Paper International Experience China 2017 2 Preface -Heather Starkey and Will Mayo- On May 15, 2017, 35 juniors and seniors in the Paper Science & Engineering program set out to China on a lifechanging journey called the Paper International Experience – PIE for short. Over the course of 11 days – 14 for some – we visited three paper mills, two forest products universities, a wheat straw pulp mill, a release paper coating facility, a paper machine manufacturer, and a number of cultural epicenters. We anticipated exposure to an entirely different culture and an entirely different paper industry. In some ways, these expectations were met. The Chinese people live by simpler means than the typical American; by con- trast, the Chinese paper industry is in its thriving adolescence, and most mills are equipped with state of the art technology. That said, we were surprised to learn the similarities between our industries and cultures. De- spite its booming growth, the Chinese paper industry has a lot of room for improvement in the sustainability and raw material sectors; perhaps in seventy years, their currently shiny machines will become the old relia- ble behemoths the American industry so adores. By contrast, the Chinese culture is a millennia senior to our own, yet we can all sit around a Lazy Susan and enjoy dumplings from the same basket or engage in a friendly basketball game. Prior to this edition of PIE, students have traveled to Brazil, Chile, Finland, and twice before to China. The pri- mary objective of PIE is to enable students to travel abroad at a greatly reduced cost, while visiting modern manufacturing facilities, broadening cultural horizons, and contemplating how the U.S. industry can adapt new technologies to remain competitive with rapidly growing industries across the world. By participating in PIE, a student is taking strides towards well-roundedness and industry-readiness in an increasingly global society. We will value this enlightening journey for the rest of our personal and professional lives. A special thank you is extended to each company and individual who helped make this trip possible. Contri- butions exceeding $55,000 allowed 35 students to affordably participate in an once-in-a-lifetime experience. Another huge thanks goes to Dr. Hou Min Chang for his coordination of tours, lectures, and recreational events every student enjoyed. Without the aid of our sponsors, the incredible Paper International Experience would not be possible, so as a small token of our gratitude, we hope you enjoy this student-written account of our fabulous trip. 3 May 15, 2017 -Bryan Wall & Emily Bohn- Our experience began Monday, May 15 at 3:30 AM... it was finally here! The group met at the Raleigh-Durham Airport, and everyone was very excited to head to China. The early morning arrival and the looming long flight dampened the excitement, ever so slightly, but we made it through security without any issues and passed time until the flight left by sleeping and finding food. After we landed in Newark around 9:00 AM, we excitedly made our way to the terminal for our connecting flight just in time to learn the flight was delayed for two hours due to maintenance issues. Finally, we left Newark at 1:00 PM and were in the air for 15 hours. Most people passed the Steve and his Captain America plush time by sleeping or watching movies. Initially the inflight entertainment system had to be rebooted, instilling some fear in the students at the thought of Upon arrival downtown, we met our bus driver and sitting through the flight without any entertainment. headed to dinner. As we drove through Shanghai to Thankfully, after the second reboot it started working get to the restaurant, our guide, Steve, gave us an and the group enjoyed 140 movies on the way to overview of the city and explained how the residents China. took pride in efficiency. Since the Mag-Lev train can transport people from the airport to the main May 16, 2017 business buildings in less than 8 minutes, Shanghai -Emily Buhr & Bruce Butler- is a popular place for businesses to hold conferences and large meetings. Our arrival in China was smooth! We were all pleased to have made it through the 24-hour trek Steve also gave us advice about the currency we and eager to see the new country we landed in. would be using: the Yuan. All of China’s currency During this time in the airport, we noticed the has Chairman Mao on the face, and he joked and mixture of people in the airport was diverse, with said, “as long as the money looked like [Steve], it many languages being spoken. Beyond customs was authentic.” was baggage claim; luckily, we had all used the NC Finally dinner…something unique. We had dinner State Natural Resources luggage tags so we could at Shanghai’s #1 Restaurant, with velvet walls and quickly locate our suitcases. love seats at the booths. Our group was seated in a After gathering our belongings, we navigated across the airport to meet up with our tour guide, Steve. He was enthusiastic and excited to introduce us to China. Under his direction, we left the airport to go to the Magnetic-Levitation (Mag-Lev) train station. Following him in the crowd was surprisingly easy because he had a Captain America plush to hoist in the air! Waiting to board the Mag-Lev train filled us with anticipation. The train floated above the track at 300 kilometers per hour as we were whisked from the airport to the city. During the 8-minute journey, we saw numerous sights, including the castle at Disneyland! As we entered the city, we began to see the endless cluster of apartment towers, hinting Our first Lazy Susan meal at the massive population of Shanghai. 4 private back room at four large round tables. This meal was our first exposure to the Lazy Susan style of eating. Some of the dishes were pork with thick fat caps, pig intestines, fried rice, sour soup, and beef with bamboo shoots. The centerpiece was a completely fried fish, prepared with a sweet sauce. Towards the end of the meal we were served dumplings with dipping sauce. The dumplings were special because they were half pan -fried, half steamed, coated in Sesame seeds, and meat-filled. Most tables had trouble identifying the food that was presented, so some of us ate the meal unsure of what was going into our mouths. Despite this, people tried most of the array of foods brought to the table. After dinner, we drove to the Shanghai Grand Central Hotel. We were all taken aback by how fancy the hotel was, but quickly sought the keys to our room so we could finally relax and reach out to our family and friends at home. May 17, 2017 -Mason Umlauf & Daniel Hardy- The third day of the trip was the first day we set out to travel the streets of China. The morning began with an Eastern and Western breakfast provided by the Grand Central Hotel in Shanghai. A multitude of fruits were available, including watermelon, View from the SWFC Observatory dragon fruit, and cantaloupe. There were fried noodles and beef stew as well as an omelet bar, high building you could see the Shanghai pancakes, and french toast. skyline. The massive amount of skyscrapers in the 6,400 square kilometer city was overwhelming. As On the bus ride to our first destination, the you looked across the river, you could see the Shanghai World Financial Center (SWFC) difference in architecture and quality of the Observatory, we learned a few sayings. They buildings, due to the difference in time that Puxi proved to be useful as later in the day we walked Western River) and Pudong (Eastern River) were around a typical Chinese market. The three most developed. important sayings helped us turn away people soon to bombard us with imitation watches and After descending the 100 stories of the observatory, purses. The statements we learned were: “buyao”, we traveled over to Shanghai’s Bund, which is a which means no thank you, “meiyou qian”, which boardwalk area on the western bank of the means no money, and “tai guile”, which means too Huangpu River. This river separates Eastern and expensive; the last proved quite useful. After Western Shanghai and provides a beautiful view of saying “tai guile” to a vendor a few times, you could the Shanghai architecture. On the eastern side, the get them to lower their prices by 50%. architecture is very modern as the new financial district was developed after the 1980s. The The weather today was perfect! The skies were western side has a European influence due to its clear and the temperature was about 70 degrees development in the 1890s as an open port. with a steady breeze. This type of weather is only experienced about 60-80 days a year in Shanghai. Lunch today was extra special, as we were served We were thankful to be present on one of those two delicious spicy dishes. Spicy food is not days. Since the weather was so beautiful, we were traditional in this area, but commonly eaten in high able to travel to the top of Shanghai’s Eye, part of humidity areas. It is believed, that if you can make the SWFC Observatory. At the top of the 500 meter 5 Traditional European (left) and modern architecture (right) along the Huangpu at the Bund (left) your body sweat, it will push out the poisons and During the bus rides, the students gathered a lot of keep you healthy.