personally significant journeys, such as my drive across the Nullabor in 2006 captured using time-lapse photography (watch it online here: http://www.undenk.com/wp-content/uploads/Herb_goes_to_Wa-large.mov) and to also use this opportunity to share a creative technique I have employed in the past called ‘inspired by music’ – to assist in the quick development of graphical ideas, based on music therapy research.

R Brendan pauses to allow interpreter Angie Zhang to explain to the class the significance of 'growing up alongside the southern hemispheres largest coal fired power station, Loy Yang'


Afterwards, the offer to enjoy a ‘casual conversation’ and traditional tea provided a fascinating insight into staff room life on campus and allowed me to gain a deep appreciation of Mr Zhou’s background and artistic passions. With the expert help of angie’s translation, we were able to touch upon several sensitive and intriguing subject areas, as diverse as, the 60 year old Communist single-party regime and the importance of gradual change. A sudden uprising or mass civil disobedience by Chinese population would undoubtable result in civil (or common man) hardship and death and this was measured and carefully explained to me in open dialogue.

Likewise, the awareness and acceptance of ‘too many people’ and acknowledgement of the ‘one child policy’ as a necessary measure to control population was an intriguing insight. The fact that China is able to feed it’s population is in itself a modern miracle, yet the alternative to not implementing such policies could potentially upset the delicate balance and potentially lead to mass starvation.

This so-called balance, or “Dan” (擔) also captured my attention in Mr Zhou’s book entitled Shui Yin Dou Ban featuring some of his amazing work created using the traditional Shuiyin Woodblock Printing methods – incidently also translated by angie.

He writes:

“Dan” is a gentle sweeping action applied to the colour painting in traditional woodblock prints… [and] the Chinese character is exactly suitable and balanced in weight. If you use “Dan”, the whole piece of work will be full of variety and spirit. On the contrary, the overuse or lack of “Dan” will influence the quality of the whole work. The grasp of “Dan” is based on the overall artistic conception of the work… [and] is not only a skill, but also experience gained through time and practice.

It was this eloquent explanation of boundaries and how individual artistic (and indeed academic) pursuits needed to balance inside (and within) these norms that Mr. Zhou explained the concept of ‘dancing in chains’. It was the single most poetic explanation of a profoundly delicate topic. Perhaps it is the art that seeks not to conform, or perhaps academic reports that confront existing party power that creative and academic individuals automatically self-censored. Either way, the discussion resulted in a personal and deep contemplation and appreciation of Chinese culture, its way of life and the Communist Manifesto.


CROSS CULTURAL AwARENESS, APPRECIATION AND REAL wORLD BENEFITS OF THE TOUR

This mobility tour provided tangible benefits and professional development that was essential in our awareness and understanding of Chinese culture. An example of this was a tour to Solitary mountain on West Lake, a perfect location to appreciate the essence of ancient Chinese culture and gain appreciation of the ‘birth site’ of seals, now akin to modern day logos and brands and the art of the written calligraphic Chinese language – both exceptionally valid to a graphic design contingent and followed up wonderfully by a master-class with Mr Xu’s ink and brush calligraphy lesson. Omitting either or simply transplanting just a calligraphic lesson in Australia would greatly reduce the potency and appreciate gained by the dual exposure on ‘home soil’.

Likewise, our Chinese painting workshop followed a detailed and interactive Museum visit that sharply increased our appreciation for the skills and techniques that Chinese artists have developed over thousands of years. Indeed, students noticeably paid more attention and had a greater level of appreciation as a result of this localised and contextualised exposure to cultural traditions.

o Students deeply engaged in interactive displays at the Zhejiang Muse.

R Magic tracing carved Chinese characters with her fingers in a meditative state at historically significant site on Solitary Mountain. These types of observations maximised appreciation of on-campus master class activities.


FURTHERING OPPORTUNITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Both Central and Zhejiang College students benefited from the tour and became instant allies and developed meaningful, longlasting friendships. The natural progression of this partnership would be to bring a similar sized group of Zhejiang students and a staff member to Australia.

Returning the favour would be a great opportunity to showcase the reforms and development of the college that is using ‘Australian made’ curriculum and projects developed and refined by Western Australian lecturers.

As reaccreditation takes place at Central and new units are scoped, it is timely to reflect and possibly hold an exhibition of those committed staff who have the capability and capacity to further strengthen design education in both Western Australia and China.

Furthermore, a staff and student exhibition in the short to medium term (mid 2013) could allow students to respond to a theme and generate gallery worthy designs that could economically travel between both campuses. This would provide an important framework for staff and students to demonstrate their skills sets, and celebrate the key role Central’s has played in exporting this course and the document the talent and passion for those lecturers who have been and are now continuing to develop and refine this course at Zhejiang College. Everyone would benefit and it would set a benchmark that ensures both colleges lift the standard of design education and visual communication on a global stage.

This possible combined exhibition could also lead into a more structured and supported ‘Artist in Residence’ program using existing Central infrastructure. It would strengthen ties and launch creative careers both locally and internationally and the resulting cross-promotion would make both courses more desirable and valued.

The timezones of Hangzhou and Perth also allows for real-time online interactions. Using existing online services such as Skype, Facebook/QQ, Wordpress or other social media platforms, can grow the friendship and respect for students and staff. Embedding updates and reporting of developments to the course and student success stories with ‘life briefs’ would offer both colleges insight into life of design students in China and share and document the activities and lifestyles of Australian students.

And finally, the emphasis and respect shown to Zhejiang staff via their professionally published catalogue of staff skills was a beautiful example of collegiality and something Central should learn from (ie: design staff haven’t exhibited together since 2006 and only in limited numbers and scope). It demonstrates pride in staff, that is in turn, passed onto students as a result.

As the Australian VET sector and in particular, art and design education comes under attack with a redeployment of funding to ‘skill shortage areas’, it is timely to remember that future-proofing the Australian economy relies on the development of clever ideas and sustainable innovation. Central’s high quality design course equips students with these skills – which are highly transferable in the workplace. A technology driven, future focused economy will rely on a steady supply of design thinkers and not on a flood of miners.

Brendan Hibbert

[email protected] October 2012


盧克，他是一個不錯的帥哥。我覺得他是我

見過的最高的一個。我一直把他比林書豪，

因為它們具有相同的高度。我喜歡他的曲

線和長頭髮。（他的頭髮比我長）。主要是

給我的印象是他的左手的原因，他總是用

左手吃飯，甚至寫。這就是為什麼我很欣賞

他這麼多。

Luke, he’s a nice and handsome guy. I think he is

the tallest one I’ve ever seen. I always compared

him with Jeremy Lin cause they have the same

height. I like his curve and long hair.( his hair is

longer than mine). What mostly impressed me is his

left hand cause he’s always using his left to eat even

to write. That’s why I appreciate him so much.

Described by Sally

LUKE SWEET

Report


Endeavour VET Outbound Mobility Program Report

Zhejiang Graphic Design Tour

China_Report.indd 1 23/10/12 9:16 PM


Visiting Zhejiang College in Hangzhou China has been an extraordinary cultural experience and has provided me with great exposure to the Chinese art and design industry. This international experience has extended my personal development and training greatly. I will use this report to offer my insights into how this international experience has shaped and broadened my view on Chinese and Australian graphic design industry relations and offer some recommendations to Central Institute of Technology (CIT) and to help improve the Endeavour Outward Mobility Program for future participants.

East Meets West

Our participation in Zhejiang College’s graphic design classes showed us how Chinese students are being trained with skills to operate across international markets. Students are learning to apply Eastern Chinese visual language with Western style visual language. ‘East meets West’ is a popular phrase being used to describe this globalised form of visual language. Emerging Australian designers need to be aware that the Chinese design industry is well advanced in this globalised graphic design market. Chinese students have a strong ambition to improve their English as a Second language and master Western style graphic design. This is a priority for Chinese students as the domestic Chinese market desires and demands Western style design. T Shirt design in China is a great example of this demand for western style graphics since the vast majority of T-shirts worn in China use English language phrases. Chinese students often displayed a good sense of humor and awareness of misspelling or imperfect grammar of English in their designs. This awareness and ambition to improve their English was impressive.

