Paper International Experience China 2017

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Preface -Heather Starkey and Will Mayo-

On May 15, 2017, 35 juniors and seniors in the Paper Science & Engineering program set out to China on a

lifechanging journey called the Paper International Experience – PIE for short. Over the course of 11 days –

14 for some – we visited three paper mills, two forest products universities, a wheat straw pulp mill, a release

paper coating facility, a paper machine manufacturer, and a number of cultural epicenters.

We anticipated exposure to an entirely different culture and an entirely different paper industry. In some ways,

these expectations were met. The Chinese people live by simpler means than the typical American; by con-

trast, the Chinese paper industry is in its thriving adolescence, and most mills are equipped with state of the

art technology. That said, we were surprised to learn the similarities between our industries and cultures. De-

spite its booming growth, the Chinese paper industry has a lot of room for improvement in the sustainability

and raw material sectors; perhaps in seventy years, their currently shiny machines will become the old relia-

ble behemoths the American industry so adores. By contrast, the Chinese culture is a millennia senior to our

own, yet we can all sit around a Lazy Susan and enjoy dumplings from the same basket or engage in a

friendly basketball game.

Prior to this edition of PIE, students have traveled to Brazil, Chile, Finland, and twice before to China. The pri-

mary objective of PIE is to enable students to travel abroad at a greatly reduced cost, while visiting modern

manufacturing facilities, broadening cultural horizons, and contemplating how the U.S. industry can adapt

new technologies to remain competitive with rapidly growing industries across the world. By participating in

PIE, a student is taking strides towards well-roundedness and industry-readiness in an increasingly global

society. We will value this enlightening journey for the rest of our personal and professional lives.

A special thank you is extended to each company and individual who helped make this trip possible. Contri-

butions exceeding $55,000 allowed 35 students to affordably participate in an once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Another huge thanks goes to Dr. Hou Min Chang for his coordination of tours, lectures, and recreational

events every student enjoyed. Without the aid of our sponsors, the incredible Paper International Experience

would not be possible, so as a small token of our gratitude, we hope you enjoy this student-written account of

our fabulous trip.

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May 15, 2017 -Bryan Wall & Emily Bohn-

Our experience began Monday, May 15 at 3:30 AM... it was finally here! The group met at the Raleigh-Durham Airport, and everyone was very excited to head to China. The early morning arrival and the looming long flight dampened the excitement, ever so slightly, but we made it through security without any issues and passed time until the flight left by sleeping and finding food. After we landed in Newark around 9:00 AM, we excitedly made our way to the terminal for our connecting flight just in time to learn the flight was delayed for two hours due to maintenance issues. Finally, we left Newark at 1:00 PM and were in the air for 15 hours. Most people passed the time by sleeping or watching movies. Initially the inflight entertainment system had to be rebooted, instilling some fear in the students at the thought of sitting through the flight without any entertainment. Thankfully, after the second reboot it started working and the group enjoyed 140 movies on the way to China.

May 16, 2017 -Emily Buhr & Bruce Butler-

Our arrival in China was smooth! We were all pleased to have made it through the 24-hour trek and eager to see the new country we landed in. During this time in the airport, we noticed the mixture of people in the airport was diverse, with many languages being spoken. Beyond customs was baggage claim; luckily, we had all used the NC State Natural Resources luggage tags so we could quickly locate our suitcases. After gathering our belongings, we navigated across the airport to meet up with our tour guide, Steve. He was enthusiastic and excited to introduce us to China. Under his direction, we left the airport to go to the Magnetic-Levitation (Mag-Lev) train station. Following him in the crowd was surprisingly easy because he had a Captain America plush to hoist in the air! Waiting to board the Mag-Lev train filled us with anticipation. The train floated above the track at 300 kilometers per hour as we were whisked from the airport to the city. During the 8-minute journey, we saw numerous sights, including the castle at Disneyland! As we entered the city, we began to see the endless cluster of apartment towers, hinting at the massive population of Shanghai.

Upon arrival downtown, we met our bus driver and headed to dinner. As we drove through Shanghai to get to the restaurant, our guide, Steve, gave us an overview of the city and explained how the residents took pride in efficiency. Since the Mag-Lev train can transport people from the airport to the main business buildings in less than 8 minutes, Shanghai is a popular place for businesses to hold conferences and large meetings. Steve also gave us advice about the currency we would be using: the Yuan. All of China’s currency has Chairman Mao on the face, and he joked and said, “as long as the money looked like [Steve], it was authentic.” Finally dinner…something unique. We had dinner at Shanghai’s #1 Restaurant, with velvet walls and love seats at the booths. Our group was seated in a

Steve and his Captain America plush

Our first Lazy Susan meal

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private back room at four large round tables. This meal was our first exposure to the Lazy Susan style of eating. Some of the dishes were pork with thick fat caps, pig intestines, fried rice, sour soup, and beef with bamboo shoots. The centerpiece was a completely fried fish, prepared with a sweet sauce. Towards the end of the meal we were served dumplings with dipping sauce. The dumplings were special because they were half pan-fried, half steamed, coated in Sesame seeds, and meat-filled. Most tables had trouble identifying the food that was presented, so some of us ate the meal unsure of what was going into our mouths. Despite this, people tried most of the array of foods brought to the table. After dinner, we drove to the Shanghai Grand Central Hotel. We were all taken aback by how fancy the hotel was, but quickly sought the keys to our room so we could finally relax and reach out to our family and friends at home.

