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(Feature Photo Source: Maya Spaulding)

Due to recent Omicron cases in Shanghai, all students, staff, and faculty are required to get a Covid test within the following three days. NYU Shanghai provided a testing site in the Welcome Center the same day the announcement was released for people to get tested.

While standing in line for their Covid test, many students were willing to give their thoughts on the current situation. 

“I’m kind of annoyed honestly,” said Tiffany Leong, a freshman. “I came [to Shanghai] a few weeks ago, and I had to quarantine for five weeks before in America and [Shanghai].” She further expressed that the situation is tough, but there is not much students can do.

Phoebe Lemon, a sophomore, expressed frustration over the sudden announcement. She mentions that the school would send out announcements in the past regarding small, one or two case, breakouts in specific neighborhoods. But with this testing announcement, there were no previous announcements. 

Other students are nonchalant about the situation. Bruce Chen, a freshman, said “[Covid testing] is a very common phenomenon in China.” For him, “[the precautionary testing] is for the safety of all the citizens.”

Another student, Max Miao, a sophomore, shares the same sentiment. He says that Covid testing is very normal, and it is a good way to be safe.

NYU Shanghai community members received the announcement of the mandatory testing and changing policies around 3 p.m., and people started lining up for testing around 3:30 p.m. The Welcome Center started testing at 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. and testing results are expected to come out Friday.

In addition to the testing requirement, There is concern about how classes will move forward, especially with midterms quickly approaching. In Vice-Chancellor Lehman’s announcement, he advocates for remote classes if the university is required to lockdown. However, students, like Phoebe, still have concerns about professors being accommodating. She says that she already knows a few friends who cannot come to school because their apartment block is in quarantine. 

Like the announcement received today, the university is expected to provide updates every Thursday regarding Covid policies. 

Update: NYU Shanghai tested 1801 people at the Welcome Center, and all tests came back negative.

“The exterior will be completed by the end of December. The fit-out is proceeding well and should be completed this coming spring, in time to commence the final inspections before summer-move-in,” he said

As construction continues, students in the Academic Building (AB) on Century Avenue are wondering what the future holds for them at the new campus.

NYU Shanghai students know the new building is underway but not all believe they have a full understanding of how it will affect them, including its location, residential arrangements, and its proximity to companies for internship opportunities. 

“I worry about how far this campus is from Lujiazui,” said sophomore, Derico Dehnielshen. 

In contrast to the Century Avenue location, a major transportation hub connecting as many as four of the 18 metro lines in Shanghai, the new campus has only two metro lines connecting to the city center. 

At around 400m from the Oriental Sport Center metro station, which is the end of Line 6, the new campus is most accessible by Line 6 from Century Avenue. 

For further comparison, the AB is only 4km away from Lujiazui Financial District and within a 15-minute drive in off-peak hours as opposed to Qiantan, which is some 12km south of Lujiazui. 

Business students especially, are worried about the new location, given that most business and financial companies are located in Lujiazui. Being closer to Lujiazui translates to more internship opportunities, they say.

“I think it would be time-consuming for students interning at Lujiazui to commute to and from the new campus,” said Riven Wu, a junior from Beijing, studying business and finance.

“I have plans to get an internship in Shanghai during my senior year, but I am not sure how things would be like at the new campus.” 

Students are naturally interested in the planned residential arrangements and are not clear on whether they will stay in the same residential halls of Jinqiao, Jinyang and Pusan. 

“I’m not sure if there will be new residential halls near the new campus. But if we were to continue to stay in Pusan, it would take a long time to travel to school everyday, even with the shuttle bus service,” said Susie Yi, a student residing at Pusan.

Despite not having the best design and space of an average university, students agree the AB is strategically located near the financial district, Lujiazui and within walking distance from the well connected Century Avenue metro station. They say mobility and convenience are sufficient trade-offs for the limited campus experience.

Millie Tiwatmuncharoen, Class of 2023, thinks that the best feature of the AB is its location, like its biking distance from the dorms and proximity to metro stations. “Overall, a great location to be in the centre of Shanghai,” she said.   

But as for its user-friendly qualities, Junior student, Kate Praewploy, said while its small size is easy to navigate, “the elevator that goes to the 15th floor is inconvenient for students wanting to go from lower to upper floors.” 

Also, the inadequate study areas in and around the AB campus continue to be frustrating for students. The table hogging culture seems to be more prevalent and on one day recently in the library during midterm week, the table occupancy rate was near 100%. 

The new campus hopes to address some of these issues.

What Does the New Campus Offer? 

The new campus has a quad design and occupies a total of 115,000 square meters, with four interlinked structures around a 9,000 square meter central courtyard.

The new campus would represent an upgrade of current facilities in the AB. With the capacity to accommodate up to 4,000 undergraduates, it will ease the study area crisis. 

There will also be a two-story reading room, and approximately 3,500 square meters of common space spread across the 10-story building for students to study and chill in, an article recently published by the university about the interior design and new facilities showed. 

“The new campus will be almost twice as large as the Academic Building,” said Vice Chancellor Lehman. 

“The interior will include much more community space, more and larger classrooms, a larger and more comfortable library, performance spaces, athletic spaces, etc. The exterior will feature a larger green quadrangle and an iconic 100-year-old tree,” he said.

Is Qiantan Better Than Century Avenue?

Some students also see benefits in moving to Qiantan.

While Pudong is known as a business district with some of the most iconic buildings in Shanghai, students noted that the new campus area is closer to the traditional and cultural city center, Puxi. 

