Chengde

Chengde is a city with many AAAAA scenic sites (Top rating for China’s tourist attractions) which includes the Summer Resort(避暑山庄), Small Potala Temple(小布达拉宫), Pule Temple普乐寺  and is located to the northeast of Beijing.  Its close proximity to the capital city of China means that it is a very good spot for a short weekend trip.

Is it worth going? 

In my opinion, definitely. Many world class attractions are packed closely in this small city within easy accessible reach and there are ample photo opportunities. The air in Chengde is also cleaner than Beijing(note the blue skies in the pictures) and it is a good escape for your lungs too. The basic cost of this trip is also very low, working out to about less than 300 RMB (60 SGD) for 2 train rides and accomodation for a night.  The cost of the tickets and food would add probably another 200 RMB which totals the trip cost at about 100 SGD. Which is pretty decent by any standards.

Note: This recommendation only stands for non-peak season, which is during non-summer periods. During peak season, hotels are very expensive, attractions are very crowded, and it becomes a classic case of tourist trap.

小布达拉 viewed from the Rooftop of 行宫

There are many ways to get to Chengde:

1) You could take a long distance bus(there are many ways to take it, 东直门，望京西，六里桥。。）, I really do not recommend this as it does not bring you near to the city center where all the attractions are located. The bus is also jerky and the roads may be poorly maintained, coupled with usually poor driving skills. You could also be subjected to jams, and you will be trapped in a full bus with 50 other people with no leg space because the buses only leave when they are full. A bus costs around 50 Yuan and you still have to transfer to something else(another bus or cab) to reach your destination.

2) You can take a train there, which I really prefer and recommend.

Suggested itinerary by train

Saturday morning:

Take K7711 – Leaves Beijing Station at 0805, reaches Chengde at 1231

Note:  I chose the soft seat(61 RMB) versus the hard seat which is slightly cheaper because it offers you a lot more leg space and it is really very worth the price differential. The environment is also different because you filter out the people who are willing to pay a higher price. I have tried and tested most forms of trains and seats and I recommend paying for the best class if you want to have a comfortable journey(note: this is on slower trains, that has either no letter at the start, or K, T trains; for D,C,G trains which are considered bullet trains please take only 2nd class seats because the price is really steep on the upgrade). I shall not launch into a train guide but I will hopefully publish the tactics of choosing and securing your seat/bed on that train that will take you somewhere.

You can get to the city center from train station at 1RMB on buses 1 or 7. 

Visit Small Potala Temple and its sister temple, then visit Pule Temple(closes at 5pm)

Take bus 118 from city centre to Potala, then take the electronic cart to the sister temple after you are done. Then take bus 6 or 26 to Pule. If you are in a hurry, take a cab, it does not cost much. Meters start at 6RMB and take forever to go to the next tick. Beware of cabbies who do not use the meter, make it clear that you will not take their cab should they not use the meter and most of them will oblige. 

On a side note I have something to say about errant cab drivers. Although there are many of them around, and you would most probably meet one in your time here, I believe we should not pre-judge them and assume that the cab driver is bad as you get into the vehicle. A majority of them are honest people who make a honest(and hard) living and it would be slanderous to assume that they are out to cheat your money. Innocent until proven guilty is probably the best policy to undertake here.

小布达拉

普乐寺

Day 2: 

Wake up early, and head to the Summer Resort(避暑山庄）which is the main attraction of the city, opens at 8am and it is good to reach there early because otherwise there might be too many tourists which will affect the scenery.

Somewhere in 避暑山庄

Nice right? Any later and you will see a swarm of people everywhere, even though the place is rather huge, you will be amazed by the number of tourists that will suddenly “spawn”.

This is a very scenic chilling place for many, and locals do taichi at some corners of the park.

Taichi somewhere in the park

It takes about 4 hours to fully walk around this place.

