Hello from Hangzhou! Wednesday we traveled from Shanghai to Hangzhou in the Zhejiang Province by charter bus. A three hour drive in which we saw some of the countryside and the construction of a highspeed railway. Stopped at a rest area half way and had the opportunity to use RMB for the first time. (RMB is the currency).
Arrived at hotel and prepared for meeting with Secretary General of Zhejiang Province and other government officials. The mayors and the IEDC representatives were participants in the meeting. What an experience! The Secretary hosted a generous banquet for all the delegation. We were served several courses of traditional Chinese food and had a very pleasant experience. There were five young ladies playing music with traditional Chinese instruments and they were darling!
Thursday we toured Zheijiang University and met with the President and university staff. The campus was very large and had many unique buildings, in particular the architecture department building. We visited the Meijiawu Tea Garden on our return to the hotel. My fellow mayors and I had lunch at KFC, which is on every corner here! We then met at the Zhejiang Investment Center and discussed export and import markets and investment. Very enlightening discussion. The mayors and IEDC representatives then met with the Governer of the Zhejiang Province and other government officials. Again, an unbelievable experience. The delegation was then hosted by Governor of Zhejiang Province, and again treated to a traditional formal Chinese dinner. The young musicians joined us again also. Finally learned to say thank you in Chinese! Shay-Shay! (My phonetic version.)
Heading to Tokyo!