Rich history of Chinese Art and Design has value for the global market

During our stay, we were exposed to many traditional Chinese Art forms, including Chinese calligraphy, painting and music. I would like to encourage Chinese students and teaching staff to remain proud of Chinese design heritage and continue to spread the knowledge of traditional Chinese artistic

culture to the western world. The East, in particular, China, must have a strong voice to keep the global design world diverse. Although the economic lure to produce Western style design exists, Chinese design deserves an equal place on the world stage. For example, Chinese style corporate identity branding should have global validity because the principles and concepts behind Chinese characters are powerful symbols and storytelling devices. Examples of this can be seen in Chinese seals and modern identities like the China Bank and Beijing Olympic symbols. It was inspiring to witness Chinese students and teachers use the playfulness and flexibility of Chinese characters to create new and interesting meanings. An example of this was a student’s work that reversed the Chinese character for yes to create a sense of rebellion for a trendy clothing brand.

Exquisite typography and 3D design

Two subject areas where Zhejiang College’s graphic design students appear to be highly skilled are typography and 3D work. Student’s spatial awareness of typographic elements was excellent. Learning about the importance of positive and negative space in Chinese characters gave me a greater appreciation of the skill involved in developing Chinese typographic design. Chinese students’ excellent hand skills were also impressive. We were told that the strength of these hand skills is developed through the discipline of Chinese handwriting and calligraphy. In fact many of the Chinese students had better Roman alphabet & numeral handwriting than myself and other Australian students. Viewing the hand drawn posters on Zhejiang College’s noticeboards was inspiring. Packaging and sculptural work is also a strong subject area at Zhejiang College and China Academy of Arts Xiangshan Campus. Even typography and poster work (which are traditionally 2D) use extrusions and 3D layering effects.

Growing international relations

China is called Zhonguo, which means ‘central country.’ Through China’s ancient history, China has been domestically focused and had limited migration. During our stay, a Chinese host explained that this is mainly due to China being

1 | 2

1 2

1. Zhejiang College School of Art and Design 2009 year book. 2. Ancient Chinese seal exhibited at Zhejiang Museum at the West Lake and Xiling Seal Society. 3. East meets West: Apple store and Chinese national flag in central Shanghai. 4. Shop signs lit up in the back streets of Zhejiang College. 5. Contemporary Sculpture at China Academy of Arts Xiangshan Campus. 6. Extruded Chinese characters on a paved walkway at West Lake. 7. Elliott and Jason work on their Chinese calligraphy fan. 8. Reanna enjoying learning how to roll dumplings. 9. Freshman students practicing flag bearing techniques.



3 4

7

8

9

65



geographically surrounded by mountains to the West & ocean to the East. China’s large population grew from lack of migration. However the new developing China is eager to build international relations and reform this long standing central focus. Modernisation, growth and prosperity in China depend on China’s success in forming global ties. Many Chinese students we met during our stay expressed their aspirations to meet foreigners, practice their English and travel. I think students at Zhejiang College greatly appreciated the opportunity and access to English speaking students to practice conversation and cultural etiquette. Business students at Zhejiang College even went to great effort to organise an impromptu conversational Q&A. We all equally learnt a great deal from each other about our cultural similarities and differences. The Endeavour Outward Mobility Program has proven important for breaking down language barriers and sharing cultural and artistic endeavors. I have gained the confidence and resolve to learn the Chinese Mandarin language in order to forge deeper friendships and business ties.

Recommendations

I believe even more can be achieved between Zhejiang College and CIT if mutual language programs were introduced. I would recommend that CIT develop a Chinese language program with Diploma Graphic Design Students with participants visiting Zhejiang College in Advanced Diploma level. Likewise CIT and Zhejiang College could sponsor Chinese students to visit and stay in Perth.

Undoubtedly CIT’s work in developing Zhejiang College’s graphic design curriculum has improved the training of students for a global market. Students were producing high quality presentations with English translations, multiple thumbnail concepts, research and colour-ways. I would recommend that CIT now begin to look to Chinese colleges like Zhejiang College to find ways to improve CIT’s own training curriculum. This might include developing more Eastern/Chinese style coursework and incorporating international business relations into the outcomes.

Since Perth is in the same time zone as China, CIT is well placed to structure it’s training to develop student’s business relations with China. As Perth’s graphic design industry increasingly operates across borders via the Internet, this move to include more Chinese/international course work is inevitable.

My experiences on this tour of Zhejiang College has encouraged me to fully embrace Chinese design culture and continue to strengthen commerce and industry links. The large number of Chinese design graduates being produced each year combined with the high quality and economical Chinese printing and finishing industry makes China well placed to lead the world in design innovation. The Chinese design industry should not be viewed as Australia’s competitor, but rather as an industry leader with shared interests. Perhaps China’s only remaining barrier to success is Internet restrictions and slow broadband speeds.

Conclusion

“Great minds think a like” was a phrase often raised by Zhejiang College lecturers and translators to communicate their respect for us. I share this respect and admire Zhejiang College’s passion to progress art and design. Throughout our visit the Chinese hospitality was a humbling experience. I particularly enjoyed the Chinese calligraphy and painting lessons, visiting the Hangzhou Art Museum and M50 artist quarter in Shanghai, and sightseeing around the beautiful world heritage listed West Lake district of Hangzhou.

My hope is that CIT can offer similar study tour opportunities for Zhejiang College students in the future. I offer my support and time to making this happen. Thank you to our friendly and generous Zhejiang College student guides for making our journey so memorable. Special thank you to Sarah Emmerson, Stella Bu, Jennifer Zhang, Angie Zhang and Huang Yiqing for all their work making our visit to Zhejiang College a safe, generous and rewarding experience. May I also extend my deepest gratitude to our esteemed lecturer Brendan Hibbert for his outstanding leadership, care and support throughout the tour.

2 | 3

10 11

10. Elliott and Zhejiang College students playing basketball. 11. Industry speaker Fan Peijun explaining the visual elements of the 2008 Beijing Olympic logo, which uses Chinese calligraphy and Chinese seal aesthetics. 12. Celebrating after winning our table tennis competition. 13 Traditional Chinese lucky charm in Hefang Street. 14. Riding bikes is encouraged to keep the peace around West Lake. 15. Sweet treats at the market near Hefang Street. 16. Sculpture design in the grounds of Zhejiang College 17. Bamboo graffiti.



14

12 13

15

16

17



4 | 5

18 19

20

21

22

18. Ground Zero perspective of Shanghai World Financial Center. 19 Architecture at China Academy of Arts Xiangshan Campus designed by Amateur Architecture Studio. 20. Buddhist temples in Feilai Feng Scenic Area. 21 Urban art in the M50 artist area of Shanghai. 22 Night life on the infamous Garbage Street near Zhejiang College.



23

24 25

26

27

23. View of Shanghai from the Bund. 24. Brendan enjoying a conversation Q&A with Zhejiang College business and English students. 25. Sculpture from Xiling Seal Society gardens. 26. Children climbing and being photographed on the lucky Buddha on old Hefang Street. 27. Freshman students at Zhejiang College standing to attention during their marching and orientation week.



Luke Sweet

P 0437704461E [email protected] lukesweet.com


Our freshman students 我们的大一学生

Your freshman students 您的大一学生

Your freshman students 您的大一学生

她是第一個說我打招呼的人，給她的名片給

我們。我喜歡她的微笑和聲音，因為它是很

溫和的。更重要的是，我們在相同的年齡，

第一次會議期間，我們談了很多。我要感謝

她，因為那是她，讓我知道其他人的勇氣。

Reanna, she is the first person that says hello to

me and gives her card to us. I like her smile and

voice because it’s very mild. What’s more, we are

in the same age and we talked a lot during the

first meeting. I want to thank her because it is her

that gives me the courage to know other people.

Described by Sally

REANNA CADDY

Report


Chinese calligraphy symbolsJustice (to do good) and Benevolence (to be good)

THE CHINESE PEOPLE

Before coming to China, I had little interaction with Chinese people and their culture. Upon arrival we were greeted by Jennifer at the airport and I instantly felt welcomed and comfortable in Hangzhou.

