Engineering Tour in China

Dr. Dewei Qi
A-227 Parkview Campus
(269) 276-3523 dewei.qi@wmich.edu

Program Profile

Country:	China
Location:	Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai
Language:	English
Subjects:	Chemical, Mechanical, Electrical, Computer, Biological, Industrial Manufacturing Engineering, Paper Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, Geogophy, Business, and any Social Science.
Eligibility:	Engineering major or minor, Good Academic Standing
Length:	May 8 – May 26 2007 Summer I
Program Fee:	$2,200 program fee
Deadline:	February 15, 2007
Application:	Haenicke Institute for Global Education or contact Dr. Dewei Qi

Program Overview

The Engineering Tour in China is designed to provide a unique opportunity for students to obtain global engineering experience in contemporary China. Participants study at the prestigious Sichuan University and visit the surrounding areas of Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu. Students will also visit the Great Wall, 2600 year old Dujianyan irrigation system, Giant Buddha (the largest stone statute in the world) and Emei Mountain. Dr. Dewei Qi will be accompanying the group throughout the tour.

Academic Program

WMU Students will earn a total of three (3) credit hours. These credit hours may be applied towards their General Education requirements or to satisfy areas within the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The program includes lectures, lab visits, engineering field trips and engineering demonstrations. Experienced engineers and faculty members in China will be invited to lecture on special topics and advanced engineering experience. The topics may cover chemical, mechanical, electrical, computer and biological engineering. Five engineering field trips will be arranged through Sichuan University. This program will allow students to explore global engineering opportunities and strengthen working skills with global engineering disciplines.

Credits are available in following courses: general education area II and IV, INTL 4050, INTL 6040, CS4950, CS4990, CS5990, CS7100, ECON 2010, ECON 2020, ECE4950, ECE5950, ECE4900, ID4990, IME4990, IME6570, ME4950, ME4990, ME5950, PAPR4950, PAPR4990, PAPR3100, PAPR4400, CHEG4950, CHEG4990, CHEG3100, PAPR6960, PAPR7100.

Academic Credit

WMU credit will be awarded for successfully completing this program with prior approval from Dr. Dewei Qi, and the student's academic advisor(s). This approval is obtained by completing a course pre-approval form available from the Office of Study Abroad.

Location

Students will stay at a modern conference center on Sichuan University's Campus in double rooms with air-conditioning, telephone, television and private bathrooms. When traveling in Beijing and Shanghai, students will stay in hotels.

Financial Aid

Students eligible for federal or state financial aid may use their awards for studying abroad. After a student has been accepted to the program, he/she must complete the required paperwork with the Financial Aid staff to apply financial aid to the program costs. It is the student's responsibility to complete the paperwork prior to the departure and to maintain compliance with financial aid regulations while studying abroad. Non-WMU students must apply for financial aid through their home university.

NB: program fees are subject to adjustment due to changes in actual exchange rates or other factors. In addition, programs may be modified or cancelled in the event of insufficient enrollment.

Venue

Sichuan Univesity:

Sichuan University is one of top universities in China. It has 52,000 students including 17,866 MS and Ph.D. students and offers various degrees in 168 Ph.D, 254 M.S, 118 B.S. and 21 post-doctoral fellow programs at medical, laws, science, business and engineering schools. It is located in the city of Chengdu with a population of 10 millions.

Beijing three days stay:

Capital City of China with 13 million population. Beijing is the political center of China where the State Council, ministries and commissions under the government, and more than 140 foreign embassies are located. It is also an international exchange center. Beijing is an economic center of China Being one of the biggest industrial bases in China, Beijing's industrial production is the second largest in value among all Chinese cities. As the country's center of culture, education, science and technology Beijing has more than forty state scientific research institutions, over thirty universities and the greatest number of professional.

Chengdu nine days stay:

The history of Chengdu can be traced back 2,400 when the first emperor built his capital here and named the city. Through thousands of years its original name has been kept. Chengdu has been famous for its brocades and embroideries. Shu embroideries still enjoy a high reputation for their bright colors and delicate designs, ranking among the four main embroideries in China. Chengdu was the place where the bronze culture, an indispensable part of ancient Chinese culture, originated, the place where the Southern Silk Road started, and the place where the earliest paper currency, Jiaozi (not the dumpling!), was first printed. Now Chengdu’s population is 11 millions.

