The Shanghai World Expo offers an opportunity for a group of Thai students interested in working in China or with Thai firms doing business with that country to hone their skills. The Expo has drawn millions of visitors from around the world. Among them were Thai officials, businesspeople, journalists and tourists.
And as China has become the world's second-largest economy, surpassing Japan recently, it reinforces the belief that China may in a few decades become the world's largest, overtaking the United States.
Some Thai students in Shanghai now have part-time jobs as tourist guides and translators, as more Thais visit the city. These part-time jobs are expected to remain available, as trade missions from Thailand will grow in line with rising trade between China and Thailand.
Most students interviewed by The Nation recently said they wanted to work in China or work with Thai firms that are doing business with Chinese partners.
Thassawan Khanankhang, who studies internal trade at Shanghai's Tongji University, said Chinese students were very serious about their education and they were very bright. Her hardest subjects are Chinese and mathematics - statistics and calculus for business. Some of her Chinese classmates offer her tutoring. Her close friends, however, are Japanese and South Korean.
"Somehow there's a gap between Chinese students and foreign students," she said.
She was not impressed with life in a city as big as Shanghai. People are not sensitive to the feelings of others. For example, if they walk and collide with someone, there is no apology, she said. Some Chinese smoke cigarettes in restaurants where smoking is prohibited, and car drivers often violate traffic regulations, she said.
People in general are interested in what is happening in Thailand. Taxi drivers often talk to her about the recent political violence, she said.
Nitiya Ara, who is taking public administration at the same university, said she had an unpleasant experience when she was in a taxi and saw a thief steal a wallet from an old woman and nobody around helped her. Corruption is still widespread even though criminals are subject to severe penalties, she said.
"People in general do not obey traffic laws. It may be because Shanghai is expanding too fast and people can't adapt fast enough," she said.
What impressed her was that people still had extended families. However, many families have been supported by income from a few members of the families. Shanghai residents aged over 60 receive a pension of 300 yuan (Bt1,500) a month from the local government, but the elderly in other cities do not get such welfare, she said.
Natthapon Kitsamak, an international-trade student at the same university, said he was awed by the city's rapid development, especially its wide roads and skyscrapers.
The cost of living is not much higher than in Thailand. For example, a meal costs about 10 yuan, he said. He hopes to work in China or Thailand after earning his bachelor's degree.
Saruda Chotevichien, who attends Shanghai International Studies University, talked about her expenses for the course, about 20,000 yuan a year. She spent two years devoted to studying the Chinese language. Room rent is about 3,000 yuan a month, excluding electricity and water. She is optimistic about her future career and plans to work with Chinese or Thai firms.