On day two we met Vice President Zhou Baopin, the vdeen and some students from the college. I was amazed and impressed with the level of English the students spoke, particularly the English Major students, who we soon learnt would be accompanying us throughout our day to day activities and helping us translate, which we are extremely grateful for.

Although Hangzhou is not a very multi-cultural city, the students were so enthusiastic and happy to help us, and for many it was their first interaction with foreign friends.

Day three came quickly and Magic took us to Serenity Garden near West Lake which was very beautiful and peaceful. We then went to a small gallery nearby which had many traditional chinese seals and paintings. Next we went into the city center to Zhejiang Museum of Natural History, it was huge. We learnt a lot about chinese history and the evolution of many things from animals to wood carvings and sculptures.


Yvonne and Sally accompanied us to West Lake. I don’t think any of us expected it to be so beautiful. Luke and Chiara got self portraits by some local Chinese artists that turned out great. It was good to see where Chinese artists get some of their insipration from for their beautiful landscape paintings.

On day five we attended our first classes at the college and sat in on the Diploma of Graphic Design’s logo class. The students presented their ideas and designs, which were translated to us by Jennifer. Many also tried writing their reasonings in English to help us out. It was great to see the similarity between the way the students presented their work and how we do back home and the students had great concepts to show.

We had a Chinese music class with Ellen in the afternoon. She was kind, talented and very professional. It was great to experience another aspect of Chinese culture. At this stage our expectations were raised considerably with beatiful designs, art and music.

Luke’s portrait at West Lake

Ellen in her music class playing a traditional Chinese string instrument


Our first big interaction with the design students was on day six with lecturer Yang Fan when we split into groups and helped students with their magazine page layout ideas. The students spoke little English but enough to understand our ideas and it was good for us to communicate with them as best we could, without help from translators. Yang Fan had great English and helped explain the student’s concepts to us which was a great help. Their ideas were strong and we helped them further their design execution. Afterwards they all thanked us and took lots of photos with us. It’s nice to know that they really appreciated our help and they were all so willing to take in our advice.

We had a chinese calligraphy class with Xu Tonglin. He is a famous calligrapher in Hangzhou and very good at what he does - he was also great at explaining how to paint the symbols and had a great personality.

The principle of what we learnt was the two aspects it takes to be human: Justice (to do good) and Benevolence (to be good.) Everyone that accompanied us on our journey reflected these two principles to their full potential and Xu Tonglin’s class was definately a highlight of our trip.

Elliott helping a student in Yang Fan’s class

Chinese calligraphy classInk and brush by Xu Tonglin


Over the following days we attended various classes and activities with Yvonne, Sally, Magic, Tiffany, Eric, Jason, Mike, Jennifer and Angie, just to name a few.

We visited industry galleries and the China Academy of Arts Xiangshan Campus which had a Bauhaus gallery with heaps of precious designs including pottery and furniture design. We attended a cooking class after the gallery and learnt how to make Chinese dumplings with our new friends. Afterwards we were met in the lobby by more English students and interviewed about our experiences in China and about Australian culture. This was a great chance to communicate one on one with some of the students and they were very grateful for the opportunity too.

During our activities around Hangzhou we felt like local celebrities. People stared and took photos as they were so intrigued by us. The locals were very patient as we tried to communicate what we wanted and where we wanted to go when we didn’t have Chinese friends accompanying us.

During our two days in Shanghai with Yvonne and Sally it was National Day, so we definitely got to experience it to the maximum - being one of the busiest days of the year. Without the guidance of Yvonne and Sally, we wouldn’t have known the great sites to check out and

found it as easy to get around.

We visited the M50 District in Shanghai - Another highlight of the trip. I was amazed at how good the artists and sale assistant’s English was. They deal with many international customers so English is a must and it’s great they’ve adapted to this and were so welcoming to us. Many explained how the work was done and the ideas involved which was really good too and helped us really enjoy the experience.

Gloria, Mary and Jessica took us last minute shopping in Hangzhou on our last day and showed us some great markets. Mary and Jessica hadn’t met us before but were so enthusiastic, friendly and helpful.

To do good, to be good: I’ve not met such kind hearted, generous and accepting people on such a large scale before. The entire experience was enhanced enormously by our Chinese friends and without them we would not have left with the knowledge, appreciation and experiences we have gained about China, the culture and the people.

Thank you all for everything.

- Reanna Caddy

埃利奧特，他是一個外向和主動的人。我還

記得他的紅隊戰袍，在第一天我們見面時，

我也說，他是一個有點像美國的籃球明星布

朗詹姆斯。他很有趣，我很喜歡他的笑聲，

我的意思是，他大笑的樣子。

Elliott, he’s an outgoing and active guy. I still

remember his red basketball shirt during the

first day when we met, I also said that he was a

little bit like the American basketball star Brown

James. He’s funny and I like his laughter, I mean,

the way he laughs.

Described by Sally

ELLIOTT KLASS

Report


Delicious food, incredible architecture, cutting edge

technology, cheap shopping and a rich history. But the thing that impacted me the most in China

were the PEOPLE.

By Elliott Klass

CHINA2012


JASON

We first met Jason in the board room

on day 2 amongst his fellow Diploma

students. Immediately you could gather

he was the joker of the class. Later

that day he was to give me my Chinese

name of ‘Panda Hai’ which I was told

meant ‘Panda Ocean’. It turns out

Panda Hai was a form of sore throat

medicine... I guess the equivalent of

naming someone ‘Strepsil’ over here.

All jokes aside, Jason went above and

beyond to welcome us not only to his

college, but to his country. I remember

the day a few of us were really craving

a coffee. A decent coffee. Jason took

it upon himself to drive Caitlin and I to

Starbucks (which was said to be really

close by) 25 minutes later we arrived.

He wouldn’t even let us pay.

Classic Jase.

From sorting out my sim card, buying us

mouth watering tofu, inviting me to play

basketball, setting me up a QQ (Chinese

version of facebook) and offering me a

beer in the middle of the street at 1pm..

I knew we would be friends.


ANGIE

Angie, Angie, Angie... Possibly the

happiest person I have met in my

life. It was a delight to have such an

enthusiastic translator. The so called

language barrier was nearly forgotten,

as I was always eagerly awaiting Angie’s

joyful spin on her translations. At times I

even forgot that English was her second

language as her pronunciation was as

good as any of us ‘Westerners’.

One unique experience I think most

travellers miss out on is experiencing

where and how locals live. Lucky for us

Angie was nice enough to invite all 7 of

us to her apartment for a home cooked

dinner. We were also privileged to

meet her family consisting of Scott her

husband, Chris her 18 month old son

and her humble ‘Pappa’.

She was our last point of contact in

China as she farewelled us at the

airport. A hug and a high-five.

I hate goodbyes.


SALLY

MAGIC

From memory Sally was the student

who accompanied us the most. From

opening day, the tour of Westlake

and then to Shanghai. Sally’s cheerful

and giggly personality really fit in well

amongst the travelling group. And our

common ground was found in the form

of various basketball players like Le

Bron James and her personal favourite

Jeremy Lin.

Sally really came out of her shell in

Shanghai and made the most of her

time with us. She even acted as the

middle man for a certain someones

accidental romance.

Hands down the best ‘english’ name

we came across on campus. At times

I felt sorry for Magic as she seemed to

be forever counting us as we stopped to

take photos of a bin, street sign or tree.

But regardless she did it with a smile.

Those blue shoes, joyous personality

and that laugh. Our time with her was of

course Magical (too many puns

were made).


ERIC

TIFFANY

This little story really sums up Eric to a

tee. On the first day Eric noticed that

Jess was having trouble keeping her

hair up in a bun. Keeping that in mind,

when it came to say our goodbyes on

the last day, Eric presented Jess with a

htraditional Chinese chopstick for the

purpose to hold up her bothersome bun.

A true ‘nice guy’. Not only nice but

brave. I remember the class where

Eric (a diploma student) got up in

front of the Advanced Diploma class

to sort out a design solution to another

students design problem. It made total

sense. With his personality and creative

thinking I’m quite confident he’ll go far

as a designer.

