Day 1, Week 1 in Wuhan, China

Overseas Immersion Programme

Wuhan, China

4th March 2009 to 14th April 2009


To: Mr. Chua Tji Leng and Mr. Denry Ma N S

From: Satish Menon S10061753H
Course: Aerospace Electronics (AE)
Year: 2.1

Subject: My Learning Plan

School of Electronic and Computer Engineering (ECE)
Ngee Ann Polytechnic

Date: 4th of March 2009

Learning Objective

Having the opportunity to travel overseas, and to experience a different country’s culture and lifestyle, is truly an unforgettable experience. By travelling across our borders and beyond, we are indeed challenging ourselves to explore and know more about the world around us. This allows us to broaden our mindset and absorb new knowledge as well. Not only that, we would also be able to create networks with one another and create a strong friendship among one another.

By travelling to Wuhan, China for this Overseas Immersion Programme, I am challenging myself to look beyond Singapore and to learn more about China, within a period of 6 weeks.

I certainly feel privileged to be given this opportunity to experience one’s culture and lifestyle, in a foreign country, and this would be something that I shall cherish for a very long period of time indeed.

Upon attending the briefing that was held before the examinations, I started to gather information about Wuhan, Hubei and the Wuhan University of Science and Technology (WUST), after my examinations, from the Internet as well as the Reference Books in the various Libraries.

I learned quite a bit of Wuhan’s History and Hubei’s History as well.

Apparently, the origin of the name “Hubei” was derived based on the province’s location. “hu” stands for lake, while “bei” meant north. Thus, Hubei refers to the Province’s exact location which is north of the Dongting Lake. Not only that, the famous Three Gorges Dam Is located in Yichang, in western Hubei.

Wuhan, which is the Capital of Hubei, is the most populous city in the Central People’s Republic of China.
It is a Major Transportation Hub with dozens of railways, roads and expressways weaving in and out of the sub-provincial city. This also happened to be the Capital of the leftist Kuomintang (KMT) Government led by Wang Jingwei in opposition to Chiang Kai-Shek, in the early 1920s.

I wanted to know how studying in Wuhan, China would be like, as a foreign student. I would also like to know how a student lives in the hostel, adapting to the different way of life. What would be the constraints that he/she would face, while adapting to their way of life, in Wuhan.

The main motivation for me to travel to China and to learn more about Wuhan, China and its various aspects would be the moral support given by my Mother, and my 2 Siblings whom have sacrificed a lot to ensure that I have not lost out on a chance to learn out of the box. They are my pillar of strength as I constantly turn to them for any difficult decision that I would have to undertake.

Not only that, my Trip Leaders, Mr. Denry Ma N S and Mr., Chua Tji Leng have constantly never failed to render any form of assistance when asked.

My Friends whom would stand by my side in both good times and bad times, keeping a lookout for one another.

They are my motivation to move on to learn and explore new ground as I move ahead.

I shall use my knowledge that I shall gain in Wuhan, and share them with my peers in Singapore to share what I have learned and gained from this Programme.

At the same time, I shall also practice what I would learn in Wuhan in Singapore as well, wherever applicable.

Focus of Inquiry

For my Area of Enquiry, I have narrowed down my Areas to 5 of them. They are:

1. Culture of Wuhan, Hubei
2. Chinese Food and Beverage in Wuhan, Hubei
3. Student Life in Universities in China.
4. Transportation in Wuhan, Hubei
5. Geography of Land and Land Usage in Wuhan, Hubei

6. After much deliberation, I have decided to choose Area of Enquiry Number 5: Geography of Land and Land Usage in Wuhan, Hubei

I chose this Area as I wanted to know more on the geographical landscape of Wuhan, how the land in Wuhan is like as well as how it is being utilized as well by the Government and its people.

Being a Singaporean, I am aware of the Land Scarcity Issue that is affecting Singaporeans and the Government’s Decision on how it plans to utilize the land, maximizing its potential and not affecting the surrounding environment the same time. Thus, I am keen to know more about Wuhan’s policies in ensuring that its land is used.

Thus, I would be aware of the actions taken in Wuhan, and compare them with those taken in Singapore. This would help me to understand how land is being used in different countries for various purposes.

Questions for Investigation

These are the Questions that I would like to be answered in Wuhan, China as they would provide a greater insight of the environment there.