May 17, 2017 -Mason Umlauf & Daniel Hardy-

The third day of the trip was the first day we set out to travel the streets of China. The morning began with an Eastern and Western breakfast provided by the Grand Central Hotel in Shanghai. A multitude of fruits were available, including watermelon, dragon fruit, and cantaloupe. There were fried noodles and beef stew as well as an omelet bar, pancakes, and french toast. On the bus ride to our first destination, the Shanghai World Financial Center (SWFC) Observatory, we learned a few sayings. They proved to be useful as later in the day we walked around a typical Chinese market. The three most important sayings helped us turn away people soon to bombard us with imitation watches and purses. The statements we learned were: “buyao”, which means no thank you, “meiyou qian”, which means no money, and “tai guile”, which means too expensive; the last proved quite useful. After saying “tai guile” to a vendor a few times, you could get them to lower their prices by 50%. The weather today was perfect! The skies were clear and the temperature was about 70 degrees with a steady breeze. This type of weather is only experienced about 60-80 days a year in Shanghai. We were thankful to be present on one of those days. Since the weather was so beautiful, we were able to travel to the top of Shanghai’s Eye, part of the SWFC Observatory. At the top of the 500 meter

high building you could see the Shanghai skyline. The massive amount of skyscrapers in the 6,400 square kilometer city was overwhelming. As you looked across the river, you could see the difference in architecture and quality of the buildings, due to the difference in time that Puxi Western River) and Pudong (Eastern River) were developed. After descending the 100 stories of the observatory, we traveled over to Shanghai’s Bund, which is a boardwalk area on the western bank of the Huangpu River. This river separates Eastern and Western Shanghai and provides a beautiful view of the Shanghai architecture. On the eastern side, the architecture is very modern as the new financial district was developed after the 1980s. The western side has a European influence due to its development in the 1890s as an open port. Lunch today was extra special, as we were served two delicious spicy dishes. Spicy food is not traditional in this area, but commonly eaten in high humidity areas. It is believed, that if you can make

View from the SWFC Observatory

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your body sweat, it will push out the poisons and keep you healthy. Following a tasty lunch, we traveled to a villa inside the city of Shanghai, which covered 30 acres. The 400 year old estate was converted to an elaborate garden over the span of one family’s 28 year stay. Several families lived in the villa over time, and in 1950, it became a museum. Inside the yard, several superstitions can be seen in the tree and rock placements inside the walls. Upon entering the front gate, a large rock is in front of the main entrance into the house. It is placed in this location to deflect wind from going into the house and blowing away the family's wealth. The trees planted in the garden are also used to promote the family's wealth. A combination of gringo and magnolia trees line the inside of the walls. During the fall season, the gringo tree leaves change to a beautiful golden color which looks like gold, and are believed to bring wealth to the home as they fall from the tree, while the magnolia trees start to bloom beautiful white flowers and look like white jade, also believed to bring wealth to the family. After visiting the gardens, the students walked around a nearby market and were able to purchase gifts and souvenirs. Some students put their bartering skills to the test and really gave the market a run for its money. One student bartered a vendor down from 450 Yuan to 50 Yuan, for a Rolex Watch. Students came out of the market with different gifts such as chop sticks, Beats headphones, fancy watches, and key chains. The market that we shopped at used to be the main market in Shanghai and surrounds the garden we previously toured.

During the bus rides, the students gathered a lot of information from our tour guide Steve. While driving, the conversation of cars came up and we learned some interesting facts. China produces almost 95% of their cars due to joint ventures with companies like Volkswagen, Ford, and Honda. The cars that are not produced in China are typically more expensive like Ferrari’s and Rolls-Royce. China started producing their own cars in 1950 and popularity started to grow throughout the residents, but the majority of Chinese cars that populate the streets are foreign cars. In fact, 60% of the gas

Traditional European (left) and modern architecture (right) along the Huangpu at the Bund (left)

Trees and hand-carved stones filled the garden

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used to fuel the vehicles in China comes from imports such as the Middle East, Russia and Australia. The price of gas in China is roughly $1/Liter, which would equal $4/gallon of gas. There are only three oil companies in China that produce the remaining 40% of the oil.

