During the third week in Zhejiang, my project theme, Data2Video were invited to Shenzhen. We went there for a company visit to WeBank and Ping An. This was unexcepted, as it had only been three weeks and we were required to fly again.
In order to travel to Shenzhen, we had to take a DIDI to one of the pickup points that would ferry us to the airport, as a direct ride to the airport would be much more costly. For there, we took about two hours flight to Shenzhen. Upon reaching Shenzhen, we were greeted by the weather which was hotter and more humid compared to Hangzhou, however, the air was cleaner. In general, the atmosphere was like Hong Kong or Singapore.
WeBank
Firstly, we visited WeBank, which is another department of Wechat. They deal with the financial services for the company. Their main targeted customers would be towards smaller companies or individuals. The regular banks would provide smaller loans to those small companies or individuals due to the higher risk-factor they would have. However, WeBank would be able to grant them the loan at a higher-interest-rate to cover for the higher risk.
Ping An
The next company we visited is Pin An, they are mainly known for their insurance services. However, we visited their robotics department instead. There, one of the executives brought us around their office to present their current work. They also showed us the way they ran their department.
After that, our supervising Professor, Prof Wei Chen, gave a talk at Ping An about data visualization. The talk gave us more insights to different ways data can be represented easily and a better understanding of the different media that are currently used. After the talk, we were invited for dinner, which presents an opportunity to experience how the business has been carried out over dinner.
During dinner, we observed the business ethics, for example, Pin An executive’s subordinates would jing a glass of wine to my Prof to show respect to as an important person or senior. We then networked with them as they gave name cards through WeChat and shared their work experience in the company.
It was one eye-opener experience, which made me be realized how little I knew about the world.
Special Thanks to those in the Photos
(Date of Trip DATE 2019 Week 3, 30th May to 1st June 2019)
