Information For: Prospective Students | Alumni | Current Students | Faculty & Staff
mySCweb | Directions | Directory

The SC Delegation Visits the Tianhe Sports Center and Guangzhou Sports Training and Technical College.

Hello and welcome back to the Springfield College short-term study abroad program! Thank you for joining us again on this great journey. This morning the students had breakfast at the Guest House at Sun Yat-Sen University, while the faculty had breakfast with Mr. Jay and the Dean. It was another nice opportunity to discuss the relations between SC and SYS, and we believe this relationship has continued to grow immensely with our visit. I have explained to our students that I am so proud of the connection they have made with the students of SYS University, which is another big step in our collaborative efforts.

Going back to last night (please see the previous entry for details), the faculty had the honor of meeting with Mr. Liu to discuss his role in the 2010 Asian Games. During this time he invited our entire delegation to a presentation by him and his staff, along with a tour of the Gaungzhou Sports Training and Technical College. We were honored and accepted the invitation. After our breakfast we traveled to meet Mr. Liu and his staff. They gave our students a warm welcome with some special gifts and a presentation about their role in sport here in Guangzhou and around China. After the presentation, Dr. Guyer introduced our delegation to his staff and presented them with gifts from the College.

Bureau staffWe then went for a tour of his facilities which included a visit to a table tennis facility. Some of our students played table tennis against some of the local residents, which was quite fun for all! We were surprised to learn that the wife of the governer of the Guandong province (where Guangzhou is located) was playing table tennis. We also met a woman who will be the head judge of table tennis at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. They were kind enough to pose for a picture with our delegation. Next we were brought to their outdoor basketball facility, which boasts more than 25 courts. The manager of the facility reported to us that over one million people use this facility each year. Mr. Liu is well aware that the game of basketball was invented at SC, and thanked the College for a great contribution to the people of the world.

Gaungzhou Sports Training and Technical College Next we were brought to meet the administration of the Gaungzhou Sports Training and Technical College, including President Hu Shu Sen and Secretary of the Party Zou Lian Qing. We where given a warm welcome including a nice arrangement of fruit and candy, along with generous gifts. We also presented the administration with gifts from the College which they greatly appreciated.

Welcome

After our introduction to the administration, we were given a tour of their facilities. The Gaungzhou Sports Training and Technical College is where promising athletes go to school to train in their respective sport and study. This College is quite different from what we would expect – students range in age from 5-18. Several Olympians, some of whom are gold medalists, have trained here. During the tour we saw athletes perform wrestling, weightlifting, fencing, gymnastics, martial arts, table tennis, and basketball. The athletes were very talented and caught the undivided attention of us all.

Martial Arts After the tour we were treated to a nice lunch and learned more about the Gaungzhou Sports Training and Technical College. Of note, this impressive visit was organized in less than 12 hours, what an honor!

After this wonderful morning we headed back to the guest house for a short rest. Next we went to do some shopping at Shang Xia 9 Street. This was a huge shopping center that is famous in Guangzhou. The shops included clothing, jewelry, and souvenirs. This shopping center was very crowded, but we had wonderful guidance from the students from SYS University. They were helpful in getting some great bargains for our students. One difference about shopping here is that the price for almost everything for purchase is negotiable. Since this is a new situation for many of us, so it was helpful to have students who spoke both languages for assistance.

Shopping After about 2 hours of shopping we again returned to the guest house to prepare for dinner. This was our last dinner with the SYS students. Our students presented their students with hand made gifts, and we also presented Mr. Jay with a special gift from our Dean, Mr. Charlie Redmond. Jay was so happy since he holds Charlie in the highest regard, just like us all. Without Charlie this trip would never have been possible. Charlie has worked tirelessly for many years establishing relationships between Chinese Universities and SC. Thanks Charlie!

We have enjoyed our time at Sun Yat-Sen very much and are very thankful for the hospitality each minute of the visit. Off to rest for an early wake up call, I look forward to writing again tomorrow.
Springfield College 263 Alden Street, Springfield, MA 01109-3797 413.748.3000
Page updated on: 05/25/2008 05/25/2008