Known as Shanghai’s “second Lujiazui,” students who have visited the Qiantan campus said the location was not as bad as it was rumoured. 

Jacky Huang, Class of 2023, looks forward to the move to Qiantan, hailing its “walkability” as a district compared to Century Avenue’s wide roads and heavy traffic. He noted that Qiantan, despite being further away from the city centre, is actually only a few stations away from Puxi, which he thinks is a much more liveable area compared to Pudong district. 

“Qiantan is a developing area. Although losing on its location, I think students will enjoy the new campus more because it’s less developed than Century Avenue and also has the sense of a close-knit community, as well as the older Shanghai culture stemming from Puxi”, he added.

The new campus is scheduled to be in operation starting next academic year but seniors who are graduating will not make the move to experience the new environs. Some seniors expressed mixed feelings about losing the legacy of their academic years.

While they’re happy that NYU Shanghai is expanding, there’s also a sense of relief they don’t have to go through the hassle of relocating before graduation.

“I won’t necessarily miss the AB, but I’d miss how close our campus is to Century Avenue metro station because it’s so convenient. I do have a sense of missing out on the new campus, but I’m also okay with staying at the AB as I already got used to it,” said a senior, Norman Dong.

“Given the AB is in the heart of Shanghai, it would feel like home to me if I work at Lujiazui in the future,” said Senior Kaycee Chen. “Even if I no longer have access to the AB, it would be nice to revisit if it’s on Century Avenue.”

Senior Astrid Matute was thinking even further into the future.

“When I’m older I want to show my kids where I studied but it won’t exist anymore,” she said. 

“The new freshmen won’t know of the terror in Tower 2 back in Jinqiao. But it’s great for the school to just become bigger and have a better environment than it already is. I’m happy, sad and mad at the same time,” Astrid said.

On a side note, “the AB will be returned to its owner, the Lujiazui Group, for them to use as they see fit,” said Vice Chancellor Lehman.

Each NYU Shanghai Chinese freshman has to undertake annual military training organized by the school. Some international students face mandatory national service at home. As they deal with the challenges of life on campus, military training has an imperceptible influence on students’ lifelong development.

Students from more than 80 countries populate the multi-cultural NYU Shanghai campus, many of them required to undertake national military training. However, at NYU Shanghai, you might never realize how the military training experience influences your everyday life. 

“Military training is a part of my identity,” Hammond Liu, a junior from Tianjin, China, said proudly.

Five students from these countries talked about the meaning to them of national service in their home country, including Gloria Guo and Xinze Li from China, Ninad Mukherjee from Singapore, Minjae Lee from South Korea, and Eli Levi from Israel.

NYU Shanghai Chinese Student Military Training 

Under China’s Military Service Law, long-term national service is voluntary. This means Chinese citizens don’t have to serve in the army for years or receive soldier’s professional military training. 

But Chinese universities have an obligation to provide a short-term military training program for all freshmen with the help of the local army. It usually takes 1-2 weeks and covers basic military skills and national defense education. As a Sino-American university, NYU Shanghai is no exception. 

At the end of each spring semester, Chinese freshmen will go to Oriental Land in Qingpu District, Shanghai, to finish a 10-day mandatory military training program. Students from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and other countries and regions are welcome to join.

Kathy Song, a junior from New York, is motivated to join Chinese students in their military training “I don’t get the experience [of military training] in the U.S. [Seeing] so many students have military training in their countries, I want to have that experience,” she said.  

Fluency in Chinese language is a key factor in the school’s assessment of non-Chinese applicants as all training is done in Chinese. “To get approved, you just need to speak Chinese and understand the commands,” Kathy said.

NYU Shanghai takes full advantage of the various military resources at Oriental Land, said Judy Li, Assistant Dean of Students at NYU Shanghai and director and organizer of Chinese students’ military training. It offers comprehensive and systematic military training for participants, including using live ammunition, field camp experiences and survival training, she said.

“Because of their limited facilities and huge student numbers, [other Chinese universities] simplify their military experience into parade training, which is easy to practice,” Li added. 

For training, the student cohort is divided into several units of about 50 students each. The students work together doing exercises, sharing meals and sleeping under the same roof. Each unit has two student leaders, or company representatives. 

Through the program, Li expects students to develop a sense of collective and group pride, which are important values in China education.

“Everyone needs to contribute to the collective and, conversely, everyone will benefit from the collective,” she explained.

Prior to joining NYU Shanghai, Li worked for East China Normal University, a traditional institution where students study in a fixed “class,” or cluster of classmates, assigned by the school for their four years of education. This builds a strong sense of collective identity, she said. 

Li believes the sense of collective is understated at NYU Shanghai because of a different administrative structure but she expects Chinese students to regain it during military training.

Apart from a sense of collective, will power and tenacity, other characteristics are developed by participants which will benefit them through life, even after they leave NYU Shanghai, Li said.

“Parade marching training requires standing in a soldier’s posture for 30 minutes or one hour. It looks boring and it is boring but if you think more deeply it is actually developing will power and tenacity,” she said. 

Gloria Guo, a sophomore from Guangzhou, is a student leader during the military training in May and she believes in its values.

 “As an activity emphasizing the sense of collective honor and collective cohesion, military training can give us an opportunity to get to know people around us and strengthen the bonds between peers,” Guo said. “This activity is already very meaningful.”

Xinze Li, a senior from Lanzhou, was a student leader during military training two years ago. 

