Weekend Outing to a Chinese Plastics Factory

Weekend Outing to a Chinese Plastics FactoryThe CLI Team October 29, 2024CLI News Learn Chinese in China or on Zoom and gain fluency in Chinese!Join CLI and learn Chinese with your personal team of Mandarin teachers online or in person at the CLI Center in Guilin, China. This past month CLI guided its fall semester and short-term students to a nearby Guilin plastics factory. There, we surveyed the day-to-day lives of typical small-factory workers in southern China, while at the same time gaining insight into how the plastics recycling process operates throughout the country. Guilin Plastics Recycling Plant Constructed from the ground up by a local native with whom CLI has a long-standing relationship, this nearby plastics factory was established in the mid-1990s and has been reprocessing used materials from all over the world since then. Not only does the factory collect and recycle plastic from southern China, but also purchases waste from the United States and high-grade synthetic fiber from the Middle East. While touring the factory site, we viewed how recycled plastic is turned into shopping bags, how bottles for drinking become ties for securing packages, and how seemingly useless trash is melted down to create exportable plastic pellets. Afterwards, CLI students and staff alike experienced the valuable opportunity to have a one-on-one discussion with the plant's local manager, who provided us with additional clues into how the factory sustains its day-to-day operations. Used Plastic Goods, All Waiting to Be Recycled While it is often supposed that Chinese factory laborers work in large-scale "sweat shops" for little pay, such an assumption is not always the case. In fact, we quickly found out that many of the factory's employees earn more per month than do the majority of local university instructors. That being said, they do work much longer hours. While the lives of Chinese factory workers are far from easy, the small-scale Guilin plastics factory that we had the recent opportunity to tour provides the labor necessary for us to enjoy many of the goods we use each and every day. We'll never view plastic goods in the same light again! The CLI TeamThe Chinese Language Institute (CLI) is a center for Chinese language and cultural studies based in Guilin, China. Founded in 2009, CLI has hosted over 5,000 students from more than 50 countries and maintains a 4.95 out of 5.00 rating on GoOverseas. CLI's team includes Chinese language educators, program managers, and China specialists holding advanced degrees in Chinese studies, teaching Chinese as a foreign language, education, and related fields. Articles published under The CLI Team draw on the collective expertise of this group, informed by years of experience designing and delivering Chinese language immersion programs in Guilin and across China. Free 30-minute Trial LessonFree 30-minute Trial Lesson Continue Exploring CLI News CLI 2025 Year in Review: 36,000 Hours, 35 Countries, One Community CLI News Guilin 马到成功: CLI Upgrades Student Living Facilities for the Year of the Horse CLI News Travel China What Are the Best VPNs for China in 2026? CLI News The New York Times Goes to Guilin CLI News CLI Online Student Wins USA Memory Championship CLI News The Ben Hedges Interview CLI News Former CLI Student Gives TED Speech CLI News Jack Ma Speaks with Charlie Rose CLI News Happy Halloween from CLI 1 2 3 … 5 Next » ✕Join the CLI community and learn Chinese in China!Based in scenic Guilin, China, CLI is a leading center for Chinese language and cultural studies.Learn OnlineLearn in China CloseMessage us on WeChatIn WeChat on your phone, tap + then Scan, and point it at this code.Take a screenshot of this code. In WeChat, tap + then Scan and choose it from your album.Press and hold the code and choose the option to scan it.Then tap Follow and send us a message.We reply Monday to Friday, 8:30 AM to 6:00 PM Beijing time.