Day 5. Authors: Lauren, Kellie and Andrew B.
This morning, we were lectured on Chinese securities law by Professor Charlie Xiao-Chuan Weng (He picked the nickname 20 years ago after realising that many Westerners have trouble with Chinese words starting with X). The first half of the lecture was spent on the history of China, both generally and with respect to the development of the stock market. This helped us better understand the complicated history of this amazing country and provided perspective on how the law was shaped. The second half of the lecture revolved around the theoretical basis and specific rules for IPO, takeovers and insider trading.
Professor Charlie Xiao-Chuan Weng explaining takeover law
Having studied so hard this week, a well deserved free afternoon was in order. The students interning at Denton’s attended introductions with a Senior Partner, and all are very excited to start work next Thursday. Another group had a relaxed afternoon exploring various parts of Shanghai including Nanjing Road (major shopping precinct) and the Pudong Financial area. Whilst law firms and exploring is all well and good, 8 of us spent the afternoon unleashing our inner child at the happiest place on earth … Disneyland!!!
Having enjoyed some $AUD2 dumplings on the way, our mission to ride as many rides as possible, as well as take some photos for the gram. Attractions such as the TRON coaster in Tomorrowland (the world of the future) and Rex’s racer in Toy Story Land were amazing and got our adrenaline pumping. We were also amazed at the design of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride where we felt as if we were at times quite literally underwater or in a pirate battle on the seas.
Of course, a trip to Disneyland wouldn’t be complete without their famous fireworks, a 20 minute spectacular of light and sound. The sound system at Disneyland was so good you would not have guessed you were outside. With sections from Finding Nemo, the Little Mermaid, Pirates of the Caribbean, Aladdin, the Lion King, Star Wars, Frozen and many appearances from Mickey, it was truly an amazing way to end an amazing week in Shanghai.
Shanghai Disneyland Fireworks
For dinner, whilst a large proportion of the group couldn’t get enough of the extremely vibrant nightlife scene of Nanjing Road, a hand full of us craved the delicious and somewhat messy local wontons after an exhausting day at the ‘Happiest Place on Earth’. Not far from the Shanghai Jiao Tong University, this hole in the wall provided the goods for vegetarians and meat-lovers alike. This is one of the many instances where the few students that can speak the local language, whether that be fluently or partially, deserve a huge amount of gratitude. Particularly in small restaurants, there has been a significant language barrier and thanks to the students who have taken on the roles of translators and being patient enough to write down everyone’s order, the whole group has been able to immerse themselves in the food culture of Shanghai and hopefully pick up some phrases along the way!
