China from Within is an annual study and inspiration trip organized by Howest University of Applied Sciences.

In April, the seven of us packed our bags and spent two weeks exploring one of the world’s most fascinating countries from ancient imperial landmarks to the cutting edge of modern tech.

What we did:

Our itinerary covered China’s greatest highlights, the Great Wall of China in Beijing, the serene canals of Hangzhou, the skyline of Shanghai, the innovation hub of Shenzhen, and finally Hong Kong, the former British crown colony where East meets West.

We spent six days based at Zhejiang Gongshang University in Hangzhou home to Alibaba and a host of companies at the top of innovation and development.

From Hangzhou, Shanghai was just a 2 hour bus ride away.

The trip wasn’t just sightseeing. We had networking sessions with Belgian, Flemish and EU representatives in Beijing and Shanghai, and field visits that took us past the flashy presentations and straight onto the work floor into local companies, meeting the people actually building things.