On April 18th, Professor Zhou Yang, the instructor of the course “Introduction to Sino-Foreign Cultural Exchange” at our school, led all the international students of the 2024 Finance class who were taking this course to the “Coca-Cola World·Shanghai” museum located within the Shanghai Shenmei Beverage and Food Co., Ltd. in Pudong Jinbridge, to conduct an immersive course practice activity themed “Tasting Coca-Cola’s China Story and Perceiving the Glorious Journey of Pudong’s Development and Opening Up.”
In 1998, Shanghai Shenmei Beverage and Food Co., Ltd., jointly invested by Shanghai Food Development Co., Ltd., Shanghai Shangtou Industrial Co., Ltd., COFCO Wine and Beverage Food Co., Ltd., and The Coca-Cola Company, moved to Jinbridge with a forward-looking vision, recognizing the pioneering advantages of Jinbridge as one of the earliest experimental zones in Pudong’s development and opening up. Currently, Shenmei mainly produces a series of beverages including Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta, and Schweppes, and is one of the largest and most modern bottling companies of The Coca-Cola system in the Asia-Pacific region.
Under the guidance of a professional tour guide at the “Coca-Cola World·Shanghai” museum, the international students first arrived at the Coca-Cola welcome hall, where they learned about the history of the birth and development of the Coca-Cola brand, as well as the process of its localization and bottling in China after entering the Chinese market. They also learned about the development history of Shanghai Shenmei Beverage and Food Company, and the establishment and operation of the Jinbridge factory.
Next, the students proceeded to the viewing area above the production line workshop in the Jinbridge factory. Through the glass, they witnessed up close the entire automated production process of Coca-Cola series beverages, from bottle washing, filling, labeling, inspection to packaging. During the tour, the students also inquired about the import of Coca-Cola syrup and the quality inspection methods on the production line from the tour guide.
Subsequently, the students entered the core exhibition hall of the Coca-Cola museum, where they learned about the global brand and product family of Coca-Cola, its cooperation with the Olympic Games, its quality management system, its localization strategy in China, and various Coca-Cola artistic souvenirs that integrate Chinese elements.
As one of the key research tasks of this course practice, the story of Coca-Cola’s return to the Chinese market after the reform and opening up and its production in Shanghai was the focus of the students. As one of the early Sino-foreign joint ventures established after the reform and opening up, the development of Shenmei has always been closely linked to the reform and opening up and the development of Pudong. When visiting the “Yishenai·Love Hut,” the students learned that Shenmei’s “Yishenai” brand promotes public welfare by displaying and selling paintings and handicrafts created by students from the Pudong New Area Special Education School at the “Coca-Cola World·Shanghai” museum.
This course practice was not only a professional practice integrating business management and Chinese business knowledge but also a national conditions education activity that helps international students perceive China. The students not only witnessed the production and operation status of Shenmei Company and its actions in fulfilling corporate social responsibility but also understood the vision and mission of the Coca-Cola brand in China. They immersed themselves in the story of how Coca-Cola actively integrated into the Chinese market through localization strategies, promoting economic and cultural exchanges between China and the world, as exemplified by the Shanghai model and the China story.Moreover, by visiting the first export processing zone in China—the Jinbridge Export Processing Zone in Pudong, Shanghai—the international students further enhanced their understanding and appreciation of the achievements made over the 35 years of Pudong’s development and opening up.