“In our school, not every student is willing to accept [military training]. [Some students] may think it is a bureaucratic facade. Before departure, I was kind of worried about the students and we hoped to help them embrace the activity, or at least spend the 10 days happily,” Xinze said.

During the training, Xinze felt his leadership skills were strongly developed through mediating conflicts.

“Every year of military training, there will be conflicts among students themselves, and between students and teachers. Our starting point was to represent the interests of students, or as student representatives to help students solve problems,” he said.

Gloria Guo has a similar expectation about her student leader’s position during training.

“I hope to play a mediating role and build a bridge for communication between the school [administrators] and the student cohort,” she said when discussing her expectations. 

National Service in Singapore 

Ninad Mukherjee, a sophomore/junior from Singapore, learned a lot from his military training stint in Singapore. “The most important was soft skills, how to be a good leader, how to be resilient, how to deal with lots of bad times,” Ninad said.

“We call it national service in Singapore. The concept is that every male […] needs to serve in the military, as a form of service to the country.” 

Before attending NYU Shanghai, Ninad spent two years in the army completing his national service. It wasn’t all smooth going, Ninad said, especially his experience of throwing hand grenades which “was really scary.”

“The moment [I] pulled the pin out, the grenade became alive, and I was holding it in my hand before throwing it. If I f***[ed] this up, I [was] going to blow myself up. That is kind of what I mean [by] real fear.”

Ninad said that learning how to deal with pressure in two years of army national service helped with his academic life at NYU Shanghai. “I learned to deal with much more serious pressure. Being here, I don’t really feel it is the same. I know how to deal with [the school pressure], what I need to get done,” he said.

Military Training in South Korea 

Sophomore Minjae Lee plans to take a leave of absence for 18 months, or three semesters, and start mandatory military training at home in South Korea to fulfil his national duties.

“In Korea, all men who are fit need to do military training, usually for 18 months,” Minjae said.  

“Everything is strict. You have to eat at the exact same time. And at first, you have to do some training and work every day,” he said. There are strict rules, and policies on smart phone usage, visiting families and friends.

Minjae did not grow up in South Korea, having left at the age of seven. He hopes the military experience of being immersed in a bubble of only Korean people will help him to learn more about his homeland’s society and culture.

National Service in Israel

Israeli Eli Levi, a non-NYUSH undergraduate student in Shanghai, is looking forward to joining his country’s military service upon graduation from college and then spending four years in the military. He believes the experience will have a positive influence on his postgraduate studies in law school and further career development.

“Israeli is one of the very few countries in the world [that] has mandatory military service for both male and female citizens,” he said.

Israelis have a strong passion for national service and the participation rate is very high. The society has a military culture formed by necessity to defend the homeland due to long-standing historical and geopolitical issues.

“I have heard stories of soldiers who are handicapped or in wheelchairs who insist on serving in the Israel Defense Forces”, Eli said.

During national service, Eli expects to develop more community service experience and sense of duty in preparation for his future political career plans.

Judy Li is convinced about the value to Chinese students of the military training experience.

“We often joke that students often cry at the start because they don’t want to participate. But they really do cry when they finish it. Looking back on 10 days experienced with their peers, students feel reluctant to say goodbye,” Li said.

NYU Shanghai does much more than bring students from cultures everywhere around the world to receive an undergraduate education in a small building on Century Avenue in one of China’s largest and most dynamic cities.

Beyond academic learning, it provides them with opportunities to explore other talents, such as  drama and performing arts. And, importantly for their physical and emotional health, it fosters their participation in a competitive sports environment.

NYU Shanghai offers intercollegiate sports teams in soccer, basketball, volleyball, badminton and tennis, all of which compete in various intercollegiate games here in Shanghai. 

With the building of a new campus and new sports facilities, Nicole Wu, Senior Program Coordinator for Athletics and Fitness at NYU Shanghai, believes that the NYU Shanghai sports program will grow into a strong university program that can provide equal opportunities for both male and female athletes to develop their skills.

But despite these optimistic views of the future, the Spring season had been disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Many sports were unable to restart, resulting in students missing out on opportunities to take part in programs.

This was the case until the start of April when the sports programme restarted. All teams held try-outs by the first week of April, and teams have been practising and training for five weeks in the Spring semester.

Gaby Juhala, a first-year student and Women’s Soccer team player, said she was excited to be able to play in a college sports team as a way to “grow as a footballer and connect with more people that I might not have otherwise.”

Most teams were not able to compete in competitions, except for the Men and Women’s soccer team who competed in the Shanghai Student Football League (SSFL). The Men’s team played their first game on May 6, sadly losing 5-4, and the Women’s team played their first game on May 7, winning 4-1.

The shortened season brought many challenges to the sports administration and teams. Wu had only two weeks to organise and establish the teams as well as secure sports facilities for them to train.

For the players, the season seemed to collide, ominously, with their finals. 

Julien Nelson Rowntree, a sophomore on the Men’s Soccer team and previous season MVP, had mixed feelings about the season. 

“It is great to be on the pitch again, however as a team, it’s hard to be competitive as we cannot fill our strongest team, with players unable to come to matches because of finals,” he said.

These worries were held by many members of the Men’s and Women’s football team. 

Mia Barkenaes, Women’s team player, asked for more support from the school for the athletics department. 

“As student athletes in NYU Shanghai, we feel as though our sports programme is deeply undervalued. People like Nicole Wu, our coaches and us as players put in a lot of work to go out and compete and wish the school could recognise that a little more,” she said.

