This day was mainly a
day used for travel as we left Beijing to travel to Suzhou. We drove 3 hours
through the Chinese countryside and after stopping in a gas station for a
restroom break and snacks, we arrived at the PPG plant in Tianjin. They are a
painting company in charge of making coating for products that colors and
protects them. They color anything from the body of a car to the cover of a
cell phone. The chemical engineers had a chance to shine because the secret in
getting efficient coating to stick to different items involves using ion
attractions. The grounded of metal surface of their car frames have a negative
charge and their base coat is filled with positively charged ions so the coat
almost immediately binds to the surface. We were showed around the factory area
by a Carnegie Mellon alum. PPG was actually founded in Pittsburgh.
Next we got on the Bullet Train to get to Suzhou. We had
a great time. Every few cars there was a bar with refreshments and you can turn
rows of chairs around so you can sit and face each other. The train topped out
at about 306 km/hr. I heard that a typical American train tops at about
90km/hr. Our first chance to compare American and Chinese versions of American
food chains came in the form of Subway. Chinese tasted good. My sandwich came
with a sweet and sour sauce on sesame bread and it was pretty darn good. We
arrived at our hotel in Suzhou, which was by far my favorite hotel, and after
dinner, we went to bed.
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