Nanjing one day, Capital City of Jiangsu,

Suzhou one day, visiting Golden East Paper Company and sightseeing

Hong Zhou one day, visit beautiful West Lake

Shanghai two days: Shanghai is an international and largest city in the world with more than 13 millions people. Students will visit Ford and whirl Pool in Shanghai

Proposed Itinerary

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
		May 8 Depart from Kalamazoo	May 9 Arrive at Beijing M	May 10 Tiananmen Square, forbidden City, Summer palace. Visit Beijing University M	May11 Ming tomb, the Great Wall. Badaling. Dance Show M	May 12 Visit a US company, Fly to Chengdu Dinner with Sichuan University students
May 13 visit Leshan Giant Buddha	May 14 Visit Mt. Emeishan	May 15 9:00-10:30 Lecture on calligraphy and painting Afternoor Visit High tech. company	May 16 9:00-10:30 Lecture on Chinese acupuncture Afternoor Visit High Tech company	May 17 Visit Panda Research Park evening Sichuan Opera Show	May 18 9:00-10:30 Professor Li Xiang-Yuan Chemical Engineering afternoon visit U.S. Consulate M	May 19 Visit Yaan Paper Mill (150 Km from Chengdu)
May 20 Dujiangyan Irrigation System	May 21 Fly to Nanjing Visit Nanjing	May 22 Bus to Suzhou Golden East	May 23 Bus to HongZhou Visit West Lake etc.	May 24 Bus to Shanghai Visit US company, Whirl Pool	May 24 Visit Shanghai Huangpu River	May 25 Fly to Kalamazoo

Places of Historical and Cultural Significance

Great Wall

Construction of the Great Wall started in the 7th century B.C. The vassal states under the Zhou Dynasty in the northern parts of the country each built their own walls for defence purposes. After the state of Qin unified China in 221 B.C., it joined the walls to hold off the invaders from the Xiongnu tribes in the north and extended them to more than 10,000 li or 5,000 kilometers. This is the origin of the name of the "10,000-li Great Wall". The Great Wall was renovated from time to time after the Qin Dynasty. A major renovation started with the founding of the Ming Dynasty in 1368, and took 200 years to complete. The wall we see today is almost exactly the result of this effort. With a total length of over 6,000 kilometers, it extends to the jiayu Pass in Gansu Province in the west and to the mouth of the Yalu River in Liaoning Province in the east. What lies north of Beijing is but a small section of it.

Forbidden City

A Tang Dynasty poet wrote a line about the royal palace of his time, which says "Without seeing the magnificence of the royal palace, one can never sense the dignity of the emperor." Magnificent and awe-inspiring, that is how every visitor would describe the Forbidden City, which served as the seat of imperial power during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911).

Mt. Emeishan

Emeishan is one of the four most sacred Buddhist Mountains in China. Local legend has it that the mountain derived its name from two peaks that face each other and resemble eyebrows. The undulating peaks, covered with lush forests and green bamboo occupy an area of more than 300 square kilometers (116 square miles) in southwest Sichuan Province.
Mt. Emeishan draws many types of visitors, from pilgrims making sacred journeys to climbers attempting to scale the magnificent heights. Most of the monasteries and temples on Mt. Emeishan were built during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220AD), while others were added later. As a well-known Buddhist sanctuary, Mt. Emeishan once had more than 100 monasteries. The mountain is known for its steep cliffs, lofty peaks, roaring waterfalls, gurgling springs, towering trees and fragrant flowers.

Dujiangyan Irrigation Project of China

The Dujiangyan Irrigation Project was completed around 250 BC during the Warring States Period. Prior to its construction, the Chengdu plain was prone to flooding in the winter and drought in the summer. Libing, a governor of Shu in the Qin state, created the system. Libing employed a method of channeling and dividing the water to harness the Minjiang Rivers. This was accomplished by separating the project into two main parts; the headwork and the irrigation system. The project effectively controls flooding and provides a method of irrigation.

Leshan Giant Buddha

Leshan Giant Buddha is an enormous statue carved into the side of Lingyun Mountain. The Buddha is over 71 meters (230 feet) tall and is wide enough for more than 100 people to sit between its feet. The massive carving began in 713 AD during the Tang Dynasty and was completed in 803 AD. The Buddha overlooks the confluence of the Min, Qingyi and Dadu rivers and is reputed to be the largest carved stone Buddha in the world. A local saying says, "The Mountain is a Buddha, the Buddha is a mountain".