On our free day in the city, one of the things Evan, Michael, Gabe, and I checked out was the China Pavilion, which was built for 2010 World Expo, which Shanghai hosted. The Pavilion was incredible to look at – the closer I got to it, the smaller I felt. Inside, there was a lot of artwork covering different times in Shanghai’s history:

I did a quick Google Search on the China Pavilion, and (I know Wikipedia is a bad source, but bear with me here) learned that it was only after the World Expo that the China Pavilion was turned into an art gallery – before, it “showcased China’s civilisation and modern achievements by combining traditional and modern elements in its architecture, landscaping and exhibits” (Wikipedia). I think the art galleries did a pretty good job at capturing different events in Shanghai’s history, and it was smart of those in charge to actually do something useful with the gorgeous building.

On the last “official” day of our stay in China, we got to meet with the CEO of Eastday’s Cultural Industry. Prior to visiting the company – whose cultural branch essentially involves online shopping, but with real, in-person stores substitution a virtual shopping cart – I had never heard of such a concept.

I really like the idea of having an online store essentially be like a “web brochure,” if you will. I think having to go into a real store adds charm, value, and knowledge to the whole shopping experience, and makes people better realize the true value of money. With online shopping, it’s perhaps too easy to get click-heavy, and keep buying things you 1) usually do not need, and/or 2) usually do not know the true quality/state of.

Furthermore, the CEO mentioned that before, he had worked as a journalist for Eastday’s media branch. The most inspirational thing I listened to during this week-long experience was when the CEO talked about how he, no longer in the media industry directly, went to North Korea, and helped North Korean artists sell their art on an Eastday website. He was so nice, he gave us copies of the magazines with photographs of the paintings! To me, that really captured the spirit of journalism – like the CEO said, a journalist helps people get their story out; people who otherwise can’t get their stories out on their own.