Tiffany the quiet and gentle girl. ‘Tiff’

was always around wether it be in our

calligraphy class, accompanying us to

‘Garbage Street’, being Jason’s offsider

for our elusive search for Starbucks,

table tennis (she stole quite a few points

off me with that serve).

Another unsuspecting fan of basketball

as she spoke of her admiration for

Kobe Bryant.


YVONNE

MIKE

Yvonne, the most inquisitive person at

the college in my eyes. She was always

keen to find out more about our lives

back home. But not only interested in

Australia, she was also intrigued about our

perception of China.

Obviously very proud of her home country

which made her tours with us packed with

information on the history of Hangzhou.

The complete professional.

Mike aka ‘China Mike’ was the surprise

package on the tour. Almost appearing

from nowhere into really becoming a fan

favourite amongst the 7 of us.

China Mike was another one that

seemed to be legitimately enthused to

find out more about life as a ‘Westerner’.

We thoroughly enjoyed the cooking

class, badminton session and of course

the speedy cafeteria lunch.


JENNIFER

GLORIA

Jennifer was our first point of contact in

China. She welcomed us to our hotel,

our college and to China. Again her

English was exceptional and obviously

the greatest help throughout our

whole trip.

Her competitive nature came out in

the table tennis arena as she was

barracking profusely for her beloved

team China in the competition (Australia

won). Sorry Jen! :)

When asking Gloria “what are some

of your hobbies?” she replied with

“Shopping”. Our time with the self

confessed shopaholic and her friends

was one of my many highlights as she

helped me to purchase my beloved

sword (somehow got it

through customs).

她是一個美麗的，樂觀的女孩。喜歡她深大

眼睛。她到過很多國家，我很佩服她這麼

多，因為我最喜歡的業餘愛好是旅遊。所以

我喜歡與她分享我的經驗，而且她還告訴我

她不一樣的感覺，在她的行程

Jesikah, she’s a beautiful and optimistic girl.

I like her big and deep eyes. She has been to

many countries, I admire her so much because

my favorite hobby is traveling. So I like sharing

my experience with her and she also told me her

different feeling during her trip

Described by Sally

JESSICA KIPPS

Report


For 2 weeks we stayed at Zhejiang Vocational College of Commerce, where we attended classes on Graphic Design, Calligraphy and Painting, Music, and had a few excursions to Art Galleries, Museums and Creative Industry Parks.

NI HAOWe were accompanied by some wonderfully helpful and friendly people, who were translators for us and tour guides.

Not only did they teach us a lot about China and the ways of living, studying and working there, we got to know them well and made a friendship that we will always have.


Luke and Brendan eating Tofu Street Snacks Our Welcome dinner

After lunch time and a small break, the students greeted us again and showed us around campus, happy to explain what every building was, and also quick to our sides with umbrellas as soon as it started sprinking with rain. When we got to garbage street (the local markets), we were walking past some street food stalls when Jason (one of the Graphic Design Students) insisted on buying us all fried spicy tofu, we tried to give him money but he quickly paid for it and handed us all a piece to try one of their favourite street snacks, and it was a great introduction to their street food, as that is what we craved when we visited the so called ‘Gargabe Street’ for the next 2 weeks.

That same night we had our welcome dinner on the second floor of the hotel that we were staying on. We were taken to one of our own private meal rooms where we met the Principle of the College, Mr Ye Guofeng, a couple of the students we met that day and a couple of the different teachers. The meals were delicious, though we didn’t know what some of them were, we all gave each dish a try as we span the lazy Susan around to each person. There was one dish which I thought was some sort of fish with weird tentacles, I attempted to eat part of it, didn’t taste that bad, kind of sweet, but I couldn’t eat much of it. Later we found out it was ducks tongue. It was a really nice introduction to what will be our 2 week stay on campus, getting to know some of the teachers and students, as they would speak to us and maintain conversation and eye contact with us, before Jennifer would translate what they had said to us.

The first time we got to meet the students was the next day on the Friday in the Art and Design Building, where we were invited to sit down at a large table with the head lecturers, the President of the art department, and surrounded by students; on one side were the Graphic Design Students and the other side were the Students studying English and Business.

We had our introduction where the principle spoke a sentence to us in Chinese, and then one of the translator ladies (either Jennifer or Stella) would repeat in English. After looking at their graduation books with amazing pieces of art and design works from students, we got to speak to some of the students. The first girl I spoke to was Yvonne, which was her English name. We found it very helpful that the students and lecturers we met had English names as well, it made it easy for us to remember their names. Yvonne spoke great English, we just spoke mainly about the differences between our colleges, what we major in, what we want to do, and general things like the life in china, eg. rent, housing situations, food etc. Whilst sitting at the board room table, we each had loose leaf green tea, and bags of fresh mandarines and bananas were offered as part of the informal welcome.

Looking through their graduation books

Chiara talking to Magic

MEETING STUDENTS AND MAKING FRIENDS

When we arrived in China at Hangzhou airport after 13 hours of travelling time and not much sleep, we were greeted by Jennifer who was very welcoming and informed us who she was, where we were going, how long it would take, etc. I knew from the beginning that everyone would be just as helpful


On the Saturday we had Magic and her friend as our guides. They took us to West Lake, just 30 minutes from campus. I was quite amazed and in awe at how big and beautiful it was. Just next to West Lake was the Zhejiang Museum, where we got to see some amazing ancient carved stamps, paintings, sculptures, and jade. We trekked through the gardens of solitude park/solitary mountain, it was so beautiful and peaceful, I never expected China to have such green luscious gardens so close to such a busy city. The whole time while walking around and sometimes separating from the group to get a photo, Magic kept an eye on us and made sure we all stuck together. After walking around all morning, Magic took us to a big restaurant and had our own private room, which she organized with the staff at the restaurant, we felt so privileged to have such a huge lunch in our own private room.

Solitary Mountain

Being careful not to slip

Magic doing a head count

The group of us being led by Yvonne at West Lake

Yvonne and I at West Lake

The next day we returned to West Lake, but to a different area, it really is such a large Lake, and every section of it seems to amaze me more. Our guide for the day was Yvonne, who was one of the girls who I spoke to and who stood out the most on the first day with her professionalism, and maturity. She’s only 22 and speaks such perfect English with such confidence. She was very helpful and informative of details about West Lake and the places we visited, about sculptures, memorials, parts of the Lake, the history, etc. Yvonne too had organized an excellent lunch for us with our own private room with a big round table. She then asked Luke and myself if we would like to come downstairs and help choose our meals, which were in one large room in raw form wrapped in glad wrap, she suggested some favourite traditional Chinese meals, and explained what the other meals were and if they would be too spicy or not for us. I felt responsible about selecting foreign dishes, remaining mindful of the teams westernised stomachs and tastes, but together I think the 3 of us chose a successful meal for the group.

Elliott being shown how to count to ten

At the beginning we tried to learn and remember a few basic Chinese words like the Xie Xie (Thank you), Nie Hao (Hello), Shi De (Yes) and Bù Shi (No). I would occassionally ask one of our guides what something meant, like how do you say left and right, or up and down, or Water, Vegetables, Rice, etc. They were more than happy to help us pronounce it, and correcting us so that we would get it right, I think they enjoyed teaching us their language as well, and we also enjoyed practising when ever we had the opportunity.

EXPLORING HANGZHOUOver the weekend we got to spend more time with some of the students, as they became our guides to show us around Hangzhou.


We started our first week of education on the Monday at 9am. The other students have an early start of 8.20 so we found out later on. We went to the design building and sat up the back of the classroom amongst the Chinese Graphic design students, as some of them presented their work on the big screen up front and received constructive criticism from their peers and their lecturer. As they were presenting their work which was two of their concepts for a logo using two Js, For a ‘western fashion

In the classroom, we watched as the students presented their work on the big screen up front and received constructive criticism from their peers and their lecturer. As they were presenting their work which was two of their concepts for a logo using two Js, For a ‘western fashion brand’ assignment, they had two to three students standing up front as well acting as clients. It was interesting to see the way they present their work, on screen and to the class, quite similar to our presentations at Central. We were even allowed to give a bit of our feedback on what they could improve on, which was helpful to them and they seemed to take it on board as Jennifer would translate to them what we had mentioned. All of their work seemed so different from each other, their creative minds seemed to work differently to each other and to ours, like some of their logos that they came up with, I would not have even thought to design it in such a way that would turn out looking so great.

