The last two weeks have flown by, yet when I reflect on our time in Alashan it feels like it was over a month ago. I think that is typical when constantly on the move, meeting new people, seeing new places, and learning new things. Today I had my proverbial lid flipped when we visited the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP).
The words “industrial park” are very misleading, at least in terms of how we tend to define them in the United States. The Suzhou Industrial Park was established in 1994 in a joint collaboration between the Chinese and Singapore governments. It is a kind of futuristic city where people can live and work in the highly successful industrial complex. One hundred of the Fortune 500 companies have a presence here. The SIP has a focus on environmental protection and efficiency. I was also happy to learn that they require fare wages for workers and that each company is reviewed annually to ensure its employees are being treated properly.
The Suzhou Industrial Park had a sterile feeling to me, it is like a giant suburb full of futuristic buildings. It seemed to lack the beautiful and vibrant culture that is everywhere else we have been in China. That aside, I think they are trying to create an economically successful city and do the right thing in terms of environmental and social justice.
We were briefed by Xu Shao Jie, the Deputy Director of the Environmental Protection Bureau of SIP. He talked to us about the Eco-civilization Demonstration Zone of Suzhou Industrial Park. He and his associates were gracious hosts and we greatly appreciate the time they took with us.
After this visit we went to a Chinese Garden in Suzhou proper, toured a silk factory, had dinner, and drove back to Shanghai.
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