Hearing a student become so passionate and excited to talk about their abroad time in China is always a story I always look forward to and am excited to hear this powerful re-engaging with China initiatives to promote global connection & partnerships.
Jade, an upcoming third-year student business economics major at University of California, Davis, shared her background and deep passion for Chinese culture, a connection that actually began during her childhood in the Philippines through the local Chinese diaspora before moving to the US when she was seven years old. She opened up about how she first discovered the UC Davis x Jiangnan University program on Instagram and applied. In a funny twist, she initially thought her application had been lost due to not hearing back for a period of time Luckily, it was an email-mix up and she discovered that she was accepted into the program, launching a journey that led to amazing opportunities, media appearances, and even received an invitation to speak at the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco for International Chinese Language Learning Day.
Right at the start of our call, I was both amazed and curious about how she landed that speaking opportunity at the consulate. I asked her what the process was like. Contextually, I learned that there were five keynote speakers scheduled at the consulate, but one wasn’t able to make it last minute.
“Right after the Jiangnan program ended, I wanted to keep in touch with the people who arranged it, so I sent an email to show my appreciation. I guess that email put me on their radar.”
As it turned out, a staff member visited the UC Davis Chinese Department shortly after. The professors there all knew Jade and strongly encouraged her to give the speech at the consulate. I asked if she felt nervous stepping into that spotlight.
“I only had two days to prepare, and I tried not to be too nervous because I was just there to speak my truth and share my love for Chinese culture—that comes out naturally. I was a bit anxious, but honestly, it was just a fun experience to talk about my time in China.”
First-Year Experience: Jiangnan & E-Commerce
During her first program in Jiangnan University as an intern, Jade led two primary projects and responsibilities: teaching English and American business culture to local e-commerce entrepreneurs, and visiting a local peach farm. She observed firsthand how deeply integrated e-commerce is in daily life in China, with people naturally live-streaming on TikTok(in this case, Douyin 抖音 in China) and promoting products right on the street with ring lights and tripods. In the US, they’d probably be described as “influencers in the wild,” but in China, it’s a seamless part of the local economy.
Jade also noted that while teaching concepts like American tipping culture was interesting, explaining American return policies, specifically Costco’s generous terms as long as you had a valid strong argument, elicited the biggest reactions from local students.
“I feel like the concept was a bit of a shock to them because it’s not common in China. We were talking about return policies, specifically Costco, and how you can return items up to a year later as long as you have a reasonable explanation.”
I then asked Jade how she describes her time in China to other students who may be curious about applying for a program in China, especially given the current political climate and complex Sino-US relations.
She shared how overwhelmingly welcoming and positive her interactions were with everyday locals. She noted that Caucasian visitors often get immediate attention, but anyone who attempts to speak even a few words of Chinese receives warm praise, usually receiving compliments such as “Your Chinese is so amazing!” Although Jade received plenty of compliments herself, many local aunties initially assumed she was a local Chinese until she clarified she is a foreigner. She emphasized that she always enters these programs with an open mind, excited to make genuine human connections.
Round Two in China: Language, AI, & Agriculture
Although Jade admitted she is unable to recall everything from last year’s program, she knew her second program this time around felt completely different from her first. Before her first program last year, she had only taken two months of Chinese language classes. While she was told she didn’t need fluent Chinese to participate (and only basic command of the language is sufficient), she realized that stronger language skills would allow her to have much deeper conversations with local students.
With that in mind, she took 8 months of rigorous Chinese classes at UC Davis before returning to China this year for another program, and her confidence surged. She found herself actively approaching strangers, asking deeper questions, and enjoying delightful conversations. When I asked her to rate her Chinese proficiency on a scale of 1 to 10, she gave a surprisingly specific answer: 6.6.
“I would personally rate myself a 4, but since so many people told me I’m better than I think, 6.6 felt like the right number to land on!”
Jade also highlighted China’s advanced integration of AI across everyday industries. During a visit to a radio communications broadcast building in Jiangsu province, she saw real-time translation voiceovers and urban mapping drones in action. But what fascinated her most was AI’s role in modern agriculture. Particularly, the fact that farmers can work remotely was incredible; harvesting cotton and managing water levels all from an iPad. This technology drastically reduces labor-intensive farm work while enabling younger generations to pursue different career paths without leaving agricultural heritage behind.
When it came to the topic surrounding AI and its controversial status in the global world, Jade thought of what she learned and said:
“I don’t think AI is something you can push back against, so the best approach is to embrace it and leverage its strengths—like improving work efficiency in agriculture.”
When talking with Chinese college students, particularly those studying film and photography, she noticed that while they recognize AI’s ability to replace jobs, they weren’t overly fearful of AI replacing them. Instead, they viewed it as a tool to complement human creativity, a perspective Jade found refreshing, as there is a difference between how art is created by humans vs art created by AI.
Breaking the Cultural Barrier
While China and the US are often portrayed as worlds apart, finding common ground usually comes down to simple, universal culture, somehow leading to a conversation that involved the Canadian pop icon, Justin Bieber.
Jade laughed as she recalled chatting with her Chinese classmates about music preferences and how pop culture bridges cultural barriers. One student mentioned Justin Bieber as one of their favorite artists, broke out into an impromptu rendition of “Baby,” and the whole room joined in this instant karaoke like icebreaker!
Unforgettable Local Moments
With so many cities visited, I knew asking Jade to pick a favorite would be tough, but was very curious. Beijing immediately came first in mind to Jade. Visiting China had been a dream of hers for years, and seeing the Forbidden City and the Great Wall on the program itinerary, and finally visiting in person felt like a deeply meaningful milestone representing all her hard work on the application has paid off.
Her second favorite? Urumqi, Xinjiang—a location that surprised me, given its heavy security and how it’s often portrayed in Western media. Yet, her personal experience was defined by warmth and hospitality.
Jade also cleared up a fun detail about their group attire. Program delegates were given official shirts with “Discover China” written on the back in both English and Chinese characters.
“When we walked around wearing those specific shirts, locals could read the back and immediately know we were there for a cultural exchange. It served as the ultimate conversation starter—people instantly understood who we were and welcomed us.”
Looking Forward
Reflecting on how her exposure to cross-cultural e-commerce and technology has shaped her future, Jade noted that her experiences deepened her desire to bridge cross-cultural spaces in her career.
“Being assigned to a Chinese firm or working closely with a international team in China is a major dream of mine.”
With the growth of international firms and global operations especially from China, I reminded her that this ambition is well within reach!
Advice for Prospective Students
To wrap up our interview, I asked Jade for her top advice for students considering the UC Davis x Jiangnan University internship or the Nanjing program next year:
- Know Your ‘Why’: These competitive programs look for authentic motivation. If you are clear on your personal purpose and interest in cross-cultural learning, writing a compelling essay will come naturally; and you will know when you accomplished writing a good essay, because it becomes from your heart.
We ended the chat with a fun light-hearted chat about her favorite foods (moving beyond the standard hotpot and dim sum!) and her go-to Chinese slang phrase, which you’ll have to watch the video to catch that and all the other details not included in this newsletter.
A huge thank you to Jade for sharing her enriching journey as a student delegate representing UC Davis abroad.
▶️ Check out the full interview video below!
For any educators, students, professors, faculty, staff interested in knowing more about the programs Jade applied and went on, please refer to the two links below for more details.
*Important Links*
- UC Davis 2026 ACT Summer Internship Program in China: https://ealc.ucdavis.edu/news-and-events/2026-america-china-talk-summer-internship-jiangnan-university-china-call
- Discover China: https://www.odysseysf.org
Best,
Mason
East & Weast
Author