She furthered this sentiment by discussing the issues with this season.

“It is not that we value our sports education over our academics, it is not that students are trying to cheat their way out of their finals but if student athletes are expected to go out and perform under situations where we also have finals, a little leeway from the school would benefit everyone,” said Barkenaes

Juhala also felt that the school’s tight rules about final exams were hurting the sports teams’ performances. 

“It’s pretty difficult to balance it all, especially since the other Chinese universities we are competing against aren’t in their finals season and they are allowed to miss classes for sports. I think this puts us at a disadvantage because we all can’t be at every game,” she said.

The importance of the sports program to the NYU Shanghai leadership was also questioned by Kevin Nader from the NYU Shanghai Men’s team.

“The reality is we have strong athletes in all teams, but we train once a week compared to other universities training four or five times a week,” said Nader. At NYU Shanghai teams are required to train only once a week for two hours.

“Sometimes I feel like I am playing for an intramural team, not the NYU Shanghai Soccer team. We don’t even have a pitch where we could be playing at ‘home’.” 

Currently, NYU Shanghai does not have any facilities for the soccer teams to train at, and the teams are required to travel for practices and matches. For many of the athletes, this has meant they feel both a disconnect from the school and a lack of support.

“It’s hard to go to games and play teams who have people to come and cheer them on, when half of our community is unaware that we are out here competing,” said Nelson Rowntree 

Juhala also mentioned how the lack of sporting culture was affecting her and her teammates. 

“When we go to play, we come up against teams who have been training together multiple times a week, in good facilities and lots of coaching, (but) for our school we spend a lot of time getting to know each other’s playing styles and getting used to each other,” she said.

Mia, however, felt differently about this situation. “Yea, we don’t have the best facilities or as many people traveling with us for games. Many people are unaware of what our team is doing but we are a small and relatively new school. With that context I think what we have and what the school provides is reasonable.” 

In 2022 when NYU Shanghai moves to its Qiantan Campus, there will be more indoor facilities for all teams, which the Athletics department hopes will be able to solve the issue of facilities in the school and help grow the sporting program.

Despite the challenges, the NYU Shanghai Men’s and Women’s soccer teams still have set high goals and expectations for themselves.

Juhala mentioned that the women’s team aimed to build on its first match win in the next game to secure themselves a spot in the knockout stage of the tournament.

Similarly, Nader also seemed optimistic about the team’s performance. 

“We had a shaky start to our season, but it was our first time back on the pitch in a long time. We still have more games which we know we can win, and we expect ourselves to win,” he said.

Nelson Rowntree also made it clear the men’s team’s main goal was to reach the knockout stage of the competition.

“I want to see the team go far and reach the knockout stages. We have the ability and hopefully if we perform well this semester, we can build on it next semester.”

Sports team tryouts for the Fall 2021 semester begin this week, we will see what the new talent of the Class of 2025 brings.

Due to NYU Shanghai moving campuses, students will no longer be on century avenue. In light of this and to celebrate the Shanghai campus’ ten year anniversary, the student publication will be rebranding from On Century Avenue to On Magnolia Square.

We want to thank all of our readers and the NYU Shanghai student body for their support throughout the years. On Century Avenue was started by NYU Shanghai’s inaugural class, and we look forward to continuing on.

Please look forward to our rebranding in September!

(Cover Photo: NYU Shanghai)

Due to NYU Shanghai moving campuses, students will no longer be on century avenue. In light of this and to celebrate the Shanghai campus’ ten year anniversary, the student publication will be rebranding from On Century Avenue to On Magnolia Square.

We want to thank all of our readers and the NYU Shanghai student body for their support throughout the years. On Century Avenue was started by NYU Shanghai’s inaugural class, and we look forward to continuing on.

Please look forward to our rebranding in September!

(Cover photo: Mia Trinh & The St. Regis Sanya Yalong Bay Resort)

Sanya is China’s southernmost city located on Hainan island, and just a short flight away from Shanghai. Here, the weather is warm all year round, making it the perfect destination for a summer vacation or a winter getaway with your family and friends. Read on to find out more about Sanya’s most memorable attractions and some tips to make your trip a smooth and enjoyable one. 

Dadonghai Beach

Perhaps the most vibrant and well-known beach in Sanya, Dadonghai, is just a short walk from the city center but offers pristine water and plenty of fun. There are countless small stalls on the beach where you can enjoy Sanya’s signature huge coconuts, freshly cut fruits, and ice cream while watching Dadonghai’s beautiful sunset. Beach bars are also a good location if you want to hang out and dance in the evening. 

Sunset at Dadonghai Beach. Credit: Mia Trinh

Water sports are also very trendy in Dadonghai beach. You can take surfing and snorkeling classes or hop on a jet ski for a change of scenery.

Tip: Pay close attention to the signs when the waves are strong as visitors sometimes are not allowed to swim in parts of the water. Do also check the weather carefully before your trip because Hainan province is often hit by typhoons in the summer. 

Xiaodonghai Beach

Xiaodonghai is just a 9 minute drive from the city center. The lesser-known, smaller twin of Dadonghai beach is a lot less crowded and makes relaxing on the beach a slow and peaceful experience. Bring your favorite book and small snacks and recharge by the ocean while watching small fishermen go on their day-to-day routine. You can ask the local fishermen if they bring visitors with them for a small fee – this is a great way to get to know the local culture and be more present. 

Palm trees and Xiaodonghai Beach. Credit: Mia Trinh

Tip: While international resorts are conveniently located by the beach, affordable Airbnb options are also available right around the corner.