Something you will see as you walk around

K7712 back to Beijing 1353-1815

Then it is time to pack up and make your way to the train station, if you are just with your backpack you can take a bus directly. If you travel heavy and you stay in the city center, you should check out early in the morning, pick up your luggage and just cab there because buses can get crowded at that time.

For me, I travel heavy as I nearly always bring my laptop, my tripod, and other stuff so I chose to stay near the train station instead so that I can bus down and then drag my small luggage to the train station. Not travelling light is an unfortunate habit cultivated by too many road trips where I always had the car boot to dump my stuff.

You will arrive in Beijing with plenty of time to spare to do something at night!

Will try to cover the other cities that I have visited soon. Stay tuned.

Testimonial from Alumni

Interning for a longer period of time such as 6 months gave me a brand new working experience. I felt a sense of belonging to the team and the team really counted on me for my part of the job. By doing daily credit limit reports, I quickly picked up Excel spreadsheet skills through a practical way; by doing customer financial analysis, I felt a sense of fulfillment when I got to apply concepts from the text book to the real business. Through liaising with colleagues from Brazil, USA, Singapore, Korea, Malaysia, I gradually figured out the way of professional business communication. The team is very welcoming and it is more like family than a pure working relationship. People hang out after work and during weekends.

The credit analysis I did equipped me with some knowledge in the Chartered Financial Analyst exam and I successfully passed CFA level 1 in Beijing. The experience also helped me to get a credit research part time job in the Risk Management Institute of NUS the following semester and a credit analyst internship in JP Morgan the next summer. Right now I am a commodity trader trainee in the USA.

Beijing is my favorite city. It is where modern meets ancient, international meets traditional, oriental meets western. You could find anything you want here, no matter what kind of lifestyle you lead. I travelled to the ancient city Xi’an to see the terracotta warriors; I went to Pingyao, the world cultural heritage ancient city, to experience the history; I went to North Korea to see a different world; I hopped onto a bus to Inner Mongolia and rode horses. Beijing is such a wonderful city that you should never miss.

Try to experience a different life for a while before you continue school. You will graduate anyway, why in a hurry?

Ma Xiangfeng

Commodities Trader Trainee in USA

4th GCSC Internship Programme

Testimonial from Alumni

The GCSC Internship Programme has been an enriching experience which allowed me to embrace the unique Chinese culture, family-like working environment and chances to tour around Chinese cities during weekends! In short, it is where you learn hard and play hard!

Lim Yin Long

5th GCSC Internship Programme

The GCSC Family

Almost every intern who has spent time in GCSC would attest to how warm and closely knitted the department is. There is almost always a reason to get together or to celebrate. Since we arrive in Beijing, we’ve been part of many of such get-together activities. Here are a few pictures of our recent gathering. When I find time, I will upload more!

As new interns, you will all face the trial of fire and bottom-ups on the local drink called Er Guo Tou. Something rather akin to industrial alcohol.

The team took a weekend off to stay in a little chalet on the outskirts of Beijing. While we were there, we went on a tree-top, high element rope course. Here's a picture of the team donning harnesses before we started!

This is obviously a bit too easy for Carena....

Unglam shot. But just to give you an idea of how fun it is I shall sacrifice my own image.

Cute Yuanxin hanging on to the spider web! 🙂

Yuxuan waiting for his next obstacle..

Kangmin hanging on in semi-amusement as he grinds to a halt on his butt after the flying fox ride.

Our American Group Supervisor and her beau! 🙂 A cute couple!!

A simple lunch after all the action..

1st of October is the beginning of the Golden Week in China, the special week that commemorates the national holiday. Before all of us part for a week of holidays/ home visits, we gathered around a 9-course lunch and had our fill! Here's one of the two tables!

Here is the next table which cleared more food with the help of more guys!

Taken last weekend at my supervisor's place, where she was nice enough to invite us for a Hai Di Lao steamboat. One of the best brands in China! We were too hungry and we forgot to take pictures with the food before.. So here's a photo of happy us after eating!

