SUTD adventures in Chengdu!! (feat. SCU and UESTC)

Going into SSUE, I did have some expectations about Chengdu, the people, culture etc. But nevertheless I was met with a couple of surprises!

The first surprise to me was how hugeee the campus was at 四川大学, which is home to over 70000 students (more than double of NUS, to put things in perspective). The Uni was like a self-sufficient little town on it’s own, fully fitted with sports complexes, supermarkets..even a kindergarten! The campus was buzzing with people of all ages.

The second surprise (well I should have known better) was how spicy the mala was?? Here I was determined to try 特辣 (especially spicy) before returning to sg but the 微辣 (mildly spicy) wasn’t 微 all hahaha.

Do not attempt to eat purely from the red side if you know what’s good for you xD

Here is a selection of pictures to see what went down over the first week of our stay in Chengdu! There are many more that can’t fit into a blogpost like this, but needless to say it was a week filled with lots of interaction with new friends, spicy food, campus tours, sightseeing, more spicy food…

Our first lunch at UESTC! literal feast 😛 too much food to go around, quite overwhelmed by the generosity of the schools throughout our stay.
Group activites at SCU! Icebreaker Games and Trivia quiz 抢答题决赛 Intense discussion underway..minus the girls on the left haha
First place in games! B-) We won these fabulous hoodies!!!! sutd boleh la

I found many of the Chinese students were really good communicators, full of opinions and unafraid to speak in front of a crowd, yet suitably mild-mannered during small group conversations.

Awkward shot at qingchengshan 青城山, one of the primary outdoor places of interest in Chengdu.
Panda chilling in panda research centre enclosure. Weather was too hot outside in the midday sun, the pandas went indoors to chill and eat lots of bamboo (like bucketloads of bamboo hahaha). This guy having food coma.

3D printing exposure exercise at UESTC! Cadding icebear with friends from SMU.

Teacher conducting 3D printer workshop

Cheers to 酸奶！(literal translation is sour milk) a local yoghurt drink that’s a staple in every mala meal. Kind of like how lassi is to indian curries. Picture taken at a loklok-style mala steamboat restaurant nearby UESTC (the second partner university in Chengdu) . A student favourite, it was our Chinese buddies’ place of choice for farewell dinner.

 

(pro tip: install multiple vpns and taobao apps before going over! And it would be really helpful to have someone with Alipay)

 

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