Yalong Bay

Yalong Bay is a beautiful and highly developed 7 km beach situated 25 km away from the Sanya city center to the East. The best way to get there from the city center is by a taxi or a bus, as it only takes around half an hour. Due to the length of Yalong Bay, the beach there does not get too crowded and its clear water makes it a great place to scuba dive. F&B service is readily available for you to cool off under the sun. If you go with a group, consider renting a yacht to go out on your own adventure and enjoy far off-shore snorkeling and scuba diving. 

Yalong Bay. Credit: St. Regis Sanya Yalong Bay Resort

Tip: Just like with Dadonghai beach, look out for no-swim signs and be careful while swimming. 

Nanshan Temple

Located 40 km away from Sanya city center, Nashan temple was established in 1998 and holds the world’s Guinness record of the largest Avalokitesvara (Guanyin) statue. The temple also hosts other beautifully crafted Tang dynasty replicas. Visiting Nashan Temple gives you a breathtaking view of the ocean while appreciating the temple’s harmony of harnessing spirituality in nature. Be sure to also check out other attractions within the Nanshan Cultural Tourism, such as the Longevity Valley and Sandi Bridge.

Nanshan temple is a great alternative on a gloomy day. Credit: Mia TrinhTip: Tickets to the Nanshan Cultural Tourism Zone are set at CNY150, but you can get a 50% off with your NYU student card.

(Photo: Wikipedia)

According to the staff at the Family Mart located right outside of the Jinqiao dorms, due to the company’s decision not to renew the space’s lease, it will be closing its doors next month. 

Sophia Johnson, a rising sophomore, shares her favorite experience with the Family Mart staff; “When I would go with my friends to family mart all the time, my Chinese wasn’t good, but the family mart staff would always know exactly what I wanted.” She continued to mention how after lockdown, and having the opportunity to improve her Chinese, she was able to return and have conversations with the staff. She said, “I was finally able to communicate with them properly, and it was really full circle to be able to order properly.” 

The staff also mentioned that this closure could be attributed to the inability to make profits due to Covid, and mentioned how recent lockdowns hindered the branches’ ability to pay rent, as prices continued to be expensive. 

Tiffany Leong, also a rising sophomore, said “It really sucks, because now there won’t be anywhere near the dorms to get that kind of thing – it’s a convenience store for a reason.”

(Cover photo source: Shyla Zou)

Fujian is traditionally described as “八山一水一田”, translated in English as “eight part mountain, one part water, and one part farmland.” With a topography consisting of mountains, hills, and forests, it is the perfect place to go if you enjoy being in nature. Along with large areas of stunning scenery, the province also holds many tourist attractions, as well as many cultural sites from various Chinese dynasties, which have been preserved. The historical relics and legacies are perfect for those interested in Chinese history. Moreover, Fujian is famous for preparing seafood based on aroma, giving it a clean and fresh taste, unique from many other styles of Chinese cuisine.

Changle District, Fuzhou, Fujian

As a person of Fujianese descent, the first place I arrived in Fuzhou was my father’s hometown, Changle (长乐), an urban district of prefecture-level Fuzhou. Many older residents of Changle receive financial support from overseas, where over 7 hundred thousand Fuzhounese people work and live in the United States and Canada. In the US, a large percentage of Fujianese people live in New York City, present in all five of the boroughs. Ironically, I am also from New York City. Because of the number of natives that live overseas, Changle’s nickname is “Hometown of Overseas Chinese”. Since Changle sits very close to the ocean, the cuisine consists mostly of seafood and shellfish. One of my favorite dishes that my grandfather makes when I visit is 扁肉， pronounced “bian rou” and translated to “ground meat”. It is a Fujianese style wonton soup with a thinner wonton skin instead of the typical yellow. Another dish notable dish is 鱼丸 or fish balls in English. Fish balls are made from fish paste, sometimes with added filling, and then boiled or deep-fried, and traditionally served in soup. It is known for being chewy and bursting with sauce and favor.

Source: Shyla Zou

Caption for photo: 鱼丸（left），扁肉（right）

Fuzhou, Fujian

Fuzhou is considered the architectural hub of Fuzhou, as well as serving as its capital. The center of Fuzhou has various shopping centers, restaurants, and small eats, letting you choose between shopping to your heart’s content or experiencing an authentic taste of Fuzhou. The downtown of Fuzhou has a section of preserved Min and Qing dynasty buildings, including a restored White Pagoda. Even though Fuzhou is one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the world, you can still see a vivid mountain range in the background of high-rise buildings and skyscrapers.

Another one of my favorite notable foods in Fuzhou is 佛跳墙， pronounced fo tiao qiang and known in English as Buddha Jumps Over the Wall or Buddha’s Temptation. It is the Fujianese version of shark fin soup, the dish’s name comes from its supposed ability to entice vegetarian Buddhist monks to try the meat-based dish. The stew consists of a plethora of ingredients, including quail eggs, ginseng, mushrooms, chicken, shark fin, and fish maw. Some recipes and modified versions can contain up to thirty ingredients. Rice in favor and a state banquet dish of China, it is a must try.

Source: Yum of China

Minyue Rivertown, Fuzhou

Minyue Rivertown is a cultural tourist resort built partially on water. Visitors have the option of living in various hotels with traditional-style Fujianese architecture. The hotel I stayed in bordered the river where you are allowed to ride chinese-style boats, and at night was lit by multi-colored lights.