All the four interns in this batch.

Putting perspective on your business degree

Many business students, myself included, often find the things that we learn in the Business School to be very theoretical and we cannot see the practical applications of what has been taught in school. It is not uncommon to hear people voicing fears about whether what we are being put through will be utilised in the future when we graduate.

Thus, having been through 2 years of business school, I decided that it was time to experience the practical aspect of business. It was not a decision taken lightly, as this 6 month internship will require taking a leave of absence from the school.

Nearly 3 months into the internship, I do not regret at all and am positively glad for having taken such a decision. It was definitely an eye opener to be working in one of the largest MNC in the world(ranked in fortune global 500) and to be part of its stellar growth. There is also a big plus of a chance to live and work in Beijing, the capital city of China.

As everyone would probably know, China is going to be a major source of world economic growth in time to come, and it is a very valuable  experience to see what makes it tick. Such an understanding cannot be achieved by reading about it, doing cases or visiting as a tourist. Only by living, working, breathing the air here and interacting with people full time will you get an in-depth glimpse of how China functions.

There are just so many things to see over here in Beijing China, and I find myself learning something new everyday. Such things include seeing how enterprising the street vendors and “black taxis” are, talking to people from all walks of life on a 13 hour train ride, ponder thoughts while on a 330km/h bullet train, and generally just having an ample amount of opportunities to amaze yourself on a daily basis. It is an extremely refreshing experience.

The job so far has been highly engaging. You will get exposed to many aspects of an analyst’s job, from making data make sense to making sense of data. From poring through financials to producing reports and writing analysis for management decision, you get to experience the entire array of competencies required in an analyst position.

Furthermore, you get to interact and work with some of the brightest people in China, and they are not only fun loving but also extremely nice to hang out with.

Even though we are working in the credit department in Lenovo, there is sufficient interaction with other departments to catch a glimpse of how the entire company functions and the strategic thrust of the company. You will get a chance to see how the different functions of business, i.e. operations and supply chain, finance,  marketing, management, come together to make a large corporation with more than 30,000 employees run. It is more valuable than any lesson you will sit through in school. It will also dawn on you that you will eventually get to apply whatever you learn in school in a real world  setting.

Training opportunities in the department are also abundant, and interns get to attend sharing sessions from experienced managers and quarterly/yearly reviews, along with team building trips to foster team bonding.

Whether you intend to work for a company in the future, work anywhere as an analyst, or to set up your own business, the skills that you will pick up here will put you in good stead to secure a bright future ahead.

If you are someone who is open minded and looking for some real world internship exposure, I urge you to apply for this programme. This is as real as it can get, you will be exposed to great guidance from experienced risk management practitioners and you will learn more in this half a year than all the semesters that has gone past.

Think about it, half a year is only a short time when you look at your entire life. Rather than spend it with just another usual semester in school, why not take a leap of faith, and try something new, and open yourself to an opportunity to consolidate your knowledge and putting that real world perspective to your business degree.

A VALUABLE EXPERIENCE

Hi everyone! I am Carena, a year 3 NUS Business School student, currently majoring in Finance and Supply Chain Management. I am currently interning with the mature market credit team in Lenovo Beijing. This is my first-ever overseas internship and I am truly excited to share my experiences with you. For my first post (3 months into this internship), I will be sharing with you why I chose this internship, the events in Beijing which left the greatest impression on me and lastly, some of the skill-set and work experience that I have learned and gained from the Lenovo internship.

CHOICE

Like most NUS business students, I have been sourcing for internships through the Talentedge portal. Specifically, I was interested in applying for a finance internship so that I could have a hands-on experience in the finance industry. Before I submitted my application for the Lenovo Internship 2011, I did a small cost-benefit analysis of going on the internship.