Question 1: What is the Geographical Landscape of Wuhan, China? What are its main features?

Explanation: Every nation has its own unique geographical landscape. Each nation would also have something unique about their landscape which sets them apart.

Question 2: How is Land being utilized in Wuhan, China?

Explanation: By understanding how land is utilized in Wuhan, I would be able to know how the land is been planned for the various different aspects for the people. I would also be able to compare with Singapore’s plan to compare and see the similarities and differences of how such planning and decision making is being carried out.

Question 3: What factories and industries are Wuhan’s major industries?

Explanation: Usually, such major industries are the main driving force of the particular province. By knowing what these industries, I would be able to understand what industries are using land in Wuhan heavily and what their reasons are for carrying out their work in Wuhan.

Question 4: How are the buildings and other structures in Wuhan, China constructed? Why?

Explanation: The building method would help to explain on why the buildings are designed and constructed as such. This would allow us to better know of the land conditions in Wuhan, China and why they are constructed as such.



Question 5: How is land usage in China maximized, in order to achieve maximum potential and ensuring that the surrounding area is not affected?

Explanation: Singapore has a problem of Land Scarcity. Thus, the Government has made a string of measures to ensure that the land is used responsibly and effectively as well. Thus, by knowing of Wuhan’s measures, I would be able to understand how land usage is carried out there as well.

Development of Global Skills

This would the first time that I would be travelling to a foreign country for a period of 6 Weeks. Thus, this would be a good opportunity to acquire skills that would help me to be understand things and events better around me.

Thus, the 3 Global Skills that I wish to acquire and improve on are:

1. Respect of other beliefs
2. Sense of Personal Control
3. Open Mindedness

I have chosen these 3 Global Skills for various reasons.

China has one of the world's oldest people and continuous civilizations, consisting of states and cultures dating back more than six millennia. Not only that, it has the world's longest continuously used written language system, and is the source of many major inventions, such as paper, the compass, gunpowder, and printing.

As the people in China have great belief on their religion and its beliefs, it would be insensitive if I were to make any remarks or comments in a negative perspective about their beliefs. Thus, I certainly intend to improve my respect for other beliefs during my 6 Week Stay in Wuhan, China.

Previously, when I have travelled overseas in the past, my parents have always been around to ensure that everything is ready and safe. They ensure that their health as well as our healthy is well taken care of, and our finances and travel documents are sufficient and most importantly safe. Being in a foreign country without any form of currency is certainly being in a sticky situation. One should not overspend whatever amount that has been entrusted to them, and must use the amount wisely. As this would be my first time travelling without my parents by my side, I would have to be independent in planning for my trip, packing my necessities, ensuring that my finances are not spent unnecessarily. This trip would certainly help to improve my sense of personal control, especially in terms of finance, and most importantly, my character as well.


The 2 Global Skills mentioned above are Skills that I have acquired previously and I wish to improve them. The 3rd Skill that I wish to acquire would certainly something that would be slightly difficult.


I intend to acquire the Global Skill of Open Mindedness so as to be receptive of knowledge around me. While I am in Wuhan, I intend to absorb as much knowledge as I can to learn about the various aspects such as history, economics and many more. As I have mentioned earlier, this skill would be slightly more of a challenge for me, as I tend to have a closed mindset, which often results in me losing out on chances for me to learn more of the things around me. By acquiring the Global Skill of Open Mindedness, I would be broadening my mindset so as to learn more about the things around me.

Therefore, these 3 Skills would definitely improve my character and would also make me more independent to carry out tasks at hand.

Learning Strategies

Every individual has different learning styles. There are numerous ways in which one can learn, given the unlimited resources such as the Internet, Books, Magazines and many more.

These are the more common types of sources for information. However, I would to source for information in a different way. By experiencing the lifestyle in Wuhan, China for 6 Weeks, there are other methods in which I would like to research information as well.

Firstly, by staying in the hostel, I am experiencing student life at the University, which helps in my research for information on my Area of Focus. I would also be able to share my own experiences through this as well. I would be able to provide a first-hand account of things happening in a Student’s life, as I would not only be studying in Wuhan, University of Science and Technology (WUST) alone, but I would also be travelling around as well. This would allow me to observe the surrounding area and to know how the land is utilized.