 There are many museums located within the resort where you can learn the history of Fujian and its people. Fujian was called the Region of Minyue during the Spring and Autumn Period, and the Prefecture of Min-Zhong during the Qin Dynasty. Now, Fujianese cuisine is sometimes referred to as Min Cuisine and Fujianese is referred to as Min Chinese. 

The attraction has daily activity schedules with the most popular being the water and light show, where dancers perform traditional-style Chinese dances that tell the story of Fujian and Fujianese people and how they built boats and used the bodies of water to their advantage to branch out and expand businesses.

Along with tourist attractions, the resort has a diverse selection of restaurants and small eats, where you can choose to eat traditional Min or Chuan style dishes, try traditional Fujianese snacks, or simply have skewers and a side of beer with some friends. Overall, Minyue Rivertown is a great place to learn about Fujianese history while eating good food and also having fun. The Fuzhou Yue Hotel that is coupled with the River Town has relatively cheap rooms and they usually have discount events if you buy the entry ticket that includes both the resort and the hotels.

Caption: Minyue Rivertown water and light show

Source: Shyla zou

Tourism in Fuzhou Fuzhou is rich in tourist attractions where the architecture and cuisine really draw you in. If you get sick of the city, nature awaits you and if you are craving some fish balls the nearest corner restaurant will satisfy you. Currently, the Covid situation in Fuzhou has died down and there is no need for weekly PCR tests or a 48-hour health code to enter most places so you can roam as you please.

Photo Credits: Talitha Lewis

Although students have been out of lockdown since the beginning of June, Covid continues to heavily influence the lives of the students that remain on campus in the JinQiao dorms. With the semester wrapping up while still in the midst of lockdown, finals week and the weeks that followed were hectic as students packed their belongings in brown boxes and made arrangements to return home. The termination of the lease for the Jinyang dorms brought another wave of students to JinQiao at the end of May. At the beginning of June, students who had returned home during lockdown were finally able to return to the dorms to collect the belongings they left behind. While some students chose to stay in the dorms for summer classes or internships, for international students who were lucky enough to make it to Shanghai, staying in the dorms seems like the only logical option; going home would risk the possibility of being unable to return, not to mention having​ to go through the tedious quarantine process again. Mandatory quarantine upon entry of places outside Shanghai has also made traveling within China more difficult.

Once all of the movement of the first weeks passed life at the dorms became fairly quiet. The lack of most of the student body is the most noticeable difference from living in the dorms during the normal semester. This is even more apparent this summer as students are staying in singles throughout the three towers to reduce contact in case of any Covid infections. Although she admits that “having the kitchen to myself is pretty nice,” Sarah Walker shares that the isolation can be challenging at times as she is the only one living on her floor and not aware of anyone living on the floor above or below her own. 

For Sophia Johnson, the reduced number of students has made the environment a lot more relaxing and peaceful. Especially with the hot weather, she notes how she has had “a lot more fun going out and then coming back and hanging in the dorms.” Having worked it out with residential life to move into a bigger room next door to her old one, Johnson expressed contentment with having “a little more space to work with” to have friends over and really make it her own.

Whether going out or staying in, the location of the dorms is, as Johnson puts it, “exquisite”. With a subway station located very close to each entrance of the compound, Walker notes the ease at which you can “get connected to the most populated areas of Shanghai.” She also cites the local Aldi’s, Family Mart, street food market, and shopping center as locations which are convenient for those living on campus during summer. On the placement of the dorm towers, Johnson also adds how the proximity of having all three dorm buildings right next to each other “help solidify it’s a community” among the few that are left. 

Although overall very convenient, life at the dorms is not without its inconveniences. Depending on the tower and floor level, students have hadvarious experiences with mold, mosquitoes, and leaky air conditioners. The humidity of Shanghai’s summer provides conducive conditions for the growth of mold on the walls and ceiling. For Walker, the mold was a recurring issue in the room that she recently moved out of. When she first noticed the mold on her ceiling and behind her wardrobe, she reached out to the working staff who simply wiped the mold away with the gloves in their hands. Within the first 12 hours she noticed the mold starting to grow back. The same pattern continued for a few weeks until the staff came and sprayed the whole room with bleach. To make matters worse, Walker’s air conditioner leaked water, adding to the humidity of the room. Until the staff came and fixed the problem, Walker recounted how she would leave a bucket out every night and wake up to find that it had overflowed by morning. Through all of this, however, Walker has found that the working staff have been “extremely helpful and trying to resolve any issues I have had.”

When asked if the Shanghai dorms feel like home, Johnson shares how she feels that she has to see it that way given that she, along with most international students, will be in Shanghai for an extended period of time due to Covid restrictions. Johnson believes that many “underestimate how important it is to feel safe in your own space” but with the help of the people she has met, she has found that safe space in the dorms she now calls home. 

Photo Credits: Getty Images

Among the various clubs NYU Shanghai students can join, Women at Work is one of the only clubs with the purpose of fighting social inequality. In fact, their mission is to provide space to do so.

President Irene Lu said “the mission of our club is to provide a platform for students to discuss and educate others on gender issues in the professional workforce, to be a resource for career opportunities and networking, and to offer a chance for women to make an impact by participating in community-building, volunteer opportunities, educational events and more.”

In the spring semester, some of their events included clothing swaps to promote sustainability and space to discuss the impact in the fashion industry and their “Women In” series, panel events where professional women are invited to discuss gender in various professional fields.