PROS:

• Experience living and working overseas
• Acquire analytical skills related to credit and risk management
• Gain an insight of an MNC’s operation in China
• Work experience in a finance-related field
• Opportunity to further experience the Chinese Culture in China

CONS:

• 1 semester delay in graduation
• 6 months away from family and friends

After looking through the analysis, I was very motivated to apply for this internship. Besides, the air fare, accommodation and visa application would be fully paid for by Lenovo. Looking at all the learning opportunities and new working experiences that I would gain, I felt that the Lenovo Internship was not to be missed.

Everything happened so quickly. Few days after I have applied for this internship through the TalentEdge portal, I was informed that I was shortlisted for an interview session with Mr James Loh, the Chief Risk Officer (CRO) at the Singapore Lenovo office. A few weeks after the interview, I said my farewell to my family and friends and was off to a new and exciting journey in Beijing.

Farewell Singapore!

MEMORABLE EVENTS IN BEIJING

In the following sections, I would like to share with you some of the interesting experiences I had in Beijing.

A STEP OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE– As I walked through the aisle of the airplane, I thought about my family and friends that I have bided farewell to back in Singapore. At the same time, I was also excited of what awaits me in Beijing. As I took the first step out of the airplane, it suddenly dawned on me that I was no longer in Singapore and I have arrived in Beijing safely. As I immersed through the crowds in the Beijing airport, the environment, the company, even the air in China smelt different. Everything felt surreal to me. Taking the first step out of my comfort zone was an experience that I would never forget.

FIRST DAY AT WORK IN LENOVO BEIJING – We all started work on our 2^nd day in Beijing. On our way to Lenovo’s office, I was running through a few questions in my head. How should I introduce myself to the Chinese colleagues? What would the office environment be like? What would be my daily work tasks for the next 6 months?

When I first entered the office, I was introduced to the whole GCSC team of credit analysts, credit supervisors and credit managers from the respective regions. They gave me a very warm and friendly welcome. Many of them asked if we had settled well in our hostel, whether we could get used to the food in Beijing and if any of us felt unwell. Through the many conversations we had over lunch, I felt their concern and kindness towards us as they offered us help and gave us useful tips for living in Beijing.

This was my first-day at work, a fruitful and engaging experience which left me feeling at home, away from home.

Office Colleagues

VAST LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES – The entire GCSC operations team is separated into 3 regions (Americas, Mature and Emerging Markets) as previously mentioned by Wenqi. The mature market team covers the credit analysis of customers from Western Europe (WE), Japan, Australia and New Zealand (also known as ANZ). My current role in the team is to support the credit analysts in areas such as credit limit analysis and revalidation, insurance applications and update Lenovo customers’ database and financials in their Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP also known as E-Credit and SAP). I am also tasked to generate reports using excel spreadsheets and perform simple analysis on the performance of Lenovo’s Business Partners (BP) and Direct Sales (DS) customers. Initially, it was a steep learning curve for me, as there were many financial reports to understand. Subsequently, we would be given more important financial credit analysis tasks and projects. As can be seen, interning in Lenovo offers constant and vast leaning opportunities and I know that the entire 6 months in Lenovo would better equip me with the relevant skill-sets for my future career.

SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF BEIJING – Besides being engaged in work activities, there are many chances for us to travel around Beijing during the weekends. I have attached some pictures of interesting places that we have visited in Beijing. This is definitely an internship not to be missed. 🙂

南锣鼓巷 (Beijing Alleys)

前门 (A Gate in Beijing's Historic City Wall)

王府井 (Night Market)

颐和园 (The Summer Palace)

长城

My Mini Reflection

China has never been a destination for me in near future, so I thought. I had always imagined myself amongst the waters and mountains (indeed countless, you will see!) at an old age, immersing in the heritage of our forefathers. But poof! Going against my beliefs, I am here in Beijing exploring a whole new culture and discovering myself at the same time!

