Nǐ hǎo!
My name is Jan and I am from Düsseldorf in Germany. I am a new intern at the InternChina office in Qingdao. I am currently doing my Masters in marketing and leadership at the Fresenius University and have decided to spend my semester break in China to gain some great new experience. This is my second week in the office, but not my first week in China. My Chinese adventure started five weeks ago in Shanghai. I arrived with a group of other German interns and we all had one week to discover Shanghai followed by another week in Beijing as part of the Fresenius Summer School program.

My first impression of China had much to do with the weather! Once I stepped out of the airport,  I thought the humidity was going to give me a tough time! I must say that I am getting used to it, but not completely. My second impression was that it doesn’t matter where you are, it is definitely crowded!

According to my time spent in Shanghai I can summarize that when you compare it to other Chinese cities you quickly recognize that it is the “most Western” of them. There is a very international atmosphere, the view of the skyline is just outstanding and the nightlife is great. The first sentence I learned in Chinese was how to order a beer. Who needs to know how to say “My name is…” or “How are you?” when you are able to get a beer?! Pijiu please!

In Beijing we visited a typical Beijing duck restaurant. It was definitely the best duck I had ever eaten in my whole life! Together with the fact that it was also the cheapest one,I have to say that this is definitely one of the best highlights of my time in China. Furthermore I advise everyone who wishes to visit Beijing to have a tour of the fake market. You will love it!

If you have been to Shanghai and Beijing, people always ask you the same question. “Which city do you prefer?” In my opinion, you can split the answers into two groups. First, some people love Beijing and do not like Shanghai. Second, some love Shanghai and do not like Beijing. Based on this theory, I definitely belong to the first group!

So after our  weeks in Shanghai and Beijing we arrived in the “small” city Qingdao. For Western benchmark, 3 million people in the downtown area is still a lot! Before I started my internship, I had two weeks of language class and culture classes. Of course, during this time I was able to  enjoy the beach and the Qingdao nightlife.

Enjoy an internship in Qingdao and explore other cities in China – Apply here