Even though their name, Women at Work, suggests that the club mainly focuses on the working world, the club wants to make a difference through supporting others. Especially in light of Roe v. Wade being overturned in the United States, Women at Work want to support women. 

“The recent overturn has been difficult for several women to hear, even those that do not live in the US. The world looks to the US as a symbol of progress…and this overturning creates a terrible precedent that many of us fear will be followed,” Mahrukh Shaikh, Social Impact Assistant, said.

However, Women at Work will not be silent or dissuaded from speaking out about the issue.

Carol Su, the Social Issue Lead, said “we…hope to provide a supportive atmosphere for women who feel frustrated to talk about their feelings and empower women to keep fighting for their rights.” 

“As a club, we want to move forward by creating more content for education purposes, holding events, and provide a platform to continue our fight towards equality,” Christine Wijaya, Social Impact Lead, said.

The club does not plan on being discouraged. They hope to continue their student-led discussions and be supportive and open.

Professor Xuan Li (Source: Xuan Li)

For the Fall 2022 semester, a waitlist of 15 quickly piled up within days of course registration opening. Across China, the field of psychology is experiencing rapid growth, with related programs gaining greater traction in Chinese universities. 

When Xuan Li, Assistant Professor of Psychology at NYU Shanghai, responded to the question of what drew her interest in psychology, she promptly flipped it: “People want to learn more about others and themselves, who wouldn’t be interested in psychology?” 

For Professor Li, 35, psychology was not always her intended path, joking “I’m not the kind of person to have my research idea at five years of age.” Rather, psychology was a natural interest that conveniently fit into her schedule as a double major with German Literature as an undergraduate student at Peking University. 

Fresh from completing her degree at one of China’s top universities, Professor Li, a native of Nanjing, initially looked into graduate programs in German universities to continue with German Literature. But in a twist of fate, she ultimately received an offer to study psychology at Cambridge University, where she eventually completed her master’s and subsequent Ph.D. Under the large umbrella of psychology, selecting a specialty seemed an obvious choice for Professor Li. 

“I’ve always loved children,” she said, beaming. “I love them. I want to work for them, work with them. And so, I decided quite early on that I would do developmental psychology. I wanted to understand kids and how they’re thinking and what’s the best for them.”

With an impressive resume, Professor Li returned to China in 2016, where she was offered a position as a founding faculty member of the psychology department at NYU Shanghai alongside professor Lixian Cui. 

She thought this position “would be interesting” given that the corresponding New York researchers behind the role were people she had cited before and whose writing she liked. With the unique opportunity in Shanghai, Professor Li was motivated to “get to know the people behind the papers.” 

Additionally, Shanghai was an especially attractive location. “It took me closer to the shared space with my potential research participants, and of course, being closer to my family as well,” she said. It also brought Professor Li closer to her favorite aspect of research: data collection. Or, in less scientific terms, getting to personally speak with Chinese families and understand their experiences. 

“The end goal of that research is always on child welfare and child benefit,” she said. “What is the best possible way to ensure that children grow up in an optimal environment? What is the best that we as adults can provide for them?” These are just a few of the questions Professor Li investigates in the field.

Although her research at Cambridge was still focused on the Chinese context, being able to be on the ground gives her the most fulfillment.

“When you have done all these interviews, where you’re anxious to put together all these different transcripts to compare and to try to identify patterns, I think that’s extremely interesting as well,” she said. As she spoke about her favorite steps in the research process, she exuded contagious energy on screen throughout the interview, showing a fervor for what she does.

During her research, Professor Li discovered a major gap of inquiry into the topic of fatherhood in the Chinese context. While there is substantial literature on Chinese mothers, she intuitively thought “if you look at one parent, you would include the other parents in that scholarship as well, but that wasn’t the case.” She saw this as an opportunity and a starting point for her research career. 

Within this niche, Professor Li has made substantial contributions, published in leading journals and featured in BBC and South China Morning Post, just to name a few. But throughout the lively discussion with Professor Li, her personable and humble character shone through the brightest as she detailed her study into the field of psychology in China. 

Professor Li focuses her research on fatherhood in the Chinese context (Source: Trần Long).

For the past decade, her research in China has progressed alongside the development of the field of psychology itself. “I’ve only been in the field for about 10 years, but I guess even in that very short period of time, you just see a lot more people getting interested, which is great,” she said. Professor Li has not only witnessed a general rise in the public’s interest in psychology and mental health but also, as a young researcher, she has noticed more young Chinese peers at international conferences. Having more like-minded junior researchers in the field is a refreshing sign of progress and makes her excited about the future.

However, she also acknowledges that furthering an underdeveloped field is not always easy. “Child development, in general, is still mostly focused on western, white, middle-class U.S. families, and there is a lot less being written about the Chinese concept of child development in general,” she said. Because of this, Professor Li and her colleagues not only face limited foundational theories but must also localize traditionally western research methods to the Chinese environment. 

Since coming to NYU Shanghai, she has taught a variety of courses, including Intro to Psychology, The Chinese Family, and two that will be offered in the fall: Cultures of Psychology and Adolescent Development.

Her involvement with the NYU Shanghai community extends beyond the classroom. In addition to research, she supervises master’s students and works with student research assistants who want to gain more experience in her field. 

“Many of them have their own independent research projects, or have their own interests. I try to find ways to combine their interests with mine,” she said. Whether it’s having them compile data or organize meetings to discuss what research they have read, Professor Li emphasized her goal to serve as a mentor and help students realize their research aims.