We wrapped up the day with a dinner provided by Stora Enso, one of the largest wood product companies in the world. CEO Wangqui Song presented about the Global and Chinese paper market and talked quite a bit about how the Chinese fiber sourcing has been changing over the past 10 to 15 years; meanwhile, the global market is steadily growing in areas like linerboard and hygiene products, but declining steadily in areas like copy paper. The dinner was Western and we were able to eat with forks and knives instead of chopsticks. After dinner, we went on a boat tour on the Huangpu River and were dazzled by the magnificent light show displayed on the buildings of the Shanghai skyline. The state pays 2 million Yuan per night, to light the Shanghai Skyline from dusk until 11pm. It is an amazing view.

May 18, 2017 -Bradley Cooper & Hunter Jackson-

We left Grand Central Hotel in Shanghai at 8:20am to go to the “small town” of Kunshan with only 2 million people. Steve told us that the town was predominantly immigrant workers, which are known in China as “floating people.” On the way out of Shanghai, we passed the people’s park, which Steve referred to, as a marriage market. Fathers will go to that park with pictures and descriptions of their daughters after they reach the age of 30 in order to find husbands for them. It is common in Chinese culture for parents to be involved in the

Shanghai skyline as viewed from the Huangpu at night

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process of finding a husband or wife for their child. It is also common for the bride and groom to dress in their wedding clothes before their wedding day to take pictures. Most people in China, who are religious, are Buddhist, but less than 30% of the people are religious due to the Cultural Revolution. During this period, many temples required reconstruction because they were burned down by those who wanted to “purify” the country by getting rid of the old way of life. Buddhism is based on the principle of eliminating the 108 forms of suffering. We learned that there are two types of Buddhism, Tibetan and Chinese, and that the Buddhist people do not pray to Gods but look to monks and Buddha to reduce their suffering. We arrived at the Voith facility around 10 AM where we were warmly greeted with refreshments and snacks. It was a beautiful, state-of-the art facility. We began the tour with a presentation from Daniel Weiss, a Voith Vice President. He spoke about the company, location history, and he introduced us to the markets which Voith supplies (digital solutions, hydro, turbo, and paper). In the paper business line, he described the projects, products and services, fabric services, and roll systems; all of these divisions are located at the facility. The Kunshan Facility and the Asian Voith Headquarters, were established in 1994 and employees 1,222 people. It has delivered 83 machines in China since 1994 and has a capacity of eight machine sets per year. Kurt Yu, the Vice President of sales, elaborated on the paper division of Voith. His vision is to use a

control system to prevent paper breaks before they happen. He also set some goals for Voith to help the industry adapt: less than one liter of water per kilogram of product, reduce energy by half, and maximize the recycle rate. Rose Gu, the quality manager, introduced the company’s operational excellence strategy. The OPEX strategy involves four steps: the vision or approach, the four principles, nine wastes, and nine elements. The four principles highlight customer focus, flow, stability and robust processes, and synchronized production. Due to our process-engineering course taught at NC State, introducing similar concepts, there was a lot of student involvement and questions during this discussion. Next, we were introduced to a Nanjing Forestry University student who completed his master’s program at NCSU. He began his career at the Kunshan facility.

Various forms of Buddha, Xi’an Nat’l History Museum

Ryan Barnes (right) and Heather Starkey (left) prepared for Voith facility tour

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The lunch we were provided was delicious and also provided time where we could interact and network with Voith management and employees. After lunch, we were given a brief safety training, provided with the proper protective equipment, and sent on a tour. The facility provides a three-year vocational education-training lab for technicians. We toured the training facilities on pumps, welding, and milling. The products and services area goes through a process of welding, milling, marking, storage, sandblasting, and painting to create the carbon and stainless steel products on-site. The projects area is where machines are pre-assembled. All imported and site-created products are put together to ensure proper delivery. The facility was currently assembling two machines. It was an incredible and informative site visit. After visiting Voith, we took the bus to Nanjing. Nanjing means South Capital while Beijing means North Capital. This is because Nanjing was the capital city for six dynasties and is now a town of 10 million. China did not have concrete at Nanjing’s beginning so they used sticky rice to hold the city’s surrounding wall together and it has been standing since the Ming Dynasty built it in the late 14th century. To ensure good quality of the wall, the engineers and workers put their names on each brick and section of the wall that they worked on. If something went wrong, the Emperor would have the responsible party, and their family killed. It is rumored, that if the workers were killed they would be put into the wall.

May 19, 2017 -Justin Coor & Andrew Edwards-

We left the hotel in Nanjing early in the morning to head to the city of Zhengjiang. Which is located about 80 km away from Nanjing on the banks of the Yangtze River. The Yangtze River starts in the icy mountains near the Qinghai-Tibet plateau and flows 6,300 miles to the East China Sea just north of Shanghai. The city of Zhengjiang is considered a small city by Chinese standards, but has a population of approximately three million people. For comparison, the population of Raleigh is approximately 450,000 people. The city started out as an agricultural area and is originally famous for the local rice farming and fishing trade. It was an odd juxtaposition to see the mill set against the quiet backdrop of the city. The Gold East Paper Mill was established in 1997. Originally, it was owned by an Indonesian corporation. The mill has three machines producing coated freesheet. For reference, freesheet refers to

no use of mechanically separated pulp in the final product. The first two paper machines have off machine coaters. The third paper machine is more similar to the ones used in America, having an in-line coater. On this particular day, we toured the number three paper machine, mentioned above. This machine became operational in 2005 and produces paper at a rate of 3,200 tons per day. The production speed of the machine is a blistering 1,800 meters per minute. For those of us not adapted to the metric system, that is approximately 5,900 feet per minute or 67 miles per hour. The grade being made that day was art paper with a basis weight of 70 – 128 grams per square meter.

