The Shanghai Jinshan Yinlong Greenstuff Machining Factory was the third and final stop on the factory tour field trip that I went on in Shanghai. Before we proceeded to learn more about this place, we were seated down for lunch with vegetables harvested by the company itself. Because the company specializes in organic vegetables (no pesticides!), everything tasted so fresh. 

Professor Yan and company digging into some of the dishes.

Probably the best tasting vegetables I’ve had.

More snacks to chomp on while in the boardroom.

There was cucumber juice, some corn drink, squash, okra, and various other greens, as well as chicken and pork. Even after the food was cleaned up and we were brought to the boardroom to watch a powerpoint about the factory, there were blueberries and cherry tomatoes waiting for us.

Factory workers cleaning and sorting various vegetables.

They wind up in yellow baskets like these.

Seedlings being taken care of in a large greenhouse.

After the presentation, they took us to observe the workers packaging the vegetables in a separate building, once again with the same kind of rhythm found in the other factories we toured. FInally, we wound up at a greenhouse with a bunch of seedlings waiting to grow further before being replanted on actual farmland owned by the company. It’s interesting to see that organic food market is growing in China and I’m wondering what other developments the Chinese food industry will experience.

Usually spanning for four weeks starting from the first weekend in September, the LA County Fair has been a Pomona staple since the 1920s. Thousands of visitors come to the Fairplex throughout the event to experience the music, entertainment, food, carnival, and more.

Just some of the fun you can experience in the carnival portion of the fair.

Want your own giant Joe Bruin stuffed animal?

Throughout the month, there are different promotions and discounts to take advantage of. These include Book Drive Thursdays (bring a book on Thursday and get free admission), College Days (days set out for specific college students and alumni to get free or discounted admission), and City Days (days set out for specific cities in LA County to get discounted admission). My friends and I went on the last day of the fair this year, which also happened to be Livestrong Day. By wearing yellow and presenting a coupon you could print out online, guests could receive $10 admission and a Livestrong wristband, with one dollar from each admission going towards Livestrong. Heck yes!

Rocking out the yellow in one of the fair’s many photo op spots.

The fairgrounds are split into different “neighborhoods” with a variety of things to explore. These neighborhoods include Home and Garden (which featured attractions like live animals such as kangaroos and monkeys, pirates, and a pavilion full of plants), the Shopping Place (where the buildings housed different vendors as well as a dinosaur exhibit and a shark exhibit), and the FairView Farms (where all the farm animals are held). We also visited Heritage Square, where we met a man named Breez in the little red school house with who we had an interesting conversation, to say the least.

“Papa?” “Papa?” I think these are pachycephalosauruses.

Breez, inside the Heritage Square schoolhouse.

Goats inside the big red barn of FairView farms.

Of course, it isn’t a fair without carnival rides and fair food. After stocking up on fried oreos, friend avocados, and fried kool-aid, we checked out the carnival area, but to be real, it’s pretty expensive. You have to buy tickets to spend on rides and games, with ten tickets equaling five dollars and so on. We decided to just ride the Ferris wheel, which cost ten tickets and it was a lot of fun. Scary, but a lot of fun. Haven’t been on one of those in a long time!

Food tastes so good fried!

The Ferris wheel which we decided to spend ten tickets on.

A view from the top of the Ferris wheel.

Ferris wheel conquered! That’s it for another Southern California fair.

The last time I went to the LA County Fair was four years ago, so I’m glad that I finally went again. Some of the pavilions and attractions change each year (the last time I went, the jungle area was full of dogs instead), but there’s also a lot of consistent things to see as well. If you’ve never been (or even if you have), then check it out next year!

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After visiting the Lotte Chocolate Factory on the factory tour field trip I went on as part of my Global Stuides travel abroad program, we visited an electronics factory that produced products for Logitech. 

The front desk of the main building where we got briefed about the company.

The site as tons of buildings including the actual work stations and dormitories.

Decked out in factory garb, waiting for further instructions.

After being briefed about the company and the layout of the area, we donned special outfits once again and were shown some products put together in the factories. Aside from the mice and keyboards that were showcased, the company also develops battery chargers and wireless routers, among other electronic pieces. Once we got a look at the final product, we were bussed to the cable assembly plant to see some of the production line at work.