Students presenting their logos

Chiara making some suggestions

Mike talking to myself and the group

The six of us with the Graphic Design Students from the morning class

After class we met another student named Mike who was learning Business English as well. He was very friendly and keen to get to know us all and ask us questions, he took us to lunch to another canteen on campus and also helped us choose our meals. He was still learning to speak better English but was doing a great job and still showed confidence and enthusiasm.

WE CAME HERE TO LEARNWe started our first day of education on the Monday, we got to the classroom at 9am in the design buidling, amoungst a group of diploma graphic design students from China. The seven of us, and our translator for the day Jennifer, sat up the back and watched as the students presented their work on the big projector.


Music Class

Painting Class

The fan that I painted

In the afternoon we got to actually put pen to paper, well, Ink to Paper, as we learnt to appreciate Chinese calligraphy from Mr Xu, who was also very helpful in showing each of us the correct technique, and complementing us on our efforts. In this class we also met Angie, another translator who would be with us for the rest of our trip. As soon as we were introduced to her, I felt an instant connection to her. Throughout the trip she too has been not just helpful, informative and friendly, but so kind, generous, and inviting. Taking the time to talk and get to know each of us and talk with us about our experience at the college and in China in general.

In the next couple of days we got to go to more classes with the Graphic Design students, watching their presentations, as well as attending some more of our own classes like painting, Chinese traditional music, and going on excursions to the Art district and other Museums.

CLASSROOM CREATIVITYWe were all fans of the next couple of creative sessions where we got to learn the appreciation of caligraphy and traditional chinese paintings.

Bauhaus Museum and Gallery

We got taken to some really inspiring places on our excursions, such as the Zhuantang Creative Industry Park, where we got to see some Chinese and International pieces of art and Design. Central students are knowledgable of the Bauhaus School, however rarely do Australian students get to see inspiringly diverse and richly sampled selection of work on display in real life.


Brendan and Mr Zhou

Mr Xu

Brendans and Angies Birthday cake

Making a toast with Jess, Mr Ye, Elliott, Caitlin and Chiara

Farewell Dinner Party

It was a great celebration with the teachers, they bought out a big cake for Brendan because it was his birthday on Monday. Brendan said some nice words thanking them for the experience, which Angie or Jennifer would translate for the rest of them. It was really nice and I a bit overwhelmed, just at how blessed I feel for this opportunity, we really are so lucky to have had this experience of the Chinese culture, and meet some beautiful people as well.

A night to remember was our farewell dinner, with the teachers and president of the school on the second floor at the restaurant, again in one of the private rooms, this one was pretty big, there were 2 tables of 10. The President of the College and the President of the Design Department were both there, our translators, some of our teachers, music, calligraphy, ink painter. All the amazing people that had an impact on us during our educational week at Zejiang College.

A NIGHT TO REMEMBEROur farewell dinner, a night of great company, delicious food, endless wine, and entertainment that was funny in what ever language you spoke.


For Chinese National day, and also Brendans Birthday, we were lucky enough to visit the amazing Shanghai City. Probaly the biggest city I’ve ever been to, and the most people I have seen in one place in one time.

The next day we were taken to the M50 Art District, an Internationally known district full of incredible Art exhibitions, gallery after gallery of inspiring pieces of art, from unique scultupres and ceramics, to detailed and inspiring paintings and prints. We were all overwhelmed and inspired by this place, it was definitely by far the best place we have been taken too on this trip.

M50 Art District

M50 Art DistrictThe crowds in Shanghai

Yvonne organized to go to a restaurant within walking distance from the hotel that we could celebrate Brendan’s Birthday, on the way we even made a stop at a cake shop that she had found out about to buy him a special birthday cake. Another special night to remember.

On the Monday which was Chinese National Day, Yvonne and Sally took us to Shanghai for the night. They were both familiar with the city and able to show us all the great sights, another fantastic restaurant, beautiful views of the city from below and even from above in one of the highest buildings. Because it was Chinese National day, the city was packed, crowds of people were everywhere, but Yvonne and Sally had our little crowd under control, with one of them up front and the other at the back making sure no one got lost.

ONE NIGHT IN SHANGHAI


Without meeting all of these amazing people, and with all their help and organisation, this trip would not have been the same. It was such a great insight into the life of China, the culture, the people, the tradition. We got to learn so much and have such a fulfilling experience, and we have the teachers and the translators and students to thank.

The six of us students with Yvonne and Sally in the middle in Shanghai on Chinese National Day

Angie, baby Chris and Husband Scott Magic and Sally Jessica and Gloria

Such amazing, kind, generous and friendly people that we will remember forever, and hopefully meet again in the near future.

GOODBYE AND THANKYOU

With their professionalism and communication skills, from organizing taxis to take us places, choosing meals, to explaining the history and information of wherever we were, they went to great lengths to ensure that we got the most rewarding experience of what China has to offer.

凱特琳，我知道的第二人。她長著紅頭髮讓

我印象深刻，我問她，是否這是很自然的。

她可以彈吉他和唱歌，但她沒有在這次訪問

中的性能。這是一個遺憾。我記得第一天我

與她分享我的傘

Caitlin, the second person I knew. She has red

hair which impressed me and I asked her whether

it was natural. She can play the guitar and sing,

but she didn’t have a performance during this

trip. It’s a pity. I remembered the first day I

shared my umbrella with her

Described by Sally

CAITLIN MOLONEY

Report


CHINA TRIP 2012We were excited before we left, of course, but really none of us knew what to expect from the trip, and given that we were so busy with design work and other commitments it seemed we barely had time to digest the news that we were going before we found ourselves sitting in the QANTAS lounge at Perth airport (courtesy of Jess’s mum!) hoping we hadn’t forgotten anything major (tickets, money, passport??) I can remember on a number of occasions looking across at Chiara and one of us saying “I can’t believe we’re going to China!” or later, “I can’t believe we’re in China!” and now that we’re back to normality in Perth, I’m still amazed that it happened, because it certainly wasn’t on my list of things to do for the year.

I can say now that the trip met and exceeded all expectations; it was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I’ve traveled before, to both Asia and Europe, but this trip was different because of the connections that we made, with the Chinese culture and people, the students at the college and with each other. It was so great to have had the company of the six others from Central (Luke, Chiara, Jess, Elliott, Reanna and Brendan), all of who added something different to the group dynamic and enriched the experience for everyone involved. We’d all known each other for at least a couple of years, but two weeks together in China

with not a moment to ourselves really took our friendships to a new level, and I’m sure we’ll be greeting each other with our incomprehensible take on the Chinese language for many years to come, much to the annoyance of everyone else.

It was the people we met in China, however, who truly made our experience what it was. From the first meetings to the teary goodbyes, we felt completely welcomed and looked after the entire time we were there. It goes without saying that things would have been very different had we not had translators for most of the time – they made us feel completely at ease on the campus and in the city, and ensured we got the most out of our lectures at the college. What was so great, though, was that the students who showed us around were really excited to do so, and became our friends as much as our guides. Jennifer and Angie, employees of the college, also went over and above their duties, with Angie inviting us on our last night to a delicious home-cooked Chinese meal in her apartment with her husband and lovely son. Everyone we met at the college, from tour guides to table tennis opponents, were both excited to learn about us and tell us about themselves, making the experience a true cultural exchange. The following is a short overview of a few of the highlights.

Looking back on our two weeks in China, I still can’t believe that we were given such an amazing opportunity through our studies at Central.


Tiffany and others. They all had English names, which made things so much easier for us, and saved us the embarrassment of trying to pronounce their Chinese names properly (even when we thought we were getting it right, we weren’t). They told us about their college life (living on campus, six to a dorm room) and we told them about ours. They then took us around the campus, to the canteen for lunch, and to “Rubbish Street” (from then on known in our small circle as garbage street, garbage town, trash city, g-town etc.) the local market where the students go for Chinese snacks and cheap goods. Here Jason introduced us to the best fried tofu I’ve ever had, and we found a small coffee shop that had a few of us breathing a sigh of relief, as there was nowhere to get it on campus. (I’m not complaining, it’s just that going without coffee at breakfast for a few days really proved to me that I don’t just drink it for the taste anymore). The students also took us to the supermarket, where Jess barely resisted buying a small turtle, and we stocked up on a few supplies for our rooms, including instant coffee (and that will be the last mention of that, until we find Starbucks, the trip highlight…). When we were all done exploring, we went back to the hotel for our official welcome dinner with staff and students.

