Week Four: Social Media Presentation

 I apologize for the delay getting this update posted.  I've had some internet problems lately, but everything seems to be working fine now.  I got a lot done last week.   On Thursday I gave what was supposed to be a 30 minute presentation to the entire office on the topic of online promotion and how the company can better use social media to reach its target audience.  However by the time the Q&A session was over, I believe it went over an hour.  I was really pleased to see how excited the company was about many of my ideas and the information I covered.  Since Facebook and Twitter are not available in China, it creates some interesting challenges and opportunities for Chinese companies.  I can’t get into details of course, but I would say that it was definitely the most rewarding day of work…ever.  I will actually be giving the presentation again this coming Friday to a group of local college students who serve as ambassadors to ACCA on their respective campuses. 

On Friday, I walked to the subway in the rain…again.  I’m used to spending my summer’s working in Texas where drought has been a serious problem for at least several years.  With this mindset, I did not pack an umbrella and when we had a few showers here I still decided it was not likely to persist and I did not buy one.  After getting wet several days walking to the subway, I’ll be buying the next one I find for sale.  Oddly enough, I couldn’t find anywhere selling one in the mall under the building.

Saturday was an extremely long day of walking, but incredibly fun.  I visited two more cultural sites in Beijing, the Temple of Heaven and Lama Temple.  The Temple of Heaven is very beautiful.  I've posted some pictures below.  The emperors would visit this site annually in ancient times to say prayers for a good harvest.  One thing that blew me away was when I read that the huge pillars inside were actually imported from Oregon!  Apparently the original temple was struck by lightning in 1889 and there were no trees left in China which were sufficiently large enough for the task so they imported them.  I really never expected to see an ancient temple in China built with lumber from Oregon.

On the way to the Lama Temple we stopped at a famous Chinese restaurant known as KFC. 

In all honesty, I have heard from some of the international students in my MBA class that KFC if very popular in both India and China.  After visiting one I can see why.  They do a great of localizing the menu, but more importantly the restaurants tend to be very nice inside.  I've heard the Pizza Hut is incredible here, but I haven't given it a try yet.

After our break for lunch, we went to the Lama Temple.  The area the temple is contained within is much smaller than the Temple of Heaven but I found it to be even more intriguing.  There is an admission fee to enter the temple (just like the other sites we have visited) except that the temple also appears to still be used today for worship.  Upon entering the temple area, we could smell the incredibly rich and pleasant smell of incense.  There were small fires lit in front of all the larger temple buildings and the people would light their incense, pray while holding it, and then toss it into the fire.

The end of the temple held a great surprise though.  As we entered the very last building, which was the tallest and most spectacular of all, we came face to face with a 60 foot tall statue of the Maitreya Buddha.  The building was three stories tall and the statue stretched from ground level all the way to the ceiling.  That would be impressive enough for me considering its beauty and the level of craftsmanship in its construction, but a sign on the front door states that it was sculpted from a single block of sandalwood.  It was truly incredible.  I was dying to snap a photo, but there are signs inside the buildings which ask that you not to take photographs.  Most of the tourists were doing so anyway, but given that the temples are still used for worship and the majority of the people present were praying, I chose to respect their request.

You may notice that the sign actually says 26 meters (roughly 85 feet), but apparently a good portion of that is actually underground so 60 feet is roughly what you actually see inside.  Below is a picture of the temple the statue is housed in.  The buildings in the complex are so close together that this is about the best photo I could take.

After leaving the temples we jumped the subway a few more stops west and got out to explore some hutongs.  Hutongs are probably one of the areas you think of when you think of China.  They are long, narrow streets lined with small shops, cafes, etc.  Unfortunately they’re disappearing very quickly in the Beijing area as the land is leveled to make way for high rise buildings.  It’s a shame too because the ones we visited were quite charming and a great change of pace from the downtown in which we live and work.  I was very upset to pull out my camera and realize that I had drained the battery during the 4 or 5 hours we had already spent at the temples so unfortunately I have no photos.  I hope to return to the hutongs though before leaving and I will definitely take photos if I do.

Sunday was a day of rest after spending 11 hours on my feet Saturday.  I’m right at the halfway point in my internship, and there is still a lot to get done at the office as well as a lot of places I want to explore on the weekends.  There are a few important events at work this week.  I have a two day conference to attend on Friday and Saturday.  To make things a little more hectic though, I will be leaving the conference early on Friday to give my presentation to ACCA’s student ambassadors at a separate conference on the same day.  The student ambassadors program is another area I’m working on with the company.  If you haven’t heard of a student ambassador before it’s exactly what the name implies.  The students act as representatives of the ACCA on their respective campuses and work to promote the company.  The students are able to gain valuable resume experience and the company is able to connect with local campuses.  It’s a great program.  As part of my internship, I’m coming up with new ways the company can improve on this program.  I’m excited to get to meet all the ambassadors as I feel their input will be extremely valuable.