Computer mice in a few different colors.

I don’t remember what that thing sticking out of the keyboard was, but it’s interesting.

Tons of people come out from the countryside to work in these factories and make a living. Most of them are young, migrant females from rural areas (called dagongmei) who then specialize in a certain skill, passing on wires and whatnot to the next person until the final product is complete. Most of the workers stay in dormitories built on the site so they can just wake up and go to work easily. For me, it’s difficult to imagine doing the same monotonous task over and over again, but for a lot of these workers, it’s what they need to do to get by.

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Address: Located in the area between Tai Cong Road, Zi Zhong Road, Ma Dang Road, and South Huang Pi Road
Hours: Shops and restaurants have their own opening and closing times.
Metro: Line 1 (South Huang Pi Road), Line 10 (Xintiandi)
Website: http://www.xintiandi.com/xintiandi/en/index.asp

Xintiandi mixes elements of the past and present to form a trendy district with a variety of upscale boutiques and eateries. The buildings take on the classic look of stone shikumen houses from the mid-19th century, though much of Shanghai’s shikumen buildings have been torn down to make way for more modern housing units.

The logo for Xintiandi on one of the gates designating a barrier.

There are almost a hundred places to eat or shop within Xintiandi, ranging from jazz clubs like Brown Sugar, American staples like Starbucks and Cold Stone, and various clothing stores that from what I remember were much too expensive for the average college student, or at least me. If you are looking for something more historic, Xintiaindi also houses the shikumen open house museum and the site of the first national congress of the Chinese Communist Party.

An example of the shikumen architecture that is prominent in Xintiandi.

A really nice alleyway with an entrance to the Brown Sugar jazz club and restaurant.

Outside the site of the first national congress of the Chinese Communist Party.

Nearby is Xintiandi Style, a luxury shopping center with even more shops to browse through. There is also a cineplex in which my friend Nina and I fittingly watched the movie Shanghai, starring John Cusack and Gong Li. For some reason, the movie STILL has not been released in theaters in United States, though IMDB has it set for sometime in 2011. I liked the movie a lot, so hopefully I’ll get to see it in theaters again.

A fountain located in front of the Fountain bistro and wine bar.

Xintiandi at night, a stop for many visitors looking to spend a good evening.

Xintiandi celebrated its tenth anniversary this year and is still continuing to expand. It’s places like this that remind me why Shanghai is sometimes referred to as the “Paris of the Orient”.

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Address: Not sure what the exact address is (it was a top secret government site, after all) but coming from the 405, exit Skirball and head west on Mulholland Drive. Keep going and you’ll eventually see a dirt path that you can drive up to reach the site.
Parking: You can park right in front of the site on the side of the road. 
Website: http://www.lamountains.com/parks.asp?parkid=54 

LA96C, located at the top of the San Vicente Mountain, was one of the many Nike Missile Control Sites used by the US Army. This site played an important role during the Cold War, holding Nike-Ajax missiles and Nike-Hercules missiles that were to be used to destroy Soviet aircrafts in the event that an attack was imminent in the Los Angeles area from 1956 to 1968. Once inter-continental ballistic missiles were created by both the Soviet Union and the United States, Nike missiles could no longer be depended on to defend against attacks.

I wonder if ghosts roam here at night.

The radar tower that you can climb up and see awesome views of Los Angeles.

What’s left are some of the relics from the control site days, most notably the radar tower which now provides good views of the surrounding area. There’s also several message boards providing some background to the site as well as picnic tables, if you want to enjoy a snack or take a break from covert missile operating.

That’s right. Watch out for my fists.

Heading up the stairs to the top of the radar tower.

My friends and I actually found this site by accident, since we were trying to get to a hiking trail. If you walk through to the end of the missile control site, there is an opening that leads to a trail. I’m not exactly sure where it leads though. We walked about two miles down and realized that we didn’t know where we would end up, so we started hiking back up to get to the car. Most of the trail is unshaded and there are a few transmission towers that you pass while on the way. It’s interesting hearing the electricity crackle.

Hiking, hiking, hiking. You can also see one of the power lines at the top.

Going back to the Nike site was an uphill battle. We didn’t realize we walked so far.