Students enjoying koi pond in the shadow of the Gold East Paper Mill

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Though the machines were cool, the biggest attractor of the day was the nature preserve. In an effort to show the effectiveness of the treatment of the paper mills effluent water to the Yangtze River, a preserve was built on site. The preserve was situated alongside a small pond filled with treated effluent. Lining the pond was local trees and other vegetation. In the middle of the pond was a man-made island with a traditional Chinese gazebo connected by two stone walkways to the shore. The pond was filled with Koi Fish along with various other aquatic fauna and flora in seemingly healthy conditions. On one side of the pond were pens that housed exotic animals such as peacocks, a bright red bird, and another bird that looked similar to a turkey. It was a quaint place to relax, until you noticed that you could see some of the process equipment over the tree line. After touring the Gold East Paper Mill and eating lunch, we boarded the bus once again and headed to Yangzhou. Located in Yangzhou is the YongfengYu (YFY) Paper Mill. The mill was originally established in 2003 and produces linerboard and corrugated medium. The raw material for the paper is 95% old corrugated containers, which is sourced partially from China and America. The mill has three paper machines producing a combined rate of 2,200 tons per day. The number one, two, and three paper machines have speeds of 1600, 2300, and 3600 feet per minute, respectively. The number one machine produces 1 ply linerboard, while the number two and three machines produce 3 ply linerboard. Each “jumbo roll”, or finished reel of paper, weighs in at an astounding 50 tons. One of the most shocking things of the day was the cleanliness of both paper mills. Following the tour, we finished the day with an extravagant dinner prepared by YFY’s very own kitchen.

May 20, 2017 -Russell Aryeetey and Landon Deberry-

Today we started our day quite early as we had a long ride to the mill from our hotel in Nanjiang. As usual, our tour guide Steve delivered another lesson about China: this time, about the Chinese population. During the 1900s, China’s population ballooned from 400 million to 700 million in only a short period of time. This was proliferated by Mao Zedong’s vision of “big population, strong nation,” and he encouraged the country to massively increase its population. This growth eventually became unsustainable and the government initiated

the 1 child policy in 1980. This began to have significant effects on the family dynamics of the Chinese people, as many things changed in response to the policy. Steve’s lessons always gave great context of the country. Once we finally arrived at our destination, SunChem, we were greeted by its founder, Dr. Michael Sun. Dr. Sun is an wonderful individual, who is incredibly smart, hardworking, generally talented, and truly inspirational. After receiving a PhD from NC State he went into consulting for pulp and paper companies. After some time, he decided that he wanted to go in a different direction and took on the task of creating a process for the manufacturing of release paper, a central

component in the creation of synthetic leathers. At first, he thought this would be a simple endeavor, but as he often reminded us, he was sorely mistaken. The reason he decided to go in this direction was because no one in China has the capability of making release paper. It was an open market for SunChem particularly since 80% of synthetic leather is made in China. Also he was the perfect man for the job since creating this process requires a plethora of technical chemical knowledge that few possess. Additionally, many have tried and failed before him to achieve the goal he had in mind. In the product development stage of the super gloss alone, he ran 2728 lab tests, 102 production trials, and 780 consumer site trials. This fast paced development was completed by working 8-12 hour days, every day. This type of work ethic is what made Dr. Sun such an inspiration and made it clear why it was no issue for him to gain investors in his vision. He is a successful man that has overseen SunChem grow to a company with 40 customers and about three million dollars per year in revenue.

Dr. Sun captivating students and professors alike

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After Dr. Sun’s presentation, he took us on a mill tour. The machine is rather small as it only performs coating operations. SunChem purchases the base paper from American companies to turn into release paper. The mill floor is a renovated warehouse that he bought and then built the machines from scratch since many of the machines he purchased were in poor condition. The place was incredibly clean and quiet and there were only a few technicians on the floor to keep everything going. Next on the agenda was Old Town, once again hosted by Dr. Sun. We drove over there as a group and he continued his amazing treatment of our group. When we arrived not only was a tour guide present to take us into an aged Chinese town, but there was also a camera crew and Special Forces Officers to keep us safe! It may have been over the top, but it was definitely an invaluable sign of Chinese hospitality. Old town was rich in culture with plenty of street vendors selling quality items for low prices, and many of the students bought pearls here. The last event in our day was to visit Nanjiang Forestry University, and it was conveniently right next to our hotel. It’s an old university that was celebrating its 115th anniversary. The university has 22 majors and 6 key disciplines available to students. The university has a focus on International Cooperation and Scientific Research. In regards to its exchange program, the University has relationships with many universities around the world, and they send their students to gain a broader understanding of their topics. With us in the presentation room were some of the students from the university who were also studying pulp and paper, and we were given time to socialize and interact with them. We were able to learn a lot about the students, university, China, and what they thought about America. To my surprise there were a lot of Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift fans amongst them; just goes to show the reach of western popular culture. This social segued into a tour of the student’s campus and they walked us through their school on our way back to our hotel. We were given some time to freshen up after a long day. Dinner was hosted by Nanjiang Forestry University, and we were served even more unique cuisines. The activity for the night was KTV, a popular Chinese activity consisting of karaoke in private rooms. The whole group had a room to ourselves. NJFU students joined our entire group and we all had a good time singing and laughing.