“Is this a legitimate programme? Are they going to sell you off?” Pardon my mum’s crazy ideas, but that might very well be the immediate response from some parents. Afterall, we have heard stories/myths from everywhere! But fret not, because things are far from this situation, and there is definitely much to take home from this six-month stay! There’re bound to be initial worries, considering the kind of environment you’d want to put yourself in through a chunk of your youth! It took me quite a while to put my feet down and tell myself, okay I’m clicking on the ‘Submit’ button! Nonetheless, I never regretted braving through this decision and ending up squeezing amongst the masses in the subway to work each morning.

A glimpse into life in Beijing…! It still did not fail to amaze me, the spectacular number of Chinese populating the country. As if we aren’t already seeing many of the locals in Singapore, it is frightening to await the ‘door-opening’ moment whether or not you are preparing to board at the train station. Whoa, it is a really, a refreshing experience (you should try it). On a heavier note, it also means a much more competitive society they are living in. Tons of undergraduates pour into the workforce each year, and it’s no wonder that almost every colleague I know in the office has a master’s degree!

So far, I’ve learnt to operate loads of Excel functions and it makes me feel stupid looking back at my difficult attempts in decision sciences modules. Other than data-crunching, there’re lots of opportunities to apply your knowledge from school; from analyzing financial statements to observing trends in the reports you generate on your own (satisfaction!!), and you could be able to make recommendations to your superiors on the business partners’ creditworthiness. As you progress, things will get more challenging as your superiors trust you with tasks that require higher levels of evaluation.

Time for some happy and light stuff; I’m loving the times here. Other than the exertion during working hours, life is as free as can be! It feels like a break from hectic school life, where worries are no longer constant. We could be hanging out with the colleagues after work, or be relaxing in town, anything after work! Plus, weekends are like intensive exploration of Beijing! From the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, traditional courtyard residences in alleys called Hutongs, to fried scorpions, steamboats and cheap DVDs and books; sometimes I even fear not being able to see enough of Beijing before I head back home!

At the end of the day, there are, without doubt, things we miss back in Singapore. Curry sauce for instance!!!!!! Can you believe it, the Chinese eat McNuggets with sweet and sour sauce???? How is that yummy..….I still cannot comprehend (they have different tastes anyway, as exhibited by their fashion too) One of my favorite pastimes during the school vacation is to read while munching on McNuggets dipped in thick curry sauce! Such a pity, since McNuggets are pretty inexpensive over here 😦 A few others would be Gardenia bread, meepok, and cologne (don’t ask me why, guess!) That’s all for now, too many thoughts to deliver at once, and it wouldn’t be fun if you’re knowing too much! Tata 🙂

The Value of Lenovo GCSC Internship

As you consider whether it is worth it to take half a year out of your university education to pursue an internship in Beijing with Lenovo, there must be many doubts in your mind – Can I trust that this is a good internship with value-adding training, will I be stuck in a exploitative data-entry job in a small China office? Do I want to spend so many months away from home in a possibly less comfortable city without my friends and family? If I do take this risk, can I expect that I would be rewarded? Where can this internship take me in future? What kind of chinese colleagues will I be interacting with?

They were the same doubts that I had in my mind when I chose to embark on this journey. I was in a less luxurious situation because I had needed an overseas internship to fulfil my Masters programme and I was working against time. But on hindsight, I did not regret my decision and I am glad that I had gone for it intuitively. And I suppose it would be even better for you because you would be in a better position than I was as you will benefit from the hindsight and reflections that the four of us (Carena, Yuanxin, Yuxuan & I) intend to share with you in the months ahead. 🙂

In my two months at this posting, I have identified many value-adding elements in this programme and it is my intent to share with you in this post so that you can better evaluate if this would be a good programme for yourself.

A Chinese Company with a Global Profile

While the Lenovo name may be a little less glitzy than other PC names such as Apple or Hewlett Packard (which has just decided to spin off its PC division by the way), it is a strong market player in China and it is increasingly gaining market share in regions such as India, Latin America and Middle East. It is thus, not so much the name of the business (although if you really care about it, Lenovo has just recently inched up into the Global Fortune 500 list) that should be the foremost in your list of consideration but the fact that you would get to see firsthand how a Chinese company is rapidly making its mark in the global arena.

