Today was a great last day of both sightseeing and company visits in China! We started off the day early and traveled 2 hours on the bus to Suzhou. In Suzhou we visited Mondelez International, the sister company of Kraft Foods. We went to their Research and Development center as well as a factory with another group of U of I students studying food science and human nutrition. We heard from a U of I alum as well as the principal scientist at the facility, Ken Tham, who shared some interesting facts about the company and the work they do. 

Next we changed into protective gear from head to toe (literally, we had to put on heavy duty shoes, hair caps, face masks, ear plugs, and a lab coat). Finally we got to go into the labs where they design new products and then the production facility. We followed Oreos along a production line, and even got to eat a few ourselves. We tasted a new product that's only been introduced in China, which was basically a thinner version of an Oreo with a tiramisu or vanilla flavor. Another lab worked with R&D of chewing gum and we got to try some tea flavored gum, of course! We were very thankful for the opportunity to see behind the scenes and learn about the production and development of new products. 

The next stop in Suzhou was The Lingering Garden, one of the four most famous gardens in China.  It was built 400 years ago and was a beautiful place to explore. It included fancy buildings, garden courts, and lots of plants enclosed with bamboo fences.

Next we visited the No. 1 Silk Factory and got to see many beautiful products on display and being made in front of us. A lot of us bought silk ties, scarves, and other authentic decorations. 

Next we took a walk down The Grand Canal. The Grand Canal is a manmade canal that links Hangzhou to Shanghai and its construction was quite a feat. Along the way we passed many homes and storefronts and experienced more Chinese culture.

Our farewell dinner was in Suzhou and it was also the traditional meal we've grown accustomed to, but at the end we had a little twist. It was the birthday of the advisor for the Food Science group, so we got to enjoy birthday cake!  When the birthday cake came, we noticed something strange and interesting - there were tomatoes in the frosting… but it was still delicious. We then hit some traffic on the way back to Shanghai but we enjoyed our last night in the city when we returned. We're very excited to see our loved ones back at home but we are so grateful to have been able to experience a culture outside of our own on this 2014 IBIP adventure!

Click here for more photos of us on Flickr!