NYU Shanghai has also been a thriving environment for Professor Li to explore other research interests. Joining the community allows her to observe “the intercultural interactions among students.” She vividly recalls how, before the pandemic, having the entire community together in person cultivated an utterly unique environment. 

The “wonderful student body, faculty and staff come from very interesting and rich backgrounds” and “they each bring very interesting stories.” By seeing how people of diverse cultures and backgrounds mingle and interact, Professor Li draws inspiration for future research. She is also involved with the university’s Diversity Initiatives to help address issues on campus. 

Professor Li’s determination to make a difference not only in the NYU Shanghai community but also in the greater body of psychology research in China was evident as she described her experiences. When she did not see a clear path in her area of interest, she paved the way, serving as an inspiration for NYU Shanghai students who are considering a career in psychology.

(Cover photo source: Xian Peiyu)

Graduate students Fu Qinbo, Xian Peiyu, and Zhou Yuanyuan of East China Normal University who are studying how to teach Chinese as a second language have joined the teaching staff of  NYU Shanghai’s summer Chinese Immersion Program as teaching assistants (TA). In this role, they assist the main professors in the classroom, support students in reviewing and reinforcing learning, as well as designing and facilitating weekly cultural events and field trips. In the morning, TA Fu and TA Xian can be found assisting in the Advanced and Intermediate level classes respectively. In the afternoon, they hold mandatory tutoring sessions with groups of 2-3 students to review content from the morning class as well as support TA Zhou in planning the cultural events that happen twice a week. These contributions are essential to elevating the program from regular intensive study to a truly immersive experience. 

Although constantly speaking Chinese is challenging and can be exhausting for students, TA Xian acknowledges that it helps them develop a habit of using Chinese more quickly. She emphasizes that students in general who are studying Chinese as a second language should try to speak as much Chinese as possible. One method she suggests is getting in the habit of asking yourself, “How do I say this in Chinese?” when identifying objects in your surroundings or conversing with others. After allowing yourself time to ponder this question, you can either search for an answer online or ask someone. In this way, she affirms that anyone can create their own immersive experience. 

As a TA, Xian encourages her students to speak by constantly asking questions and prompting them to recall and use the grammar and vocabulary they learned. She specifically mentions how the weekly Friday field trip, the most favored aspect of the immersion program among the TAs, is a time where students are able to see new places and practice interacting with other Chinese people. When the weather is not too hot, as it often can be during the Shanghai summer, she finds that students want to go out, and new locations provide the opportunity for old grammar structures to blend together with new conversation content.

In addition to field trips, TA Fu cites building friendships with students as another very enjoyable and useful aspect of her experience in the immersion program. Being in the position of a TA as opposed to a regular classroom teacher enables her to act both as a teacher and a friend. More than studying new grammar and vocabulary, she believes that making Chinese friends and spending as much time as possible with them is extremely helpful to Chinese language learners. For Sam Kominowski, a student in the advanced track of the program, interacting with the TAs has been very helpful with practicing spoken Chinese. He believes it to be the most useful as opposed to the more formal manner of speaking Chinese that is often taught in the classroom setting. Whether in a classroom or over dinner on the weekend, these exchanges have been equally as enjoyable and beneficial for TA Fu as well; she describes how interacting with foreign students and getting to know their personalities has proven to be helpful in coming to understand who they are and how to better communicate with them. 

As a cultural events planner, TA Zhou has a slightly different role in the program than the other TAs. The bulk of her work consists of coming up with ideas for cultural activities and executing them. Some examples of these activities include eating zongzi during the dragon boat festival, paper cutting, and kite decorating. The challenge for her is coming up with a mix of traditional and modern cultural activities that are useful and relevant to the students’ learning. Since students of both the intermediate and advanced level classes attend these activities together, she also has to come up with ways to execute the  activities in order to accommodate the Chinese levels of all of the students. She finds these activities to be a nice addition to the program since, being non mandatory, students do not get any added work or stress from attending. Rather, the events are a great opportunity to learn more about various aspects of Chinese culture, potentially pick up new vocabulary, and continue practicing speaking Chinese. Of the events so far, her favorite has been studying the meaning of red beans through an old poem and then making bracelets with them, which is a popular representation of love between couples today. 

Although these TAs only remain on staff for the two and a half month duration of the program, their time with NYU Shanghai has so far proven to be impactful. Through their work and advice, it is clear to see their passion in helping motivate students to be ambitious in their study of the Chinese language.

On May 24th, NYU Shanghai’s Summer Chinese Immersion Program began, with 11 students participating. As of last week, the students have concluded their first session. Students of both intermediate and advanced levels have been attending classes and cultural activities, as well as enjoying weekly field trips all while speaking Chinese. In preparation for the start of the second and final session, students were given a week’s break.

Annie Church, a rising sophomore, mentioned that her favorite aspect of the immersion program so far has been the opportunity to try new foods. She said, “Cultural dishes and being exposed to different types of Chinese cuisine,” was her highlight of this experience. 

Since students usually study one unit a day during class, Annie also mentioned that the most difficult part of the immersion program has been the pace. 

Tiffany Leong, a rising sophomore shared that she has been using the break in between sessions to relax. She said, “I just lay down because there is not much time to do anything but rest.”  Furthermore, she mentioned that while the program may have been fast-paced, it has been worth it, stating  “Overall, it’s been very good and I feel like I’ve learned a lot.”

As of today, immersion program students will begin their second session and will conclude their program fully after completing final exams on August 5th.