Over four days from December 5 to 8, 2025 in Shandong, this field study functioned as a bridge between classroom learning and the realities of economic activity. Conducted as part of the course China Studies: Industry, Culture and Society and guided by Professor Ye Cheng, the trip marked a first close encounter with China’s industrial landscape for many international students. Through site visits and cultural experiences, the field study offered insight into how industries scale, how technology operates in daily production, and how local culture shapes economic activity.

Video highlights from the China Studies field study in Shandong

(made by Jessie Lie)

Day 1: From iconic brands to digitalized manufacturing

The Shandong field study began at Tsingtao Brewery, one of China’s most well-known beverage companies. Beyond its iconic brand image, the visit highlighted how a mature enterprise continues to refine process control and operational consistency at scale. At the highly digitalized Zaozhuang manufacturing plant, digitalization was directly observable in workflows, monitoring systems, and shop-floor execution, offering a concrete illustration of theoretical concepts discussed in class.

Students at Tsingtao Brewery

The visit to Fuyu Food Company highlighted the everyday dimensions of manufacturing that are often overlooked. As a producer of starch sausages, the company places notable emphasis on employee health and well-being, underscoring that manufacturing systems involve not only machines and performance indicators, but also the people who operate them.

Tasting and observing the production of starch sausages

The field study then shifted to agriculture at Changxing Smart Agriculture Base, which integrates production with education and training. The site hosts outdoor learning programs for local schools and provides technical training for farmers to improve planting efficiency. Observations in the greenhouse facilities demonstrated that innovation in agriculture can be as much about cultivation techniques and crop management as about digital technologies.

Learning more about strawberries and greenhouse agriculture

The visit to Jiuzhou Shuangchuang Industrial Park illustrated how local government support can foster an entrepreneurial ecosystem. The park combines office infrastructure, policy support, and community facilities, including wellness and shared spaces, to attract startups and strengthen regional economic development.

Exploring the startup and innovation ecosystem

The field study continued at the Geely Sunwoda production plant, where participants observed the battery manufacturing process from electrode preparation to cell assembly and module integration. The visit provided a clear view of how raw materials are transformed into EV-ready components and how production responsibilities are divided across different stages of the process.

Learning the components inside a battery cell

Day 1 concluded with a visit to Wanglaoji Pomegranate One Health Industrial Park, a pomegranate producer focused on both agricultural quality and global markets. The visit highlighted how geographic conditions influence product characteristics and how international certifications such as FDA and Kosher support export-oriented strategies.

Pomegranate industry and health product development

Day 2: Smart manufacturing and community life

Day 2 focused on smart manufacturing applications. At Qingluan Fuxing Industrial Technology, the visit demonstrated how artificial intelligence is integrated into operational processes, including AI-based costing systems that significantly reduce planning time. The use of AGVs for digital twin modeling, together with CNC machining and milling equipment, illustrated how advanced technologies are applied in practical production environments.

Exploring AI-driven smart manufacturing

A cultural visit to Yanglou Village provided a contrast to the industrial focus of the day. Engagement with local residents through traditional music and dumpling making offered insight into community life and highlighted the social context surrounding industrial and technological development.

Experiencing Yanglou culture through music, calligraphy, and dumpling making

The day concluded at Shandong Liancheng Precision Manufacturing, where observations of casting processes included material heating, impurity removal, mold pouring, and gravity aluminum casting. The visit highlighted the labor and technical intensity of early-stage manufacturing operations and the precision required in large-scale metal processing.

Witnessing the casting process in real time

Overall, Day 2 demonstrated how advanced manufacturing technologies and community life coexist within the same regional development context, reinforcing the connection between industrial systems and local society.

Day 3: Cultural heritage and urban exploration in Jinan

Day 3 marked a shift toward cultural understanding, complementing the previous focus on industrial and technological sites.

The visit to Shandong Museum provided tangible context for key themes discussed in Prof. Zhang Wei’s China Studies courses. Historical narratives previously examined in lectures were reinforced through direct engagement with archaeological artifacts and curated exhibitions.

