Today, we visited Springs Global. Yes, it is the same Springs Global headquartered in Fort Mill, S.C.. They have an office in China. I really enjoyed the presentation given by senior management. Blake, the VP, had an honest candor about doing business in China. I was especially thrilled to learn about their compliance/corporate responsibility department and the importance that Blake places on it. I’m interested in the field so it was nice to hear the value the company believes it generates. Especially since it isn’t a business unit that generates revenue. It's worth is measured in subjective terms as opposed to an objective measure.
The next stop was the urban planning exhibit. The city’s leaders definitely had vision. You could actually see a model of what the city would look like in 10-20 years. The growth that had taken place in the last 20 years was amazing enough. There were skyscrapers in every direction and most of them didn’t even exist 15 years ago. Above the entrance to the Oriental Pearl tower was a picture timeline in 5 year increments. The same area showed an unbelievable growth in a 10-15 year span. It didn't even look like the same area when we saw all of the new buildings that had sprung up. We finally got to tour the Oriental Pearl T.V. Tower to view the city. Unfortunately, the day was overcast and visibility was low. It wasn’t the best day to get a bird’s eye view of the city, but you still couldn’t help but appreciate the marvelous view.
Shanghai is home to the only commercially available magnetic levitron train in the world. Magnets are used to create a levitation field that the train travels on. Instead of riding on the rails, the train floats above them. Due to the lack of friction, the train can reach very high speeds. At first, I wasn’t that excited about the train ride. As I learned more about it, however, I became enthusiastic about the rare opportunity to ride one. As advertised, our train reached a high of 431 km/hr.. The ride was so smooth. We flew down the track on a cushion of air. None of the bumping or jolting that is normally associated with a train ride. Afterward, our guide told us that the train had special windows that allow us to see outside. The windowpane is constructed of a special material that slows down the scenery outside so that it can be viewed from inside the train. If it were made of regular glass, you wouldn’t see anything at such high speeds because it would be a blur. I took for granted the view from inside the train, but that type of technology makes the mag lev train so special.
The next stop was the urban planning exhibit. The city’s leaders definitely had vision. You could actually see a model of what the city would look like in 10-20 years. The growth that had taken place in the last 20 years was amazing enough. There were skyscrapers in every direction and most of them didn’t even exist 15 years ago. Above the entrance to the Oriental Pearl tower was a picture timeline in 5 year increments. The same area showed an unbelievable growth in a 10-15 year span. It didn't even look like the same area when we saw all of the new buildings that had sprung up. We finally got to tour the Oriental Pearl T.V. Tower to view the city. Unfortunately, the day was overcast and visibility was low. It wasn’t the best day to get a bird’s eye view of the city, but you still couldn’t help but appreciate the marvelous view.
Shanghai is home to the only commercially available magnetic levitron train in the world. Magnets are used to create a levitation field that the train travels on. Instead of riding on the rails, the train floats above them. Due to the lack of friction, the train can reach very high speeds. At first, I wasn’t that excited about the train ride. As I learned more about it, however, I became enthusiastic about the rare opportunity to ride one. As advertised, our train reached a high of 431 km/hr.. The ride was so smooth. We flew down the track on a cushion of air. None of the bumping or jolting that is normally associated with a train ride. Afterward, our guide told us that the train had special windows that allow us to see outside. The windowpane is constructed of a special material that slows down the scenery outside so that it can be viewed from inside the train. If it were made of regular glass, you wouldn’t see anything at such high speeds because it would be a blur. I took for granted the view from inside the train, but that type of technology makes the mag lev train so special.
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