You're listening to Roundtable.
I'm Nian Honglin, joined by Steve and Yushun, coming up soon.
In lecture halls, once defined by PowerPoint slides and exam prep, a different kind of competition is unfolding.
At several Chinese universities, the most sought-after electives are no longer finance, coding or international law, but cooking, woodworking bead design and car maintenance.
Seats fill within minutes, waiting lists stretch into the hundreds.
What drives the change?
Roundtable invites you to find out.
And to most Chinese diners, hot water carries reassurance.
Warmth aids digestion, avoids stomach discomfort, and reflects long-standing health beliefs.
Now some younger diners prefer cold lemon water because it signals freshness, minimal calories and maybe modern lifestyle culture.
What's behind the shift and which one would you prefer?
But before that, from classrooms to cornfields, students across China are rolling up their sleeves and discovering what labor really means.
Why labor classes are booming and how they're helping students build skills, gain real world experience and even spark innovation.
Today, let's hear stories from farms, labs and kitchens and see how these hands on experience are shaping the next generation of Chinese talent.
To be honest, when I was a student, I only encountered labor-related courses when I was in primary school, not in universities.
We should say, like, we're not talking about labor law or things like that.
We're talking about, like, manual labor.
Labor work.
Things where you have to...
Yeah, me too.
I mean, when I was in university, we didn't.
And actually I checked before the show today to see if Canada offered any of these types of hands on classes.
And the answer is generally no.
If you want, and we'll tell you about the classes in just a sec.
But for these types of like hands on experience classes, you'd have to go to a different type of school to receive these.
But now here, at some of these Chinese universities, you don't even have to leave the campus to get these types of classes.
I think that's also reflecting how I think worthy that some of these vocational education institutes they are offering the courses that some of these college students are also wanting to get.
So i think yeah, that's also becoming one of the very popular electives on these chinese university campuses.
Right, we're getting a seat in some classes now feels like winning a lottery.
Because you need to, I think, because in my university you need to even get up really early or stay up really late to get that one spot of that elective course.
Well, we should mention what we're talking about.
We haven't actually said it yet.
So here's one example.
This is from Renmin University of China.
There's a course that teaches basic cooking skills.
Nothing too fancy.
You can learn how to bake fried rice or some chicken or some lamb things like that.
Some different dishes.
And they only have room for about 36 students, but the applicants exceeded 300.
So for every seat.
That means, if my math is correct, there are about what 10 9, 8 people competing for that one seat right.
So, yeah, this is one example of the classes that we're talking about.
And also at the University of International Business and Economics, a beginner bead design labor course where students are taught to make bead accessories such as beaded bracelets and beaded necklaces.
Offers just 20 seats, but nearly 200 students signed up, meaning that only 1 in 10 candidates gets in.
I can't wait to hear nyonglin's opinion about this.
Here's another one beijing normal university.
They have a hands-on class uh, baking is one.
Coffee making is also very competitive um, and they fill up really really, really quickly.
If um, if the popular classes uh, you have to.
So if registration is at 10 am you, you better be there at 10 am or you're not getting.
Uh, gonna get a spot in one of these places.
Before doing the show and doing all the research, I thought the classes are kind of like goofy around.
There it is.
That's what I was waiting for.
Yes, because I have attended some of the courses when I was in college, but not in the college campus.
I was going to a different school, and I think it was pottery lessons.
And there were, I think, flower arrangement and some certain type of Chinese painting calligraphy classes and also traditional Chinese music instrument classes.
But again, goofing around, it was not serious for me at that time.
But many of these classes, they are quite serious.
When we're talking about baking, when we're talking about cooking, Steve said oh, not anything fancy, but for this baking class, apparently you can learn to make pork floss mini cake balls.
I think you can even, you know, sell these things.
And also for car maintenance.
You would be able to lift the tires, use the jack for the first time and touch the engine of your car, which you might not have touched ever.
And you learn to saw wood, assemble tools and harvest corn in farming practices.
And these classes are for real, real deal.
These are electives.
These classes give you credits that count towards your degree.
I'm surprised.
I thought you were going to say you know Honglin.
I thought Yushan was going to be in full support of this type of thing.
And I thought you know when you were going to be dead against this, because these types of courses they, these are not groundbreaking courses.
You can take.
You can go to a culinary class in downtown.
Pick a city in China and learn how to bake some pork floss, rice balls or some fried rice.
Or you can take a mechanics class.
So the courses aren't new. but these classes now count towards your university degree.
This is where I thought there might be a little bit of debate about this.
I think I get your assumption about me, because I am usually all for practical.
Make good use of your time.
If you're a college student, you should be learning instead of playing around.
But I think for this, in this case, it's a little bit different, because we're living in a very, very digital age.
A lot of things are happening online.
A lot of things are happening virtually.
A lot of things are losing their meanings in the real world.
You really do not have to cook because you can order all the time.
You do not have to fix your car because there are people helping you doing that online.
But especially for the young minds.