Lenovo’s ‘protect and attack’ strategy (defend mature markets such as the U.S. and Europe, hold market share in China and grow aggressively in emerging markets) has weathered the recent financial crisis well.Just a few days ago, Lenovo reported a first quarter net profit of $108 million, or $1.08 a share, on revenue of $5.92 billion, up 15 percent from a year ago. This signals that while you may not be working in the top PC firm today, you may be here to witness its stellar ascent to becoming one.

Solid Financial AnalysisTraining

As a finance student, you may perhaps be concerned as to what are the possible learnings that you can look to having in this internship. There are four internship positions offered this time round and you can look to either working in the operations team or the methodology team. The learnings for the two positions will be slightly different and perhaps you could best decide which is the better internship position for yourself.

I am with the Methodology team and so on a regular basis I provide worldwide credit-risk report and macro-economic analyses on rapidly emerging markets. I also perform company analyses which leverage on my prior accounting and financial statement analysis knowledge. If you were to work in the operations team like Carena, Yuxuan & Yuanxin, you will be supporting senior credit analyst and managers through drafting daily financial report updates and analysis on customers within your respective region. Through the process you would learn about what are of interest to a billion-dollar company when considering whether to extend trade credits to customers. For example, you would learn about what are the financial backings that such companies must have and what are the various considerations that inform a credit manager’s ultimate decision in credit release. In sum, the training that you receive in GCSC would adequately prepare you for any entry-level financial analyst internship/ job in any major companies, banks or other financial institutions.

A Different City from Singapore

Beijing, also known asPeking, is the capital of the People’s Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19.5million people as of 2010. The city is the country’s political, cultural, educational and military center, and home to the headquarters for most of China’s largest state-owned companies.

Few cities in the world have served as long as the political and cultural centre of an area as immense. Beijing is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China. It has been the heart of China’s history for centuries, and there is scarcely a major building of any age in Beijing that does not have at least some national historical significance. The city is renowned for its opulent palaces, temples, and huge stone walls and gates. Its art treasures and universities have long made it a centre of culture and art in China.

I admit I took this from wikipedia, but you get the idea! 😉 It’s a great city worth exploring! 🙂

Great Colleagues

However, to me, the greatest value add so far has been the opportunity to work alongside capable and nurturing colleagues who have been most kind in sharing their learnings and experiences with me. Each of the team member have tremendous amount of experience in credit risk management, and ther genuine willingness to teach and help you would greatly enrich your academic learnings outside the classroom. The colleagues are an motivated, jovial team of workers who will make your time in Beijing a really enjoyable and rewarding one.

Through structured sharings sessions, lunch conversations and office banters, you would also find yourself deeply immersed in a cross-cultural and societal experience that will initiate you to the ways of the Chinese. However, they would not be so different as you because many of them have also been to international schools just like us in Singapore. As such, you would be impressed by how some of the knowledge workers of the Chinese economy are indeed very global and open-minded in their outlook and assessment of issues.

Understanding China

Finally, as China becomes a non-negligible economic force in the world, I believe that there exists an imperative for us as Singaporeans to understand more about the changing dynamics in its society and its economy. The internship at Lenovo (Beijing) will really give you a chance to penetrate deep into the society and gain a meaningful understanding of China. Through interacting with ordinary Chinese citizens, you will also grow to understand their lives and aspirations and an insider’s view of how they view their own society and the challenges/ issues ahead.

Having said so much, my point is not to convince you that this is the best internship out there in the market. What I mean to say however is that there are significant and meaningful learnings that you can hope to obtain. If you would like to consolidate your financial/ credit risk management knowledge, learn more about the Chinese market and society, and perhaps enjoy living in another city, you may want to consider the Lenovo GCSC internship.