Engaging with historical exhibits at Shandong Museum

Free exploration in Jinan provided time for immersion in the city’s urban environment, enabling students to observe its cultural landscape, engage with the local community, and experience regional food traditions.

Day 4: Heavy manufacturing and industrial infrastructure

The final day of the Shandong field study returned to industrial observation, focusing on large scale manufacturing systems and the infrastructure supporting advanced production.

At the CNHTC Sinotruk Laiwu Factory, the visit traced the company’s long development history and examined how large scale manufacturing strategies respond to market demands. The site visit highlighted the company’s in-house research and development capabilities, as well as its diversification toward alternative energy vehicles, including electric and fuel cell trucks, reflecting long term planning in the commercial vehicle sector. The visit also reviewed key historical milestones, including the development of the Yellow River JN150, recognized as China’s first domestically produced heavy duty truck.

Witnessing the company’s history that made China’s first heavy-duty truck (Yellow River JN150)

The visit to Inspur Group focused on the computing and server infrastructure that underpins digital transformation in contemporary industry. Observations of hardware production and data processing capabilities provided a concrete understanding of digital infrastructure beyond theoretical discussion.

Learning about industrial computing and data infrastructure

The field study concluded at Jinan No.2 Machine Tool Group, where large scale press and stamping equipment illustrated the engineering complexity of high end machine tool manufacturing. Observations focused on equipment scale, precision requirements, and the role of heavy machine tools in supporting downstream manufacturing across multiple industrial sectors.

Students observing the presses and stamping equipment in proximity

Overall, the four-day field study in Shandong served as a practical extension of the course China Studies: Industry, Culture and Society. Through a combination of industrial visits and cultural exploration, the field study linked classroom discussions on production systems, technological change, and social context to real-world practices. By observing manufacturing processes, innovation strategies, and everyday cultural settings firsthand, the trip provided an integrated perspective on how industry, society, and local culture interact in contemporary China.

Students’ Voice

My trip to Shandong was an unforgettable experience. We started things off with beer tasting in Tsingtao after seeing their impressive production process, and ended the trip with genuinely feeling like I connected with my classmates and peers. We also spent time with the locals in Yanglou village, wrapped our own delicious dumplings, and enjoyed so many amazing Shandong dishes. I’m grateful that the trip offered not just professional insights, but also meaningful cultural and community experiences.

From Leonie, 2025 IMEM

I did not expect the trip to be so fun! With all the factory visits we participated in, it was eye-opening to see different companies' manufacturing chains and daily operations firsthand. It was a great opportunity to learn how they started and have worked to thrive in their respective fields. Aside from the company visits, we were also able to taste authentic Shandong cuisine and bond with new friends, making unforgettable memories along the way.

From Johnica, 2025 IMEM

The visit to Sinotruk left the strongest impression. Seeing large scale manufacturing firsthand challenged common perceptions of China’s industrial landscape, as robotic arms operated with remarkable precision and efficiency, reducing the need for repetitive human labor. The company’s progress in developing new propulsion technologies was particularly notable. In particular, the rapid growth in electric truck sales, which doubled from 10% to 20% within one year, reflected a significant and encouraging shift toward cleaner transportation.

From Bastien Barre, exchange student

My strongest learning experience during the Shandong trip was seeing how heavy industry operates at an extreme scale while remaining highly automated. Visiting companies such as SINOTRUK and JIER helped me understand how industrial engineering principles like process flow, automation, and quality control are applied in large-scale production. Beyond the industrial visits, spending time in a local village was a memorable cultural experience. The warm and heartfelt welcome from the local community gave me a deeper appreciation of rural life and traditions in Shandong, adding an important human and cultural dimension to the trip and making the experience especially meaningful. Thank you to the department for organizing all of this.

From Antoine Pascal, exchange student

Writer: Alyssa Tiu

Editor: Rui Lu

Reviewers: Liang Ma, Lefei Li