May 21, 2017

-Chase Hayhurst & Madeleine Foster-

It was 6:30am. The wake-up call came in and we all began to realize the extent of the KTV trip from the night before. But to be a trooper, you can’t give up; so we got out of bed, packed, and sat down for one last breakfast in Nanjing. 8:00 ameventually rolled around and we climbed onto the bus for another day of tourism in China. After a 45-minute ride filled with stories of the night before, we made it to the train station. McDonald’s and Starbucks…. Ahhh! A statue of a Chinese Lion and a beautiful view of the city were waiting for us as we exited the bus and said goodbye to our awesome bus driver of the past few days. We got plenty of looks from the natives as usual, but let’s be honest, our group of 40+ Americans stuck out like a sore thumb. Our train didn’t leave until 10:15am so we had time to relax. The hour or so was far from boring between food from McDonald’s and Starbucks, listening to Jacob try to get Chinese locals to understand his hilarious English questions, and taking pictures with a cute little Chinese baby, the hour flew by. Around 10:17am, we boarded the high-speed train from Nanjing South Station to Qufu. A two-hour train ride provided time to nap and gaze at the

Chase Hayhurst (left) and Madeleine Foster (right) with a cute little Chinese baby (center)

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Ryan Barnes admiring the incense-shrouded Confucius Temple

David Sheppard (left) and Trevor Gamache (right) place incense to seek the wisdom of Confucius

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Chinese countryside until finally we arrived at our destination. We left the train station and headed to board our new bus that was waiting to take us to lunch. Our lunch was different from previous meals; it was not as fancy but somehow seemed more authentic. We walked into the restaurant and crossed a small wooden bridge over an indoor stream to get to our tables. As we looked around the restaurant, we noticed that the ceiling was just like the top of a giant tent. The lack of air conditioning and flies exploring our sweaty faces were not enough to ruin the cultural experience. When we finished eating, we walked outside, past locals trying to sell us trinkets, and boarded the bus. A short 15-minute ride was all it took to get to the Confucius Temple and even from the road, it looked magnificent. We had a local guide for this tour in addition to Steve, and he took us through all the segments of the temple explaining what everything was, and its significance. The entire facility was awe-inspiring. The intricacy of the architecture was unlike anything in America. The structures, and even the trees, were older than America itself, and it is amazing to think how long the Temple has been in existence. To think we all walked on the same paths that ancient Chinese men and women did over a thousand years ago is overwhelming. After hundreds of pictures and a quick bathroom break, we all made our way back to the bus and settled in for the long bus ride to Rizhao. The three-hour ride to the hotel seemed extremely quiet compared to our usual rides, but everyone was exhausted from sightseeing and traveling. When we finally pulled into our 5-star home for the night, we could tell from one look around the high-class Landbridge Jinjiang Hotel lobby we were in for a great experience.

The dinner was buffet style. Half of the food was traditional Chinese food, and much to our delight western food filled the other half. Countless plates were piled high with pizza, waffles, crab legs, sushi, and much more. Everyone has enjoyed the traditional Chinese food but I think some food from home was greatly appreciated. We explored our hotel to see just what this 5-star hospitality looked like and discovered it meant floor to ceiling windows looking from the bedroom directly into the bathroom. Thankfully, every room had a pull down blind to protect us from scarring our roommates for life. The beach was less than a five-minute walk from the hotel, so a lot of us went to check out the Pacific Ocean and Yellow Sea for the first time (and potentially the only time) in our life. Our beds were a huge upgrade from the previous hotel so we ended our amazing day in bliss.

