Discovering Hangzhou: From Ancient Traditions to Modern Influences
Exploring Academic Partnerships
Our first day in Hangzhou took us to Zhejiang Gongshang University, the partner institution cooperating with Howest. We were welcomed with a presentation on the university's history, its expansion plans, and the academic possibilities available to international students.
What stood out most was the chance to sit down directly with local students. No brochures, no slideshow, just an honest conversation about what studying in China is actually like.
Delving into Traditional Chinese Medicine
We shifted from modern academics to ancient science with a visit to the Zhejiang Chinese Medicine Museum: centuries of Chinese medical practice, from acupuncture techniques to handwritten prescriptions.
The Hangzhou region is home to around 11,500 plant species — catalogued over centuries and used to treat a vast range of human ailments.
Ancient Chinese doctors also studied animals in the wild, observing how they handled wounds, poisons, even a simple cold. That curiosity eventually led to breakthroughs like using snake venom in medicinal ointments, still relevant in medicine today.
A Visit to Yiwu: the World's Capital for Small Commodities
We travelled to Yiwu, internationally known as the world's capital for small commodities. Despite its reputation as a purely commercial city, Yiwu surprised us, the landscape is genuinely beautiful, with views across mountains and sleek modern buildings sitting side by side.
The centrepiece was the Yiwu Market itself. The scale is almost impossible to describe. If you need it, for your business or for yourself, it is almost certainly somewhere inside that market.
Inside the World of Livestreaming & Digital Media
Our final day took us to the Regent International Centre, better known as the "Influencers' Apartments", a massive complex dedicated entirely to professional content creation.
To stay relevant, creators must work live on camera for at least 5 hours non-stop — the discipline is closer to professional athletics as opposed to regular content streaming.
Every video also goes through a strict optimisation process, carefully tailored to reach specific age groups. Beyond the on-camera performances, we were also shown the highly analytical side of the business.
