On Friday September 8 I left Chicago for a 19.5 hour journey to Shenzhen, China to visit the Shenzhen People's Hospital (SPH). My visit to Shenzhen was supported by a grant from the SPH and is a collaboration with Northwestern University in Chicago. The plan is to spend 1 week with the surgeons at SPH who do the thyroid and parathyroid surgery, and to exchange knowledge and ideas about best practices for the treatment of thyroid and parathyroid disease. This will also be a cultural exchange to learn more about each other. I will try to add to this blog daily to document my travels in China over the next two weeks.
Upon arrival at the Beijing airport it is clear why people are concerned about the smog and pollution in China's capital. The airport is not well air-conditioned and there are long lines. There is free WiFi in the airport that you can access if you have downloaded WeChat. The signs were in Chinese and English, and I was able to get through customs and retrieve baggage without much difficulty. On to Shenzhen on AirChina. I finally arrive at about 11pm local time on Saturday Sept 9, and two young doctors are waiting to drive me to the hotel.
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| Dr. Nan Xu (left) and Dr. "Charlie" Wong. |
Charlie holds up a sign for me so I can find him in the airport. Good thing, because it is difficult to stay alert after nearly 20 hrs of travel. I get a ride in Charlie's Cadillac CTS to the city. Shenzhen only became a city in 1978. Now it is a major manufacturing and trade hub with a population of over 10 million. Although it is midnight, there are plenty of people on the streets, many riding bikes and carrying large loads. It doesn't seem to matter that they appear to be in great peril riding on the main thoroughfares at night on their bikes.
I awake the next day to this view outside of my hotel window - blue skies, minimal smog, 100 F.
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| View of Shenzhen from the Hilton Dongmen |
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