May 22, 2017

-Chris Herring & Alex Hight-

We left our five-star hotel after indulging in a delicious buffet breakfast to start our day. About a thirty-minute bus ride later, we arrived at the Asia Symbol Manufacturing Facility in Qingdao City, Shandong, home of the world’s largest continuous digester and recovery boiler. This company holds a quarter of the market share for market pulp in China. Asia Symbol is the number one producer of hardwood market pulp in China and ranked third worldwide. This particular facility contains the largest capacity single production line in the world. The mill receives its chips via a port the company leases from the government in 50-year increments. The port services 12 vessels that deliver their products all over the world. Each vessel can carry about 70,000-80,000 tons and takes 1-2 days to unload. The port receives an average of 300,000 green tons per day, mostly from Vietnam and

PIE 2017 Group at shoreline of the Pacific Ocean

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Indonesia. The mill is self-sufficient in power and uses its sludge to make fertilizer, which it also sells. Unfortunately, the facility was in the middle of its shutdown during our visit so instead of touring, we received some background information on the company and a lecture on continuous digesters given by Dr. Dehai Chen and Dr. Jian Er Jiang, both alumni of our program. Dr. Chen received his

PhD from NC State in 1987 and works as Mill Technical Head. Dr. Jiang received his Masters and PhD from NC State, and he now works as a Technical Advisor at Asia Symbol. After the lecture, Dr. Jameel quizzed us on what we learned as we rode the bus down the mill’s port. We were allowed onto the docks to observe the large cranes and claws used to unload the ships. Next, we headed to a nearby waterfront buffet restaurant. Here, most of us tried a local staple: snake wine, a rice wine with a whole snake inside the dispenser. After lunch, we took a walk along the waterfront to see yachts, windsurfers, tour boats, and fishing boats. After a quick photo op on the Pacific Ocean shoreline, we set off on a four-hour bus ride to our next city, Jinan.

May 23, 2017

-Madden Neilson and David Sheppard- The day started with some much-needed rest. The trip had been intense so far and day 9 was a welcome reprieve. The group was allowed to sleep in a tad, as we had to leave the hotel by 10:30 am for the University. Many opted for an early breakfast but some students chose to take the opportunity to sleep in until the last possible minute.

After a short bus ride, we arrived at Qilu University to tour their facilities and meet with some of their students. Our first stop was the library, which was by far, the most amazing library I have ever been in, (suffice to say it was enormous). The group met in a conference room where we received a welcome speech, briefly introduced to some of the faculty of the university, followed by a small gift giving ceremony, then a wonderful meet and greet session with the students. Some fellow Wolfpack students (Sarah Sassarossi, Jacob Rooks, and Bruce Butler) and myself, talked with a student named James who had phenomenal English speaking skills (which he attributed to numerous viewing of Game of Thrones and House of Cards). James was studying Food Safety (a discipline of study China could seriously benefit from) and it was a real pleasure to talk to him. He expressed much interest in coming to the US to visit; hopefully some of us can host him here soon! After the meet and greet with the students, the group toured the Qilu Ceramics Glass Science and Art Museum. The Museum was extremely impressive and held hundreds of masterfully crafted glass and ceramic pottery pieces. Following the museum visit, we were allowed to tour their paper making facilities and their on campus brewery (where we sampled some of their beer). After lunch, we played a rematch game of basketball against some of the Qilu students. The game was back and forth the entire match and ended in a heartbreaker of a loss for the Wolfpack. With 8 seconds left and the Wolfpack up 60-59, we had a controversial backcourt violation called against us after a great defense forced a turnover. Qilu regained the ball and scored after some brief confusion, the whistle blew resulting in a 60-61

Dr. Chang (center) and Dr. Byrd (right) graciously accept gift from Qilu University Pres. Chen (left)

Russell Aryeetey sneaks one past the Qilu defense

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loss. Our boys put up some serious hustle against a clearly practiced Qilu squad and should all be commended for their efforts! Some students elected not to participate in the Basketball game and decided to go play ping-pong with Dr. Chang and some other Qilu students instead. The PSE students that played ping-pong came back to tell us their games had been much more one-sided (in Qilu’s favor) and they were saved from disgrace by Dr. Chang’s incredible table tennis skills. The day ended with a fantastic dinner hosted by Qilu, where we were able to try the local delicacy, Sea Cucumber. While terrifying in appearance, its taste was anything but. It tasted most similarly to an extremely chewy, bland piece of fish. The dinner had some of the students we met from Qilu earlier in the day and was a nice reunion to cap the day off.

May 24, 2017 -Alex May & Sarah Pumphrey-

Today we visited Tranlin in Gaotang. We started the day by learning about higher education in China from our tour guide, Steve. While we were on the bus, he told us that there are 1200 Universities in China and all high school students must take a rigorous entrance exam to determine which college they will be able to attend. Only 40% of high school graduates go to college, largely because many cannot afford it. A student can borrow money from the government to go to school, but they must pay it back within four years of graduation. Upon arriving at the Tranlin Mill, we were treated to lunch. The company owns farmland near their mill and prides itself on the ability to grow vegetables using the fertilizer produced in their facility; therefore, much of our lunch consisted of all organic vegetables grown at the mill. It was delicious! The company uses wheat straw and other agricultural

residue as the primary fiber source. This was very exciting because it was a new experience for many of us. We began the mill tour by seeing the continuous digesters and washers. We felt the pulp from these washers and could tell the difference between the short wheat fibers and longer wood fibers. We learned that many washers are required in this facility due to the low drainage rate of wheat straw. Next, we saw 64 globe digesters, which many of us had never seen before. Finally, we saw their fourdrinier machine, which runs at 1000 meters/min producing 2000 tons/day. This mill also has paper machines to make 100% wheat straw tissue along with coated and uncoated freesheet. Much of the tissue made is converted into toilet paper. After completing the mill tour, Steve surprised us by getting popsicles! This was very refreshing because