We’d had a bit of a briefing from Jay about Chinese etiquette before we’d left, and this dinner was our first opportunity to test things out. From what I could recall, spitting and smoking were fine, patting people on the head, not fine (although Elliott later found out that when a boy does it to a girl, it’s a sign of affection, and Sally took great delight in his blossoming romance with Magic). Business cards were to be given and received with two hands, and you were to stand to greet people.

After a sleepless night, 3 forgettable movies and too many foil-packaged meals consumed more out of boredom than hunger, we arrived at Hangzhou airport relieved and ready for anything as long as it was at ground level. We were picked up by Jennifer and the college bus, alternately bombarding her with questions and staring out the window in wonder at the weird and wonderful (and often half-finished) houses that littered the landscape on the drive to Zhejiang College. It was a foggy day and we sort of circumvented the centre of the city, so it was hard to get a feel for the size of Hangzhou this first time through, apart from the many apartment buildings looming out of the greyness.

Before long we arrived at our hotel, greeted with the two sounds that would serve as our alarm clocks for the next two weeks: the construction on the roadside (what were they doing? Building a tunnel? Or just constantly dropping and picking up their toolboxes for fun, as Luke imagined?) and the freshman students’ military training. I ended up being very thankful that my room’s window faced the campus and not the road, as the students’ cries of “yi, er, san, si” were quite nice to wake up to, a lot better than the harsh tones of my iphone. I think it was really quite fortunate that we were there for the training, which only happens for two weeks at the start of the school year, as it was something very much outside of our own experiences as students in Perth. I certainly can’t imagine some of the kids I met my first year at Central practicing marches from 6am in the morning until 10 or 11 at night, and I would not envy the people trying to keep them in line. The Chinese students were up every morning without complaint though, and it sounded and looked awesome, giving us a few laughs when they broke their formations to wave and practice their English on us.

So our first afternoon was pretty much spent just exploring our surroundings, taking the first of many photos, and settling in. We had dinner in the restaurant at the hotel, and after watching some rollerblading displays from some of the students, went to bed pretty early.

The next day was our official welcome to the college. We had a meeting in the morning with Stella, Jennifer, the Dean of the arts college, Mr. Zhou the Chinese painting lecturer, and a group of students – half majoring in Design and half in English. We drank green tea and everyone chatted enthusiastically, exchanging business cards and our little bio booklets, looking at previous years’ design graduate books and learning about each other’s lives and hometowns.

This was our first meeting with some of the students who would be our guides for the following weeks, including Sally, Magic, Gloria (the “shopaholic”), Yvonne, Eric, Jason, Smile,

WELCOME TO ZHEJIANG COLLEGE(MAKE YOURSELF A BUBBLE BATH)


The one that proved the funniest, at both this and our farewell dinner a week later, was the convention of constantly “cheersing” your dinner companions and downing your drink. Firstly there was the struggle of trying to get your glass to hit the bottom of the glass of whomever it was you were drinking with, to show respect. This becomes awkward when both parties wish to show their respect. It is also not customary at dinner parties in Australia to scull red wine during dinner, so this took some getting used to, as did the “china water” we were obligated to try, the strong fumes emanating from which being enough of a warning that the clear liquid we were about to toast with was certainly not water at all. One thing we were very good at, and which I think we should continue on back here in Perth, was constantly topping up each others drinks before our own.

The dinner was great and we all took the opportunity to try dishes not readily available at home. The best on offer was a dish consisting of scallops in a bed of noodles, and a flavoursome tofu and mushroom dish that would almost have me recommending the trip to vegetarians, had I not found a number of unexpected chicken feet and heads in subsequent meals. The weirdest thing I think any of us ate was duck’s tongue, which at the time of consumption we all thought was some kind of prehistoric underwater creature. I’d like to say it was delicious but it was the only thing of which I was not a fan. The conversation at dinner was great, the only problem being that Mr. Xu the calligraphy lecturer had everyone erupting with laughter the whole time and we had no idea what he was saying.

After dinner we all went back up to our rooms to chill out for a while, before four of us decided to revisit Garbage Street to see what went on after dark. I mention this because it was the first time we went out on our own without translators, and it made for quite a funny experience.

We didn’t quite make it to Garbage Street as the gates to the dorm buildings where we’d walked through earlier were closed for the night, but we found a teahouse/KTV (karaoke) bar near the supermarket. None of the employees spoke any English, but there were two girls there who helped the staff take our drinks order, and what eventually came out was almost exactly what we had asked for in the sense that it was liquid served in glass. No one minded of course, especially given the fact that we were being serenaded at the time by a duo of Chinese girls singing an enthusiastic albeit lyrically questionable rendition of Katy Perry’s “Fireworks.”

Once they’d left it was our turn to get on stage, and after the DJ (guy with a laptop) could not find any “Bad Marley” for Luke, Elliott took over and played the Beatles and Rolling Stones which we all danced to on the tiny stage while the few locals left in the bar looked on and laughed, a couple filming us on their iphones. Luke had some great moves on the fireman’s pole, backlit by a screen showing girls dancing accompanied by the words “Make yourself a bubble bath.” What?

That night was our first experience of the three-wheeled taxis, which we still don’t know the Chinese name for, and which sometimes truly made getting home a life-or-death experience, especially when coming face-to-face with trucks full of concrete around the construction site. After a while though, the short trip home was only considered a success if your driver managed to overtake 3 others at a time, with a high beep-to-distance ratio and a good amount of airtime from the potholes. Anything less was boring.


For the first week of our trip, we attended morning classes with the design students at Zhejiang College. As these students weren’t English majors, we had both Angie and Jennifer translating for us so that we could understand the concepts behind the work.

The first class we attended involved the presentation of logos the students had designed for a “trendy” company; a monogram using two Js. The students were presenting to their classmates as if they were presenting to the client (the class was called “Today you are the Boss”), a process which mirrored some of our own experiences at Central. We were called upon to give suggestions and guidance, and Brendan drew up a few logos on the blackboard. The students seemed happy for us to be there and interested in what we were saying, although the classroom was quite noisy for the majority of the time, and a few things were lost in translation.

Things were clearer in the class we attended the next day, which involved students presenting posters focusing on social issues, again an assignment we had done at Central. This class was interesting because the majority of students had quite involved concepts behind their work. It was also interesting to see the way they used typography in their designs, as the way Mandarin is written is so different from English. It was fascinating to see how each

character could have multiple meanings depending on context, and the way certain parts of characters could be highlighted or modified to create meaning. I wish we could have spent a year in China so that we could learn some of this for ourselves, but as it was we barely scratched the surface of what is a fascinating and difficult language.

In this class the students were encouraged to use English, and although a lot of them lacked the confidence, they had mostly provided English translations in their presentations. Here we got a few laughs from what I assume was the use of google translate, one favourite line I wrote down was: “the importance of a fish in the absence of water only became as emaciated as a fowl’s body.” What? It really made me wonder what strange things Brendan was saying to these students in the Chinese translations of his speech later in the week.

The most interaction we had with the design students was in Yang Fen’s layout design class. Each of us were put into groups with Chinese students, and Reanna and I ended up with about six Chinese girls who were creating a book about British culture. Yang Fen encouraged us to help the students out with their cover designs and give them suggestions, which was initially a bit difficult due to the language barrier. The put a laptop in front of us and sort of tried to explain what they were doing, but what ended up happening was that Reanna and

I would move things around a bit on-screen and give them suggestions by actually doing it in front of them, as there was no real way to explain things without showing them. It was quite funny trying to use the Chinese version of Indesign, as many of the keyboard shortcuts we were used to were completely different, and it was often a trial and error process trying to get the right windows open given that we couldn’t read any of the tabs. As far as we could tell they were pretty happy with our suggestions for the cover, which mostly centred around typography. All of their headings, on the cover and the inside pages, were in English, so it wasn’t surprising there were some weird things happening. I’m sure it would be a laugh a minute if I ever tried to design anything in Chinese.

