LJMU e-Racing Team go to Shanghai

As part of LJMU’s incredible Go Abroad scheme, six Team members were chosen to represent the Team and the university in China. LJMU embraces internationalism and it’s a key aim of the university to be recognised for its work in wealth creation, social well-being, culture and arts. The university funded Go Abroad scheme encourages students to learn these key experiences internationally. LJMU’s effort in becoming an internationally are renown; with the founding of the Sino-British College, sponsoring the John Moores Painting Prize in China and by jointly delivering a dual degree at Changshu Institute of Technology – BSc (Hons) in Electrical and Electronic Engineering to name a few efforts.

Our Team’s aim was to set up the foundation for a collaborative project between the LJMU e-Racing Team and a Formula Student team from one of the 3 universities we were visiting in China. Our six Team members and three faculty advisors flew out to Shanghai from Manchester, with a short changeover in Dubai on the 31st May.

The Team landed late in the evening on 1st June which didn’t give us much time to explore our surroundings. Our two first full days in Shanghai were spent on a cultural tour. A visit to Sheshan Mountain, where on the way up to the top, we came across an old shrine to some local Gods.

At the top of the Mountain was a Catholic monastery, Sheshan Basilica, built by European missionaries in the early 1900s. There were terrific views of the surrounding landscape at the top of the mountain, it was a confirmation for the Team that Shanghai is a metropolis on a completely different scale to our native Liverpool!

Later in the day, we travelled to the ancient water town of Zhujiajiao. Zhujiajiao’s network of waterways were navigated by boats akin to the gondolas of Venice.

There were hundreds of shops around the ancient town selling all kinds of handmade goods, there was also the sweet smell of the local pork dish speciality! A couple of the Team members found contrast in the tightly packed narrow streets of the town in the historical Yu Garden with its Koi carp swimming around the pond.

Later that evening, the Team took the train into downtown Shanghai to see the sights. Immediately taken aback by the human traffic of downtown, they headed to see the famous Bund. The cityscape lit up at night was an incredible spectacle!

The following day we went back into Shanghai to head up the Oriental Pearl Tower. Seeing the city from 350 meters up was breath-taking. (put in photo of us on the glass floor)

Later that day we headed to the Yuyuan old market town of Shanghai. In Yuyuan we found countless market shops, incredible traditional tea houses and masses of people! A few of the Team members went to a fourth-floor tea house to get away from the busy streets of the market town. Here, they saw the stark contrast between the traditional China at the market and the new China with its rising city sky line.

The final visit of that day was to the People’s Square. It was a nice chance to relax in the wonderfully kept garden square!

That evening, we had our first hot pot dinner. With the help of design students from Shanghai University of Engineering Science (SUES) we picked our raw meats and vegetables of choice and put them into the pan of boiling water flavoured with chilli and other spices. Duck blood, duck feet, chicken feet and tripe were some of the chosen items! When in Shanghai! One our Team members also had his birthday that day and was duly given the traditional Chinese birthday meal of noodle broth – we were told this would add years to his life!