A delicious meal full of organic vegetables from the Tranlin greenhouse and farmland

Tranlin’s product (near), mascot (middle), and PSE’s Brandon Balicki (far)

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it was a hot day, and it made us even more excited to see the rest of Tranlin plant. The next stop was the converting facility, where we saw how they made tissue into toilet paper rolls. This was a neat experience because we were able to see the final product. We also toured the molding facility that produced paper plates and take-out containers. Since the products are meant for food, the facility was very clean, and everything was inspected by hand. The mill uses its organic byproducts to produce fertilizers, which are bagged and sold. We visited the bagging facility to see this process. To conclude our mill tour we visited the effluent treatment center and the farm. Although the effluent smelled terrible and was almost black in color, the treated water was clean enough for fish and ducks to live in. They even had a pond where we fed the coy. On their farm they had a mulberry section, where we ate fresh mulberries from the trees. It is inspiring to see how much they care about the environment. Before taking the bus to the train station, we were treated to another meal full of organic vegetables from their farm. Overall, we were able to learn about many new processes, including making paper products from wheat straw, converting these products to toilet

paper, molding the products into plates and take-out containers, and converting organic byproducts to fertilizer. When we left the mill, we took the bus to the train station, said goodbye to our second bus driver, and took the high speed train to our final destination, the capital city of China, Beijing.

May 25, 2017

-Jensen Vellaringattu & Jacob Rooks-

Today was the big day! It was our first full day in Beijing and was the day we were going to see the Great Wall of China, one of the seven wonders of the world. We woke up earlier than normal today in order to board the bus by 7:00 am. Steve, our tour guide said that rush hour in Beijing can get bad and that timing would be very important. If we left at

Swirling orb at the entrance to the Jade Garden

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7:00 am, it would be an hour and 20 minute commute, whereas, if we left at 8:00 am, it would be a three-hour commute, to our destination. On the way to the Great Wall, Steve pointed out the government buildings in China, including the central government and the embassy buildings. There are over 200 embassies in Beijing. We also saw the 2008 Beijing Olympics Stadium, “The Bird’s Nest.” It was an amazing and frequently seen spectacle worldwide less than a decade ago, and it was surreal to see in person. Our first destination was the Jade Garden. China is famous for its jade, which is known for its beauty and hardness. A guide for the Jade Garden Museum walked us through various statues, figures, and other expensive items made out of jade.

Interesting facts about jade jewelry, it absorbs oil and water from the skin, changing its color so by studying the jade’s color, you are able to learn about your health. Additionally, since jade is sought after and expensive, it is important to distinguish between fake and authentic jade. Authentic jade is translucent, and the minerals can be seen inside, which differs from the properties of fake jade. Real jade is colder to touch and is much harder, thus much more resistant to scratches than fake jade. After learning about jade, many of our fellow peers and faculty excitedly splurged on buying jade items from the gift store, including chopsticks, earrings, necklaces, and bracelets. After the Jade Garden, everyone was getting excited to see and climb the Great Wall. We have all seen it in pictures and videos throughout our lives, and the Great Wall lived up to all expectations as we approached it. The mountains, the multitude of trees, and the winding, long Great Wall was visible from miles away, and it was truly great. After getting our tickets and taking a group photo, we all ventured out to climb the wall. The main platform to climb the wall had an option to take a left and a right route. We were told the left route was a steeper, tougher climb, and the tower at the top was at the highest elevation we could reach. The right route was supposed to be a little bit easier and was sprawling with more tourists compared to the left. Over half the group took the left route, and it was a heck of a climb. The climb was very steep and vertical at times, had both upward and downward slopes, and had different sized steps. After a lot of stress on our legs, a good cardio workout, and hundreds of pictures from the group, The left route

Students are in awe of the beautiful architecture throughout the Temple of Heaven grounds

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we had reached the top. It was a great accomplishment, and the views throughout were beautiful. Lots of us eventually ventured out to the right route. Although also tough, it was completely worth it. We all met up as a group at the bottom, ate a buffet lunch at the wall, and headed on out from a-once-in-a-lifetime experience. Next, we visited the Temple of Heaven, which was a collection of temple buildings where people used to pray for peace and tranquility. It was surrounded by a calm garden, and the whole area was bustling with tourists. After touring a serene spot, Steve took us to the busy walking street in Beijing, an area that was full of shopping areas, food areas, and tourists. The group collected more souvenirs before dinner in Beijing for an authentic Chinese dinner, which was also accompanied by a traditional Chinese show incorporating shadows on a large screen that told a story of a monkey and a panda. Skilled restaurant workers used sticks to create movements on the monkey, panda, a forest setting, and live music to create actions and the story. After getting back to the hotel, some people enjoyed their night by exploring the Beijing nightlife in the Hou Hai area, which had a collection of bars, restaurants, and shops surrounding a large pond. The majority of the places had live music, where up and coming artists debut to try and make it to the next level in music. Outside you can find several vendors selling some delicious meat on a stick to enjoy by the water. We enjoyed spending time in the foreign city, meeting locals and foreigners, and experiencing the culture of people in the northern capital.