After the cover was over and done with, each student took turns presenting their work to us on their laptops. I think these students were at the start of their Diploma year, and they weren’t really using any grids in their layouts, so we basically just tried to get some more structure happening, although really I’m not sure how much help we were. By the end the class had pretty much turned into a big iphone photography session, with pretty giggling girls lining up to get their picture taken with Luke and Elliott.

As well as attending the design classes we had lectures and studio sessions on

IN THE CLASSROOM


elements of Chinese culture, including calligraphy, ink painting, cooking and music. These were great fun and we came out the other side with our own painted fans so we could showcase our mediocre skills to friends and family. Mr Xu, who used a brush the way he poured wine – slowwwwly then flick back! – showed us how to paint two Chinese characters meaning “to do good” and “to be good,” which we spent a while practicing before we defaced our fans. I can’t say I quite got the hang of it, the subtleties in those two characters were already too much for me, but I’ve now purchased my own calligraphy brushes, ink and rice paper so I can keep practicing. Mr Xu also created a personalized piece for each of us, with our names and a small phrase or word of our choosing, a beautiful souvenir to take home.

In the afternoons we made a few trips into Hangzhou to see the West Lake and some of the gardens and temples around the city. I can see why much of my research before the trip named it as one of the most naturally beautiful cities in China, there’s so much greenery! Getting to the downtown area from where we were staying was like driving through rain-forest, and there were vines creeping up the pylons under the stacked highways. The area around the West Lake is lovely, and we were able to take a boat to the island in the middle to relax and take photos. We climbed hundreds of steps to a temple and looked out over the city, and walked around one of the many gardens (which appeared to be a popular spot for bridal photos, although Yvonne insisted they were all for advertising purposes).

The students told us that the West Lake is very famous in China, and I certainly now have more to say about Hangzhou to people back home than that it’s “a city near Shanghai.” The weather also cleared up quite a bit, so after a few days when we crossed the bridge over the river it became possible to see the other side, and a whole city could take form in our minds. Still it seemed as you drove through that the buildings just never ended, big apartment buildings just kept popping up, and the day we went to Shanghai we saw that indeed they didn’t, they just kept going from one city to another.

HANGING OUT IN HANGZHOU

Another highlight was the making of dumplings, one of the many Chinese specialties I’m missing right now as I type this. We first watched them take shape in the capable hands of our instructor, a master at the delicate art of their construction, his hands seeming as perfectly shaped moulds as he produced row after row, calm and fast. We tried to follow suit, and after a couple of overstuffed aberrations somewhat got into the right rhythm and produced them by the plateful. Brendan seemed particularly adept, sharing his new found skills with the rest of us, and even Luke managed to produce some passable ones. In any case, even the most deformed of them were delicious, and made for a perfect dinner to round off the day.


SHANGHAI TIMESVery, very happy that we were able to stay a night in Shanghai; it gave us a whole other perspective on China. One thing I would say though: if I ever return to Shanghai I will try and make sure my visit doesn’t coincide with Chinese National Day. I’m kind of glad this happened, because it really was crazy to see so many people out on the streets, but wow, it was crowded! I certainly wouldn’t go shopping on Chinese National Day anyway.

Shanghai is a cool looking city though! One half space age, one half old Europe, with a bit of China thrown in the mix. OK so my fractions aren’t so good, but it really was an interesting place, and very different to Hangzhou which was only a 50 minute train ride away. Much more international, we saw plenty of foreigners around (I think I saw a total of seven the rest of the trip) and there seemed to be a lot of tourists from elsewhere in China as well.

We were carried by the crowd down to the river, where millions of people lined the shores as far as you could see, waving Chinese flags and taking photos, mostly of the cityscape but sometimes of the foreigners as well – I had one guy ask for a photo as he had a bet with someone back home that he would make a foreign friend in the city. I believe he got a free dinner out of it. After we’d spent a bit of time just soaking in the crazy atmosphere, we got in a taxi and crossed over (or should I say under) the river to the other side – the space age side – where we were to climb to the top of the tallest building in the city (when I say climb what I actually mean is get in a lift that takes 66 seconds to climb 100 floors).

This whole experience was kind of difficult, because it seemed to take hours just to get to the lift. We lined up to get in, then we lined up to get tickets, then we lined up to get into a room featuring a miniature model of the city, then we lined up to get into a room featuring photos of the city, then we lined up to get into a room featuring a

slide show about the city, then we lined up to get to the elevators, then we lined up to get into the elevators…I think you get the picture. It is always good to see a bird’s eye view of the city you’re in though, especially when it’s as big as Shanghai! I think we all got some good photos.

After this we went back to our hotel to check into our rooms, and after a small incident involving a dodgy elevator and a deadlocked fire exit managed to make it to the showers before dinner. As it was Brendan’s birthday, the seven of us along with our guides Yvonne and Sally went out for an awesome dinner near our hotel complete with birthday cake and great tea (I think the beer was even cold, which ran contrary to most of our experience in China!) where we somewhat stretched the patience of the waitstaff by staying much later than the normal Chinese dinner hours (6-8pm apparently). We then went to a rooftop bar that looked out over the river and the city, expensive and full of foreigners but definitely worthwhile, and danced the night away. I think it was a pretty unforgettable way to celebrate!

The next day we got to go to the M50, which I think was a highlight for most of us. The M50 is a district in Shanghai where old industrial buildings have been converted into hundreds of art and design studios – big and small – where artists both practice and sell their work. We saw a broad range of work, including photography, sculpture, jewelry and print, and all left with more than a couple of souvenirs and a lot of inspiration and ideas (shall we all move to Shanghai and start a studio? I think so). It was great to just be able to walk around and explore, and the relaxing quietness of the place was such a change from the craziness of the previous day. We then went for another beautiful lunch in an area populated by ancient Chinese buildings and said our goodbyes to Shanghai, for now but hopefully not forever!


Our trip to China was very busy, and very fun. What was meant to be a short overview of the trip has now turned into thousands of words, so I think I should stop now, though there’s still much more to talk about! We are all so thankful to people like Stella and Sarah for their work in putting together such a packed itinerary, and to our guides, translators and friends who accompanied us along the way. I know I consider myself extremely lucky to have been able to experience such an adventure as part of my studies at Central. As a student designer I think it is so important to be exposed to as much culture as possible, and to learn to interact with people from diverse backgrounds. Two weeks is such a short time to try and gain an insight into one of the hugest and fastest developing countries in the world, but to have had the chance to visit such an interesting place was truly amazing and I can’t wait to go back.

By Caitlin Moloney

盧嘉勒，也是一個不錯的女孩。如果您有特

殊的想法總是引起我的注意。你還記得的一

天，我們去西湖，你拿起一片葉子從地面，

並把它戴在頭上。你知道它是如此的可愛和

創造性。如果我是你，我不能有這樣一個好

主意。

And you, Chiara, also a nice girl. Your special

idea always arouses my attention. Do you

remember the day we went to West Lake, you

picked up a leaf from the ground and put it on

your head. You know it was so cute and creative.

If I were you, I couldn’t have such a good idea.

Described by Sally

CHIARA ADAMS

Report


Cultural TapestryCHIARA ADAMS

SEPTEMBER — OCTOBER, 2012 | 1

C H I N A

H o m e

The Study Mobility Tour to China provided me with a holistic education on Chinese culture. I gained knowledge on campus – during student lessons and activities – and also off-campus, giving me a cursory understanding of many different aspectsof Chinese culture and lifestyle.

I was very grateful to be provided with a robust, well-rounded itinerary. I had picked up bits and pieces of information about China, things I had learnt from articles I had read, or anecdotes I had heard from my friends and family, but I believe that in order to truly learn something, it is essential to learn it experientially and not just conceptually.

It was a pleasure to be able to experience everything our itinerary offered us. We were not restricted to learning about design or art – which cannot be taught in a vacuum, after all, as art imitates life and vice versa. In order to really know about motivating factors influencing designers and artists in China, it was necessary to be exposed to many different cultural aspects of life in China.