Secondly, by talking to the people in China; we are able to obtain a lot of information as they are able to share a lot of information especially about how the land is utilized as they have much better knowledge of the surrounding area in Wuhan, China. This could be slightly hard for me to do so, as I lack the knowledge and understanding of the Chinese Language, but with assistance from my friends, I am confident that I would get through

Lastly, by researching on the Internet and reading up on Books, I would be able to get Information readily on the past and present situation of Geography of Land and Land Usage in Wuhan, Hubei.

Me and My Sister

Me and My Grandmother

My Aunt, Grandmother, Me and my Sister

Our Groupmates....

Our Groupmates....

Chee Yong, and Zhi Hui

Our First Meal in China, Guangzhou International Airport, McDonalds

Tastes pretty good too . . . .

Hey, who took that?

My First Meal....

Bored while waiting for our Connecting Flight to Wuhan.

Mr. Ma & Mr. Chua

Sasireika, Sebestian, Hwee Ping and me.

Top view of Guangzhou International Airport, Pretty Amazing!

Our Meal over our Transit Flight.....So Little.....

Up in the Skies, there is no gap in the clouds,

i wonder what's it like below . . . .

Argh... Why does it have to rain on the day we arrive?

its just too cold.....

Our first meal at Wuhan University of Science and Technology (WUST)

Korean Food tasted good, but very unhealthy.

What I Did

We arrived at Changi International Airport at around 5.30am.I was shocked to see many students from Ngee Ann Polytechnic waiting to check in their luggages. I only realized later that there was more than one Faculty of Engineering (Building and Environment) that was leaving with us.

Before departing into the Departure Hall, I was sent off by my mother, sister, my mother’s mother (or my grandmother) and my aunt. The rest of my family members were not able to make it early to the airport, thus, they came the night before to send me off.

I felt that I missed my siblings as well as my mother once I entered the aircraft. I would be gone for a extended period of 6 weeks. I do realize that this would be hard, but they encouraged being strong and looking ahead and facing the obstacles that I come across, especially in this Overseas Immersion Programme.

Our 1st Flight was from Singapore to Guangzhou and we were travelling by a Chinese Southern Airlines Aircraft(Boeing 737). The Flight took about 3 hours. During the flight, I was pretty exhausted from all the preparation for this trip, which I was still packing the night before. I dozed for roughly an hour or so. And woke up to see myself, in the aircraft over a bed of clouds. There was not even a single gap in between. I have travelled to other countries before, but I have never seen such a view before.

Once we arrived at Guangzhou International Airport, we went through the normal procedures, collected our luggage and waited for our Transit Flight to Wuhan. Meanwhile, we decided to have our meals at McDonalds. I certainly had difficulty ordering as all the Signboards were printed in Chinese. With help from my friends, Sebastian, Hwee Ping, Sasireika and a few others, I was able to get my order with minimal hiccups. The food there wasn’t so bad. In fact, it was quite good in my opinion. We even had time to explore the Airport as well.

Our 2nd Flight was from Guangzhou to Wuhan and we were travelling by a Chinese Southern Airlines Aircraft (Boeing 700). The Flight took about 1 hour or so. Following that, we went through the normal procedures, collected our luggage. I was simple set back at the weather condition that I encountered at Wuhan. I had already prepared winter wear, but never did I expect the temperature to be so low that I am able to see my own breath! I felt very cold indeed.

We then travelled to Wuhan University of Science and Technology (WUST). It took about 2 hours to reach our destination. By the time, we arrived, night had already fallen. We went up to our respective rooms (they were pretty modernized and were certainly much more than I expected it to be) and placed our luggage there before moving to the canteen for our Dinner. I decided to try something different and decided to go ahead with Korean Food. It was very spicy, but it helped in keeping me warm. On the way back, I contacted home and informed them that I was fine and well, and assured my family members at home that I would be in constant contact.

What I Felt

When, I first arrived in Wuhan, I was welcomed by the strong and cold winds. Initially I felt that I was not going to survive the entire duration of this Programme. I was afraid that I would not adapt well to the weather and climatic conditions. I comforted myself by telling myself that every journey begins with the first step. If I don’t make that first step, I would never know how far I can go.

When we arrived at the hostel, I was pleasantly greeted by the comfortable rooms that were provided for us. Initially, I anticipated worse conditions than our current situation. I felt that it was nice place with close proximity to the campus. In my opinion, it felt like home away from home, as I was staying under the company of my friends whom we look after one another as brothers and sisters.