Being able to have these hands-on experience, in my opinion, would give you that connection between yourself and the real world.
When you're able to do something concrete.
Even if it's a ugly pottery cap that you will never use that was my case it still gives you a sense of reality in the real world.
Not to mention that being able to do that by yourself give you a basic knowledge of how things are done, so that if you find a photoshop that is trying to fix your car but at charging you a much bigger amount, much bigger bill, you would be able to notice that.
I think what really surprises me is that, first of all, these schools are offering more diversified options, no matter what major you are in.
For example, no matter you are studying mathematics or English, you can still apply for that elective that help you to cook or learn about car maintenance.
That's one thing.
That's not a stick to whatever that liberal art or like philosophy major that you're actually studying.
And another one is that, I think, is about the attitudes that students are having right now, or we can say changing, because
Not only you were saying that back then.
You have these kind of classes, but people are just goofing around.
Or I think it's actually depending on the attitude of the students.
If the students would like to goof around, then these classes are designed for them to goof around.
But what if?
These classes and these students want to actually learn something from this and they think it will be really useful for their life or their career.
I agree.
They can be very useful.
I agree.
I think it's totally dismissive to say that these are goofing around classes.
I find that disrespectful to the teachers in these classes and i find it disrespectful to the students who are taking these classes, because these are practical life skills that can be taken away.
And listen to this sentence why these classes have become so popular with students because finally, a skill they can use from university OMG.
Oh, that's worrying.
Oh, finally, I learned something at university that I can use in my real life.
But I also agree with what you said.
You know, a group of people, a generation that grew up in a digital era and all they've known is smartphones and screens and social media.
And it doesn't matter.
What it is, in my opinion.
It's a connect.
Like you know that expression touch grass, like go outside and actually connect with the planet.
This is that right.
And if you can learn something cool that you like and you enjoy, then I say it should count towards your university degree.
This trend is not only starting in university stage here in China.
We encourage even younger kids to have their hands on experience when it comes to life skills.
In fact, in 2020, we have a national guidelines talking about universities, as well as high school, middle school, all these different types of school to integrate the hands-on labor education with academic learning.
I think that is also from the point that we just mentioned.
One, you are someone who are born in a digital age and grow up in a digital age.
You do need to have a little bit of something else, something concrete.
I mean, I remember when I was a kid and this was not school related but one of my part time jobs when I was in middle school was raking blueberries.
No, it is not positive.
Did you know this?
I never even thought about this.
Blueberries grow on a very small bush on the ground, right?
So in order to rake them, you need a tool.
It looks like a big fork with a scoop, and then you scoop the fork part through.
The bush and the blueberries fall into the scoop and then you pour them in a bucket.
Isn't that therapeutic?
Sense of harvesting?
Let me tell you, that is the worst.
Really?
You know what really likes blueberries?
Bumblebees.
Okay.
Yeah.
So when you run a fork.
You got stunned?
Oh, a lot.
Oh, no.
Yeah.
And then you go home at night.
You've been staring at blueberries all day.
And when you close your eyes to go to sleep at night, all you see are blueberries.
It haunts your nightmares.
And then you're bent over all day long.
You're in the summertime all day long.
Now, I'm complaining about it.
But what was I actually doing?
Why did my parents send me there?
It paid like five bucks an hour or something.
It wasn't for money.
It got me on my knees in the dirt. getting stung by a bee every once in a while.
And I said, oh, I don't like this.
And my mom said, well, you're going to go back tomorrow, whether you like it or not.
I did that for a summer.
If we asked these kids, these young kids these days when was the first time you really got your hands dirty?
You know what I mean?
Really rolled up your sleeves and did something hard outside.
I wonder how many people would be able to say, I have one or two or three experiences with that.
I would guess maybe not that many.
What do you think, Yushan?
To be honest, I never had the chance to really go to the field and pick up like vegetable or fruit or something.
And I think that is also why these university students they are thinking it is an opportunity for them to actually get the chance.
Not really about, like you know, I will gain this skill for my future career or earn a lot of money by attending to these classes, but having a chance to get in touch with another field of their maybe study or life is a good thing as well.
Yes, I also didn't have this experience quite in a positive light, but when I was a kid I learned to do a little bit woodwork and saw them apart and stick them together, make a model of something.
It used to be, usually, I was very good at academic kind of performing.
But for that one, I was really bad at it.
I stick them onto the wrong angle and also to the wrong fabric.
But some of my classmates who are very, not that obvious, if you know what I'm talking about in the class, those who are easily on scene in the class, those people some of them are they were shining in those classes.
They were making the most beautiful wood model I've ever seen.
And I think it is a quite good experience for them.
And it's a good chance to know something about yourself that you would otherwise never get to know.
Yeah, I think that's a great point because having the classes a part of the curriculum at the university allows the students.
It's an easier barrier to entry, right.
I mean, sure, if they are available in downtown big city here or small town there, that's one thing.
But how many people actually go and sign up for those?