Moments of insight came from time spent on campus as well as off campus. On campus, we observed and interacted with translators, design students, students from other disciplines, lecturers, and other members of staff. Off-campus we spent time with our translators and guides (students and staff at ZVCC) and picked up glimpses of culture as we experienced different natural and urban environments and interacted with people who spoke little or no English, finding our own ways to communicate with them as we went.

Despite the highly structured timetable assigned to the group, we still experienced many unexpected moments and had to respond spontaneously to immediate stimuli. Some situations were more challenging than others.

I was intrigued by both the differences and similarities between the lifestyles of young Australian people and young Chinese people, and I would like to use this report to speak about some of the nuances of culture that I observed during my time in China.

The things I experienced made me feel grateful for what I do have, as well as curious about what I do not have. By writing this report, I am seeking to celebrate culture in all its forms. China is a part of the rich cultural tapestry that makes up our global, collective culture. It has been enriching to see another side of the big blue planet we all call home.

Austral ian students and Chinese students shar ing umbrel las on their f i rst out ing together.



C H I N A

I D e N T I F Y Y o U R S e L F

Allow me to introduce to you a typical Chinese university student. Her name is Sally. Sally is an only child. She is 21 years old. Sally grew up in a small town about 4 hours drive from Hangzhou, where her parents still live. She returns to visit them every two months or so. Sally lives on campus in a dormitory with five other female students. Sally has just begun the final year of her degree in English Business Studies, which she will complete next July. Her father is a businessman who works in the trading industry. Sally is studying to be a translator or a bureaucrat as she would like to travel as a part of her work. Government positions are viewed as desirable and lucrative in China. In her spare time, Sally goes to the library and studies. Sally has never been to a pub.

Allow me to introduce to you a typical Australian university student. Her name is Liz. She is a second-generation Australian of European descent. She is 21 years old and lives in a sharehouse with two other students and her cat. Liz is a graphic design student in the final year of her degree. She has received a study allowance from the government for the entirety of her tertiary education. Her parents were aspirational and always encouraged her to do well academically, however there was not a huge amount of pressure placed on her to follow a certain career path, and success was never measured in terms of financial gain. She has a younger brother and an older sister, two nieces and a nephew. Liz lives in the same city as her immediate family, and has dinner with her parents every couple of weeks. On weekends, she works a shift at her part time job, and spends time with her friends in bars and clubs.

L o v e o U R C H I N A

As we arrived on campus at Zhejiang Vocational College of Commerce (ZVCC). Jennifer (the translator who picked us up from the airport) warned us about what we were about to see. “Our freshmen students are preparing for their parade on Saturday,” she told us. “It’s not the real military out there.”

We observed several troops of students separated into groups of 50 – 100 engaged in military training. As we made our way to our hotel rooms (located on campus) we passed more troops of freshmen students, chanting and marching in time.

It is mandatory for all students in China go through 20 days of training three times in their life (at the start of middle school, high school, and college) as a part of a military education. The stated aim is “to allow students to grasp basic military skills and theory, and enhance their understanding of defense and the consciousness of national security”. The plan is to strengthen the students values of “organisation” and “discipline”, as well as to instill the values of “patriotism”, “collectivism” and “revolutionary heroism”.

The military training class includes drilling in formation, slogan chanting, prostrate crawling, singing, and nighttime field training. Some colleges also practice battlefield rescue, firing light arms, military land navigation, and computerised war game scenarios simulating major World War Two battles. During military training the most difficult class is the prostrate crawling, and the most enjoyed class is target practice. The military songs most often sung are Hit Your Target Then Go Home, I Am A Soldier and Love Our China.


C H I N A



C H I N A

L I T T L E E M P E R O R S

We passed formations of freshmen each day until the parade (signifying the completion of their training) that occurred on the last Saturday of our time there.

students at ZVCC was our welcome meeting on the morning after we arrived. Here, we were welcomed

the opportunity to interact with about 12 students

students and English business students. It was really

were able to ask each other simple questions about each other, including questions about our family and student lives.

All of the ZVCC students I spoke to during my time in China told me that they did not have any brothers

the “one child” generations, which began in 1979 with the nationwide introduction of the One Child Policy (jìhuà shēngyù zhèngcè).

economic, to reduce the demand of natural resources, maintain a steady labor rate, reduce unemployment caused from surplus labor, and reduce the rate of

associated with an increase in forced abortions, female infanticide, and underreporting of female births, and has been suggested as a possible cause behind China’s gender imbalance. However, the policy has proved successful in its original intentions, and recent survey results suggest that the majority of the Chinese population support the policy.

S C H O O L D AY S

We were given lessons in traditional Chinese music,

respectful, and encouraging. Most of these lessons had some historical component, which helped to give the lessons context and meaning, whilst contributing to our general knowledge of Chinese history.

complaint is that I wished they had been more robust – if we were given a whole day, for instance, to come to terms with each discipline of art, it would have

lessons that we received. However, we learnt enough basic information to take on the responsibility of learning more ourselves once we returned home, and we left with gifts that were given to us - for example, we recieved a large book on the art of Chinese woodlblock printing, that was written in both Chinese and English - and that we made ourselves. We printed calligraphy onto one side of a paper fan, then painted a design of our own choosing on the reverse side as a part of our painting lesson.

We were also given the opportunity to interact

classroom envrionments. We were spoiled by our temporary classmates, who made their presentations in both Chinese and English. It was interesting to

country, producing work the same way we do, to a whole classroom of our peers, discussing the strengths of our concepts. We found that our Chinese classmates were producing work at the same standard as we do; their concepts at an advanced level.



C H I N A

S T O P T H I N K I N G K E E P Q U I E T

We were also incredibly lucky to make a short trip to Shanghai. Here, we experienced Shanghai in full-swing during Chinese National Day, the most important public holiday in China; observed Shanghai from it’s highest point, a skyscraper in the �nancial district; and visited a string of 100 galler and studios located in the M50 art disctrict.

I was delighted to observe art galleries and studios containing an interesting mixture of work by independent artists and artists of national or even international acclaim, including painters, sculptors, photographers and designers.

of reactions to the urban and natural environments of China. I was personally interested in

working in the M50 art district. Some of this work was expressive, dominated by a frenzy of bright,

subdued and eerily sterile.

Other dominant themes in the M50 district included expressive portraiture, surrealism, landscapes, and discussions of mortality and sin.

B E N E V O L E N C E A N D J U S T I C E

hospitable; generous of time and spirit. Both throughout the trip, and afterwards, the people we met were supportive and spoke to us about our strengths, ignoring any weaknesses we may have displayed. We were thoroughly encouraged to experience as much Chinese culture as possible.

One of our main translators, Angie, invited us to spend the last night of our trip at her place. She cooked us a homecooked Chinese meal, introduced us to her husband, her one year old son, and her father, and entertained us long after

It was lovely to be welcomed into a home

Our hotel rooms were very comfortable, but I had missed being in a homely, cosy environment,surrounded by friends.

With new fr iends at Angie’s f lat in Hangzhou.Smal l detai l of some typographic work by a Chinese art ist working at the M50.

the meal

www.central.wa.edu.au

www.area57.com.au

Thank you

HEARING A HUNDRED TIMES IS NOT AS GOOD AS SEEING ONCE

We would like to humbly thank you and everyone mentioned in these reports for their time, personal contributions and support, friendship and interpretation throughout our tour of Hangzhou, China. We now extend our invitation to offer you a similar experience in Perth, Western Australia.

And to Central Institute of Technology and specifically to the grant committee, the seven of us are all extremely grateful for this opportunity and we are willing to expand on any component of these reports as required. The benefits to our study, practice, cross cultural awareness and ongoing expansion of our personal and professional development since returning has been profound.

And to leave you with the words shared during Mr Xu’s amazing calligraphy workshop:

有朋友從遠方來，如何愉快！ To have friends coming in from afar, how delightful!

CH

INA

MO

BILI

TY R

EPO

RT

OC

T 20

12

student mobility program to peoples republic of china

Documents

foreigner friends email

email box

bussiness college

table tennis

lame english

fluent spokenenglish

time free

time im