Saturday with our guests started with introducing the wonders of our public transport system by taking the bus 102T. The view of coastal Espoo got compliments from the Tsinghua students and we discussed the history of Helsinki and the differences between Helsinki and Beijin on our way to Kamppi.
For our sightseeing tour we chose to walk from Kamppi to Stockmann and from there to the Senate Square, talking about the architecture and different landmark buildings like the modern arts museum on the way as well as pointing out the main spots for shopping. It seems like everything in Finland is currently being renovated but this did not seem to bother our guests much, likely because construction sites are such a common sight in China.
We left our guests off at the Market Square to have a free reign on how to spend the afternoon in Helsinki and went off to prepare for the main event of the day which was an introduction to the academic sitsi party culture! The dinner party was at Aalto Design Factory in Otaniemi and attending were our guests, the Aalto-Tsinghua startup bridge group and a number of former AYY board members. The sitsi party was a great success, with brilliant musical performances by some of the guests, remembering past visits between Aalto and Tsinghua and an all-vegan menu featuring the Finnish innovation pulled oats.
View from the sitsi party on saturday.
The second day in our schedule was on the more relaxed side in anticipation for the upcoming week full of formal visits from the morning until late in the day.