The remaining blogs were typed by the incredibly large and capable hands of our President and Tour Manager, Ben Arthurs #278.
Day 40, part II
The Dins departed from Japan on a flight into Hong Kong, then had the privilege of taking the ferry from HKG into Shenzhen. It reminded me why ferries are the best mode of transit - cruising across the bay while the sun set into the islands in the background was definitely 20 times better than any other way we could’ve gotten there. After clearing customs, the Harvard Club of South China gave us a warm welcome at the ferry terminal. We took a couple of group pictures, then split off into our separate homestays. Several of us ended up meeting for a barbecue dinner, where my host student Leo diligently protected me from sesame by translating for me. Thanks to Leo in advance for the fact that he would do this literally every meal for the next four days. Leo, if you’re reading this, you’re a lifesaver. We headed to bed, and I think I speak for everyone in remaking at the incredibly hospitality of our hosts! We all felt so at home.
Day 41
Thankfully, we didn’t have a performance today, so we enjoyed a day of sightseeing in Shenzhen - a welcome respite from the intense schedule of the past few days. Leo and I kicked off the morning by meeting Carolyn for McDonald’s - spoiler alert: it was better than US McDonald’s - and then enjoyed a tour of DJI, a drone store. Several of us even got to try a VR headset where you could fly a drone while looking through its POV camera, which was nauseating and trippy because I was literally watching myself fly it in third person, but it was cool. We stopped for bubble tea before heading to a van that was waiting to pick us up. (Also, along the way, I saw what seems to be a Shenzhen version of The Bean. As a proud Chicagoan, this was probably the best moment of all of tour.) With our hosts and members of the Harvard Club, we headed to the Tencent HQ, where we were given a special welcome and a tour of the facilities. The Tencent building is absolutely mind-blowing; they have incredible amenities including a rock-climbing wall, a ping pong floor, and more, and we got a special presentation about the company as well, complete with striking views of the city. We then went to the Shenzhen Museum, where we learned all about the unique history of the city, including the fact that it was a fishing village merely 40 years ago. It’s made an incredible transition to a sprawling tech city in a very short amount of time. We split off for dinner; Leo and I met up with friends of mine in the area. I tried some of the first of many foods that were, well, interesting to me over the next few days - just to get them out of the way, this included chicken brain, fish eye, chicken foot, beef intestine, and more. I think those of the Dins who had not experienced this kind of cuisine before (me included) were making a strong effort to be open and try new things, even if they seemed strange to us. I’m not sure I would eat them for enjoyment at home, but hey, it wasn’t so bad. We saw the city’s light show across its skyscrapers, which was much bigger than I expected and totally stunning. We capped off a great evening as Leo showed me the miniature scale versions of world landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and the Pyramids near his house.
Day 42
On this day, the Dins visited Shenzhen Middle School, one of the best high schools in all of China, and the school that our host students attend. The tour was rather impressive - I geeked out briefly over the fact that this school had a quantum physics lab. Can you imagine if I had had that in high school? Where would I be now??? Anyway, we sang a performance to a packed auditorium of students there. Several of us had the pleasure of interviewing with the student newspaper to discuss our experience in Shenzhen, and then our whole crew - Dins, students, families, and Harvard Club hosts - headed to a nice restaurant where we enjoyed a huge meal with more food than I could ever hope to eat. After a toast, the Dins sang a couple more songs to thank our lovely host families again.
Day 43
The next morning we geared up for our public performance in Shenzhen, sponsored by the Harvard Club of South China. Wait, I missed something. Leo took me to Chinese Walmart in the morning. It was…well, it was definitely Walmart. Except with more chicken feet and things like that available for sell. It was a nice reminder of home. Ok, back to the main quest, we were set to perform at Sky Concert Hall - a concert hall on the 81st floor of one of the most towering skyscrapers in Shenzhen. In fact, it holds the Guinness World Record for concert hall highest up in a building. We literally sang at the world’s highest concert hall. Isn’t that crazy?? Anyway, being there was just as mind-blowing as promised. There were gorgeous 270-degree views over all of Shenzhen and Hong Kong. It really felt like singing in the sky. After a sold-out performance, myself, Carolyn and our dutiful translator Simon spoke about our college experience on a panel regarding education. In between, we chatted with audience members and signed some merchandise. All in all, it was definitely the most spectacular venue we’ve had the chance to sign in, and we expressed our gratitude as we said goodbye to our Harvard Club hosts afterwards. After this, groups split off to explore. Many attended a hot pot dinner together with their host students. Myself, Mattheus, and Kavi went to Hong Kong to see a friend and explore a little bit while we had the chance. We only had a couple of hours, but we had a great time and came back on the last train at 11 PM (which, by the way, was incredibly fast).