May 26, 2017

-Kyle Spegal & Jackson Russell-

Today the group began the day early, as we had to be on the tour bus by 8:00 am sharp. We began the day by taking a tour of Tiananmen Square in

Beijing. This location marks a crucial time in history as it is where the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 occurred. The date was made famous by the iconic image of a man standing in front of a line of tanks driving down the street. As part of the tour we saw the Great Hall of the People, The National Museum of China, The Monument to the People’s Heroes, and The Mausoleum of Mao Zedong. All of these structures make up Tiananmen Square. This

area is a very popular tourist destination. At the north of Tiananmen Square we saw the Heavenly Peace Gate. We approached the gate and entered to explore the Forbidden City. Inside the Forbidden City, there are 9,999 rooms in total. It was said that Heaven held 10,000 rooms so 9,999 rooms was seen as the max number of rooms the emperor could have. The site was constructed in the 1400s and took over 20 years to complete. Since its initial construction, the Forbidden City has been mostly rebuilt and restored to preserve its history and integrity for tourism. It was said that a lightning strike burned the initial structure causing massive damage to it that prompted the first of several rebuilds and renovations. The last emperor lived in the palace of the Forbidden City until 1925. Since then, the structure has been vacant and left as a landmark of China. In the center square of the Forbidden City there are many bricks making up the ground. The bricks were used to stop assassins from entering the palace via underground tunnels. There were also no trees in the center square of the Forbidden City; this was to ensure that assassins couldn’t hide in trees. As part of the Forbidden City, we also walked through the Royal Garden which contained a rich and diverse array of plant life as well as rock formations. We exited the Forbidden City through a gate known as the Gate of Divine Prowess. The walk from the A barren square inside the massive Forbidden City

Students enjoy the tea ceremony

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Special Thanks to Dr. Chang An integral player in the success of PIE 2017 China was Dr. Hou Min Chang. Not only did he contribute to the trip with his phenomenal ping-pong abilities, but without his connections in China and its paper industry, this trip would not have been nearly as exciting or fulfilling (or likely even possible). On behalf of all the students, we would like to extend our utmost gratitude to Dr. Chang for creating such a memorable experience.

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES

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Russell Aryeetey Brandon Balicki

Emily Bohn Emily Buhr

William Butler Roland Cady

Bradley Cooper Justin Coor

Landon Deberry

PIE 2017 China was made possible by many organizations and individuals dedicated to broadening the horizons of emerging engineers. In addition to those mentioned

below, the attending faculty leveraged their connections and experience to ensure an unforgettable trip. This combined with the good will of faculty and staff across the department and college allowed 35 students to affordably learn about our global

industry. Your generosity will remembered throughout our careers. Thank you!

ORGANIZATIONS Andritz

BioResources Journal College of Natural Resources

(Dean Watzin) Dept. of Forest Biomaterials

Domtar Georgia-Pacific

International Paper National TAPPI

Rayonier Advanced Materials

INDIVIDUALS Ernie Alexander Geoffrey Bogner

Lou Boos Daniel Boren

Lara Brown de Fuenmayor

Pat Buenaventura James Buzzard

Dr. Hou Min Chang Brent Collins Scott Conrad Gus Cottros

Dr. Jesse Daystar Wes Decker

Daniel Dudley Adam Elhammoumi

Mary Elliston Jason Frizzell Kristin Grant

Dane Grismer Rick & Lori Hall Reagan Howard

Jordan Jernigan Russell Robert R. Kaminskas

Austin Leonard Ashley Massey Joe McDonald Lauren Moody Todd Moore

Katharine Payne Dr. Richard Phillips

Metts Potter Richard Pridgen

Ashley Quick Rusnak Carter Rechtin Moe Savage Nick Savage

Ashley Schiffman Jesse Swanner Chuck Thames

Dr. Richard Venditti Jacob Vrooman

Andrew Edwards Madeleine Foster Trevor Gamache

Daniel Hardy Chase Hayhurst

Christopher Hering Alex Hight

Hunter Jackson

Charles Jospeph Taylor Krakuszeski

Alex May Will Mayo

Madden Neilson Sarah Pumphrey

Jacob Rooks Jackson Russell

Sarah Sassorossi

David Sheppard Kyle Spegal

Heather Starkey Michael Stephens

Mason Umlauf Jensen Vellaringattu

Bryan Wall Julia Woods

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