You are likely never to have heard of Zhuhai – located in the southwest of China’s Pearl River delta, Zhuhai is southern China’s best kept secret. Having just been a small fishing village in the 1970’s before being granted Special Economic Zone (SEZ) status, Zhuhai was incorporated as a city in 1979. It’s growth since then has been remarkable – the quality of life as well as population size have shifted significantly in the past 30 years.
 

The fisher girl – symbol of Zhuhai

Short company overview – Internship code ZHDS21.The company uses composite materials to develop a series of innovative and practical products.Anyone who is interested in movable, temporary, semi-permanent housing, adaptable equipment or special function products, such as their product line cylinders, hazardous chemicals cabinets and light portable housing, Composite Products will be the first choice you have to consider.

Link to their page (in Chinese only) – https://heaucomposite.cn/

In this blog post we highlight the internship of Kasper Bowyer-Knight in Heau Composite Products Co.LTD in the design department. We made a little interview with Kasper, and asked him about his experience in China. Below is his version on how life and work experience in China changed his life:

Kasper’s work place

IC TEAM: Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where do you come from, what are your interests?

KASPER: “I am 22 years old andI come from a small city called Oxford in England. Right now I still study my bachelor degree atBournemouth University. My interests are designing, I do this in my own time as well as music – I play the drums. I am still in university and I go back in 3 weeks time to begin my final year.”

IC TEAM: Why did you choose to come to China, and Zhuhai, for that matter?

KASPER: “Firstly, I already had friends here doing internships in China, 4 of them. My friends recommended Zhuhai out of all the places. “

IC TEAM: How did InternChina help you along with your internship?

KASPER: “They helped organize my travel, my visa, and even out here they’ve been in contact a lot making sure I’m well. They also organize trips, dinners and help you meet people and in general to fit in.”

IC TEAM: What did your Internship include? How did you settle in the company?

KASPER: “My current company sells these container modular units called ‘modpods’ where the customers can actually ask for what they want in their units and we can put that in. I’m helping with the design of the interior and exterior. We’ve redesigned any flaws, been testing and calculating to ensure everything is done correctly and to a proper standard. I also source components for designs. “

KASPER: “So I arrived and my boss could speak English, and everyone else was Chinese but three of my colleagues speak English well, they can talk for hours. All the workers are friendly and they don’t have a bad bone in their body. So no horror stories, it was just natural to feel comfortable in the workplace here, it was surprising how easy it was to adapt for me.”

Kasper with one of the “modpods”

IC TEAM: Do you have some tips or recommendations for the new interns?

KASPER: “Drink lots of Jing Jiu, Bai Jiu and beer [joking]. Be open minded, it’s not going to be anything like your home. Some things are shocking, some are just hilarious. You make lots of new friends and have a good time. I’ve been to some great places like Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xiamen… just get a couple of mates and travel.”

 IC TEAM: Any last comments? Are you coming back after your internship’s end?

KASPER: “I learned a lot about myself here in China. One of the things that I have learned is that I’m really lucky to have grown up in the West. You see people’s lives here and when I compare them with my own, that makes it seem so easy to grow up in England.You also learned about responsibility.

KASPER: “I am definitely coming back. “

If you want to know more details about Kasper’s internship or what else he’s been doing during his stay in China you can see his interview video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWD414BW8FI&list=UUhhzaVWy_Wo6qzbVNA5tiuA

Interested in design internship in China? Visit our webpage and Apply now for one of the many different internships positions that we offer.