It’s crazy to think that there used to be serious threat of a Soviet attack 24/7 and that these sites existed throughout the United States just in case. If you are into military history, then this might interest you, though there isn’t too much to see unless we missed a lot of things. It’s still intriguing and I might not have even heard of Project Nike if I didn’t find myself on one of the bases on which they were held.

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During my time studying abroad in Shanghai, we had a field trip in which we visited different factories in China. The first one we went to was a factory jointly owned by South Korean-brand Lotte and United States-brand Hershey’s. It’s all about globalization! The two companies decided to work together in an attempt to become the number one chocolate and candy producer in China, as well as take on a large market share of the economy.

The front entrance to the chocolate factory. Willy Wonka did not pop out anywhere.

A tray of Hershey’s Kisses at the boardroom table.

We started the tour in the board room where various important people spoke about the company and its vision to be No. 1 in Asia by 2018. Afterwards, they brought in special outfits to wear for when we would walk through the actual factory area to see the production process. They did not want anything to be contaminated, so even after the hair nets and face masks were put on, we entered a room that shot out air in all directions to blow off any loose hairs or dust particles that still managed to hang on.

Getting ready to go on a tour of the actual factory.

Swag.

I wasn’t able to take any pictures inside the work area, but it was really interesting to see the product develop as we walked on, from being a vat of chocolate to being wrapped and then sealed off in packages for delivery. Many of the workers built up a rhythm for their particular job, showing that the assembly line was still working.

My favorite snack from Shanghai! Orange Chips Ahoy!

I really like the packaging they use for Kisses.

A view from the upper floors, looking down at the entrance.

No Oompah Loompahs came out to sing us songs, but it was still an enjoyable experience. After the tour, they gave us the leftover chocolate from the board room and we left to continue touring other factories in the area.

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Address: 1750 N. Altadena Dr, Pasadena, CA 91107 
Phone Number: (626) 398-5420 
Hours: Park open from sunrise to sunset; nature center open from 9 AM to 5 PM
Parking: There are free parking spaces near the nature center.
Website: http://www.ecnca.org/

I’ve been to Eaton Canyon twice already and have good memories from both trips, hopping on rocks and traversing a river back-and-forth to reach the main trail’s waterfall. At the beginning of the hiking trail is the Eaton Canyon Nature Center that features a mini-exhibit with a mix of live animals, stuffed animals, and general information about the wildlife living in the area. Bathrooms are also located in the nature center, as I don’t think there are any at all on the hike.

The bridge you are supposed to go under, not over.

 
Rock-hopping is very strategic.

The first part of the trail is mostly just a dirt path, some parts shaded, some parts not. Definitely make sure you have some water because it can get really hot during the summer. Once you pass the bridge (going under it, not over it), you begin to get closer to the river and will have to either choose to try rock-hopping to get to the other side or just ford the river with wet shoes. You actually cross the river a couple times throughout the trip. Without fail, I always tend to make it with my shoes dry until I finally get close enough to see the waterfall.

 
Once you get by the river, you find more shade.

 
You also find more graffiti.

There is a spot where you can veer off trail and climb up the side of a mountain to reach the other waterfalls, but only do that if you are prepared. We tried to go to the other waterfalls during our second trip, but apparently there’s some rope swinging and other treacherous activities involved that we just were not ready to do. We later found out that someone died in Eaton Canyon on the day after we went, and there have also been multiple deaths since then. Just be careful.

Stopping by the river to touch the water.

 
More graffiti! Aw, this one is telling us to have fun!

Because this trail to the first waterfall isn’t too complicated, there may be a bunch of people already congregated at the waterfall, but it’s not too bad. The water itself is freezing but after a while, you get used to it, and some people are brave enough to pass (or in my case, be dragged) under the waterfall.

 
Finally at the waterfall (with some photobombers in the back)!

 
This trip is so worth it. 

It’s not every day that you get the opportunity to play in a waterfall, so this really is a nice spot in the Los Angeles area to check out, especially if you want to get away and escape some of the urban and suburban landscapes that are practically everywhere. I just wish that people would take better care of places like this. During one trip, there was so much trash that my friends and I decided we would just take it upon ourselves to actually start cleaning it up. It just makes me frustrated that people would trash nature like that. Go, but keep it clean!

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