Hong Kong - Shanghai - Frankfurt

    29. - 31.03.2016

    Hong Kong, Tuesday March 29th, 2016     Visit to the Hong Kong Tourism Board

     

    On Tuesday morning, we had to find our way to the Citicorp Centre at 18, Whitfield Road. From our hotel it was just a couple of stops on the blue metro line, followed by a few minutes of walking. Luckily we had  already made our first experience with the metro system the days before and everybody managed to be on time.

     

    Hong Kong Metro

    On our way we passed by some shops, which have completely different hygiene standards compared to Germany. The meat was hanging in the open next to the street.

     

    Hong Kong butcher

     

    Today and on Wednesday, Prof. Schellhase was sick and stayed in bed. So Richard Bopp took over for him. Richard and I hurried to be at the given address a few minutes earlier to make sure everything was organized.

     

    Logo HKTB

     

    At 11 a.m., Peter Hoslin (Regional Director, Europe and New Markets) and Luci Tsui (Director Strategic Planning and Insights) welcomed us to the 11th floor.

     

    Hong Kong Tourism Board

     

    We listened to a detailled explanation about the function of the Hong Kong Tourism Board. Their worldwide projects to promote visitors coming in are mainly based on key indicators like GNP or unemployment rate of foreign countries. However, if there are big events like the FIFA European Championships in France in Summer 2016 this will effect their investment in those regions.

     

    Presentation Hong Kong Tourism Board

     

     

    In one sentence the aim of the HKTB is "to market and promote Hong Kong as a destination worldwide, and to take initiatives to enhance visitors' experience when they arrive". It was very interesting to see, what effort is involved in this.

     

    Hong Kong Tourism Board

     

    Listening to the presentation

     

    Some of us...

     
     

    We had the afternoon free for individual explorations of Hong Kong. A few of us took the chance to visit the Big Buddha Statue, like others already did yesterday (have a look at their post, 28th).

     

     

    View of Hong Kong from the Cable Car

    Pagoda next to Big Buddha,
     seen from cable car

     

    Hidden on the hilly side of Hong Kong on the southern part of the island a big bronze Buddha statue domintates the peak, watching and taking care of the whole island. An impressive ride by cable car took us up to the majestic monument.

     

    Big Buddha

     
     

    Tuesday evening was our last evening and we were invited to go to the Sugar Bar. The Sugar Bar is located on the 32nd floor of the Hotel EAST. A very stylish and modern ambience and a tremendous view over Hong Kong at night made the evening a good ending to our trip.

     

    Sugar – Sky – Bar, Lounge

     

    Hong Kong

    We had reserved a nice place on the terrace. The weather was quite warm for a night in March and the DJ played relaxed sounds. With cocktails in our hands we recapped our last days and everybody shared what he/she thought were the best moments of our trip.

     

    Atmosphere

     

    Lounge on 32nd floor

     

     

     

    Hong Kong, Wednesday 30th, 2016

    Visit to the German Chamber of Commerce

     

    Our last day in Hong Kong. There was one last company visit on our schedule. The night was short for some of us after the great farewell party in the Sugar Bar.

     

    Lippo Centre Hong Kong

     

    However, I believe we were all on time at 9:30 in the "Lippo Centre", where we visited the German Chamber of Commerce. Or in German "Auslandshandelskammer".

     

    Ms. Kristina Ernst explained to us that the main task of this organization is to help German companies to find business partners in the Chinese market.

     

    Presentation by Kristina Ernst

     

    The GCC is collecting market information about Hong Kong and China and sells this information to those (companies) who need it.

     

    Additionally, Ms. Ernst shared her personal experience about life in Hong Kong. This was very interesting to those of us, who are thinking of spending some time here ourselves.

                                                       

     

     

     

     

    German Chamber Of Commerce Hong Kong

     

    After our last company visit, we went back to our hotel for the last time. About an hour later we left on a bus to the airport. Our flight to Shanghai was one hour delayed, but that was OK, since this reduced our 6 hours waiting time in Shanghai. Last chance to spend our remaining RMB and Hong Kong Dollars in the duty free and gift shops. The conecting flight to Frankfurt was on time.

     

    Leaving Shanghai

    Pudong International Airport at Gate 24

     

    Shortly after midnight we took off on China Eastern to Frankfurt. The entertainment programme had a good variety of movies, but after all these numerous impressions of the last days, I only was in mood for one movie. I tried to get a little sleep during the 11 hours flight.

     

    Shortly before landing we got presented with a fitness programme. Stretching in a small space...

     

    I have to mention this because the majority of the passengers really joined in and stretched their arms and legs after the long flight.

     

    A 330 - Gym

    This must be part of the Chinese culture to love this kind of group activity.

     

    Thursday March 31th, 2016 we arrived at Frankfurt Airport at 7:00 a.m.

     

    Tired after a very exciting journey, we went home with a lot of new memories. We made new friends in China. We saw three amazing but in itself pretty different cities. Some of us are already planning to make a career step in China. Others may just come back for a holiday.

     

    Waving Good Bye

     

     

    Our honest thanks to all who organized this most impressive trip!