Experience Shanghai

Foreign trade class on an excursion:

03/31/2025

As part of a project launched by our vocational school six years ago, our foreign trade class was given the opportunity to take part in a nine-day excursion to Shanghai. The fascinating megacity was deliberately chosen as it is an important trade and port center and is closely linked to Hamburg, its twin city. Both metropolises have a strong focus on foreign trade - ideal conditions for experiencing international economic relations at first hand.

First impressions of a fascinating metropolis

Before our arrival, many of us associated Shanghai with the image of a huge, overcrowded and heavily industrialized city. But the reality surprised us: Shanghai presented itself as a modern, clean metropolis with an impressive skyline.

The city combines tradition and progress in an impressive way - from narrow alleyways with small teahouses to the dizzying skyscrapers in the financial district of Pudong. The cityscape is characterized by an exciting mix of historic buildings, futuristic glass facades and spacious parks, creating a pleasant balance between urban hustle and bustle and relaxing tranquillity.

We spent the first few days exploring the city together. We were particularly impressed by the world-famous Nanjing Road - one of the largest shopping streets in the world - and the Yu Garden, which offers an authentic insight into Chinese garden design with its pagodas, ponds and curved bridges. Of course, a visit to the waterfront promenade "The Bund" was not to be missed, from where we could marvel at the impressive panorama of the Shanghai skyline.

Professional exchange: Insights into China's business world

In addition to cultural exploration, our trip focused on professional exchange. We gained exciting insights into the working world and economic relations between China and Germany. In the following, we present four particularly memorable stops on our excursion:

1st German Center Shanghai: Business in the network

The German Centre Shanghai is a central meeting point for the German business community in Pudong and actively supports bilateral exchange. In the modern building of the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, international companies find ideal conditions for work, networking and business development.

The principle of short distances is of particular benefit to German companies looking to enter the Chinese market quickly and efficiently. The visit gave us a concrete picture of how closely organized German-Chinese economic relations are today.

2nd Wollenhaupt Zhejiang: Experience the tea trade up close

A particular highlight was the two-day visit to our joint venture Wollenhaupt Zhejiang in Hangzhou. This year, our company can look back on 20 years of successful business relations with China.

After an exciting tour of the offices, we were given the opportunity to get involved ourselves: We gave a short presentation on our knowledge of tea production in China. Afterwards, we were able to taste various Chinese tea specialties - from traditional varieties to the popular "milk tea", which was particularly popular with many of us.

The next day, two colleagues from Hangzhou accompanied us to the "Chinese Tea Culture Exhibition Hall" - a museum dedicated entirely to Chinese tea culture.

This visit made us impressively aware of the enormous economic importance of tea for China and its deep cultural roots.

3rd ADM Shanghai: Prospects in the agricultural market

Another exciting part of the program was the visit to the ADM branch in Shanghai. ADM is a globally active group that specializes in the development of flavours and ingredients as well as trading in agricultural raw materials.

In discussions with the employees, we gained valuable insights into current developments in the agricultural market in the Asia-Pacific region and learned about the role Shanghai plays as a trading hub.

4th AON in Jin Mao Tower: Insurance and culture

Finally, we visited the international insurance company AON, whose offices are located on the 42nd floor of the Jin Mao Tower - including a spectacular view of the skyline.

In addition to the architecture, we were particularly impressed by the exchange about cultural differences in the insurance industry in China and Germany. The visit offered practical perspectives on a complex topic and showed how important intercultural understanding is in the global business world.

Fun fact: The Jin Mao Tower was the tallest building in China until 2007.

Conclusion: A journey that connects

Our trip to Shanghai was much more than just a school excursion - it was an intense experience that opened up new perspectives and left us with lasting impressions.

We owe the fact that everything went so smoothly and impressively to the careful preparation and great commitment in the run-up to the trip. Our special thanks go to our colleagues at Wollenhaupt Tee, whose support made a decisive contribution to the implementation of this project.

We would also like to thank our teachers and all those involved for their commitment and dedication to this trip.

For us, Shanghai was not only professionally enriching, but above all a valuable intercultural experience - a trip that has had a lasting impact on our view of the world and will accompany us on our future path.

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