Week Eight (China!)

I’ve been in Beijing for a week now and so far I absolutely love everything about it! As you would imagine, the culture is very different and not at all what I expected. It seems to be the little things, like door locks turning the opposite way, that confuse me the most, but I am settling in pretty well.

The Rolls-Royce office is situated in the heart of the Central Business District and it’s a big change for me – you only have to compare the 35 or so employees in the Beijing office to the thousands in Derby to understand the scale of the difference! All my colleagues here are absolutely brilliant, and I have been for a string of fantastic meals since I arrived. I never realised just how many Chinese cuisines there are (I’ve been told thirty-six?) and I’m having a brilliant time discovering them all.

So much has happened in the last week that I could never put it all in one blog post, so I should probably focus on my work! I have been assigned to help with the 50/30 celebration, which is an event comprised of an Innovation Forum followed by an anniversary reception to commemorate 50 years of Rolls-Royce engines in China and 30 years of Rolls-Royce having a presence in China.

My English skills have come into their own as I have been helping to write media pieces and interviews as well as helping with the actual planning and preparation of the event. On Friday we did a check of the venue to make sure everything is on track – it’s a prestigious event with some of the most important Chinese customers attending so we have to make sure everything is perfect! As a result I have been learning a lot about the history of Rolls-Royce’s partnership with China. I’ve also had a chance to learn about some activities outside the Civil Aerospace business, so I’m continuing to learn a lot about how Rolls-Royce operates more generally.

It’s not all been work though – as I mentioned, I’ve been to some brilliant places; I cycled to Tiananmen Square (quite a feat with the drivers here) and had a go at haggling in Yashow market. I also spent the weekend being a typical tourist at the Great Wall of China and the Summer Palace. They were fantastic and the scale of both was awe-inspiring, although I had a close shave when an enormous snake launched itself at my face on the walk up to the Great Wall!

I could talk forever about the kindness and hospitality of everyone I have met in Beijing, the incredible flavours of the food, the buzzing vibe of the city and the excitement of my work. All in all it has been a brilliant week and I am really excited for the opportunities and challenges that will doubtless be thrown at me over the next week!