Because it takes your weekend time and it takes extra searching and effort.
But when it's on campus, yeah, I think this is a great Do we agree that it's a good thing?
Are we agreeing this?
Yes, we are.
But is there no problem?
Of course there are problems.
For example, if a classroom can only fill 30 students, it must be because they do not have enough tool for other students to try cooking or baking.
And also when Yushun said oh, it's a great thing that these electives are not connected or related to your major.
You would be able to discover yourself.
But for some others they want something that they can try hands on but also kind of related to their major
So they can have other experience that might be useful in their working future career.
So there are still many things to figure out.
I think it's a good starting point, but we can definitely see a more prosperous future when it comes to these hands-on courses in universities.
Man, I couldn't eat blueberries for like a year.
Really?
Ruin them for me every day, all day, giving me ideas to ruin certain hobbies of my kids in the future.
I'll be thinking about that.
You're listening to Roundtable coming up next.
Do you like lemon water?
Because more and more Chinese restaurants are serving it.
But why?
Stay tuned.
Looking for passion?
How about fiery debate?
Want to hear about current events in China from different perspectives?
Then tune in to Roundtable.
Where East meets West and understanding is the goal.
This is Roundtable with me, Steve Hatherly and Yu Shun.
One of the favorite things that I have with Chinese restaurants is that when you enter the restaurant, sit aside a table hot water would appear like magic.
That was the luxury I didn't have in a lot of restaurants in Europe, in America and in other countries.
That was a confusing point when I first moved to China.
Why is this water hot?
Yes, it's hot, it's nice, it's comfortable.
But that is changing, but not to a direction that I hate.
What's changing is that we see somehow other types of water on the table now.
In an increasing number of these restaurants, what lands on table is a tall glass of lemon water, and sometimes it's cucumber slices floating inside, giving you another freshness in the water.
Sometimes, also occasionally, even something more regional manbin soup in Beijing summers and also herbal tea in Sichuan hot pot spots and also luohangguo tea in southern China.
Some of these regions.
They will just offer some local delicacy or drinks in these kind of restaurants.
And what's interesting is that no one really announced the change.
There was just no big new drink policy just happened.
And it feels even weirder when you just drink plain water when you're sitting in the restaurant.
You will see...
Why it's not lemon water.
But it's not just because it's fancy.
I noticed the changeover.
It was just hot water when I first moved.
But then I noticed, oh, you know, there's a lot more cucumber water, a lot more lemon water.
I did not know this.
Lemon water stimulates saliva in your mouth and it boosts your appetite.
Not like a ton, but gently boosts your appetite.
So, from a business point of view, it might make sense for them to offer you something that makes you want to eat more.
Kind of.
And I think in some fancy, not only restaurants but hotels.
When you're in the lobby and you see free food, lemon water or cucumber water, it makes you feel like this is a nice place.
Yeah, this is a nice place.
Am I at a spa?
Do you think it's the difference between a relatively elder generation and the young consumers today?
Is it that?
Hot water versus lemon water?
I don't see the connection in this, to be honest, because some of these restaurants, of course they are using the scheme that they can stimulate your appetite or something, and they are offering you an image of that we care about you and we offer more, rather than just giving you plain water.
And another thing is that I think these restaurants, they do offer lemon water, but at the same time they Yes, they do have hot water.
Yeah, so they are giving you the option of having... whatever you want.
I don't care personally, but so you're not going to lose a customer with me if you only offer the hot water.
But I think just it's kind of an image thing, I think, right?
I mean even you said it when you go into a place and you see like There's slices of cucumbers in the water.
It just feels like, I don't know, a little fancier.
It feels like they tried a little harder, perhaps.
So it leaves the customer with maybe a more positive image.
And I mean, the investment from the company, from the restaurants, is not a big one.
And you slice up a little bit of cucumber or lemon and throw it in a jug of water and off you go.
So it's not a big gamble.
But if they can take advantage of that little boost in their image, then why not try?
Definitely.
So we enter a restaurant, we see lemon water, we see cucumber water or any give you what any kind of local specialty related water.
It's Anything that we should be watching out for?
Because in my opinion, they are, you know, certain kind of drinks instead of water.
So is there any hygiene risk or any other type of risk?
Sometimes you can taste that this slice of lemon has been staying in this pot for a while for a whole day or probably that's not good.
You can see it because little pieces of lemon are like hanging off, like I've been in here for hours and you know.
Another thing is that the nutrition in lemon is I think it will gone when it's dipping the super hot water.
So you also need to think about that and getting the especially when these are cold drinks right when you're putting lemon and cucumber.
So you still need to care about the hygiene and the quality of the water as well.
I think this one is for the lobby, hotel lobbies, not restaurants.
That is, if it's a huge container of a huge bottle of water.
Maybe yeah, again the inside.
Cucumber and lemon have been there for a while.
So in that case, maybe it's not the healthiest idea.
But still, it's a fun phenomenon happening here in China.
