On the afternoon of December 17, 2025, in order to deepen students’ understanding of industry trends, broaden internship and employment channels, and strengthen school-enterprise cooperation in talent cultivation, the School of Management Science and Engineering organized more than ten international students for a field visit to the Geely Automobile Qiantang Base.
Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, founded in 1986 and headquartered in Hangzhou, is a diversified multinational conglomerate with a global footprint. Starting out in refrigerator parts production, the Group has grown over more than three decades into an industrial ecosystem spanning the automotive supply chain, smart mobility services, green logistics and digital technology, taking its place among the ranks of globalized enterprises.
Immersive Experience
The visit began at the corporate exhibition hall inside the Geely Automobile administration building, where the students learned about the Group’s 37-year development trajectory. From its founding in 1986, to its acquisition of Volvo in 2010, to launching satellites in 2022 to build an integrated space-and-ground mobility ecosystem, Geely has steadily transformed from a traditional manufacturer into a technology service provider. On display were several smart electric models, including the Galaxy M9 and Galaxy Xingyao; through close observation and hands-on experience with the vehicles, the students gained a sense of Geely’s deep technical strength in core areas such as smart cockpits and the battery, motor and electronic control systems.
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Inside the Workshops
The students then entered the modern smart production workshops, touring the stamping, welding and final-assembly lines in turn and witnessing first-hand the remarkable transformation of a car from raw steel sheets into a finished vehicle. Inside, robotic arms moved with precision while AGV robots nimbly shuttled materials between stations, and the highly automated production lines ran at speed in perfect order, every stage vividly embodying the precision, efficiency and technological strength of “intelligent manufacturing in China.” The once-abstract concepts of “Industry 4.0” and “smart manufacturing” from their textbooks became tangible, giving the students a fresh and deep understanding of how a modern manufacturing enterprise operates.
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Reflections
It was an honor to join the School of Management Science and Engineering team in visiting the manufacturing plant at Geely’s Qiantang Base and seeing close up the formidable strength of China’s homegrown automakers. Since the plant opened in 2018, its overall management and production processes have been highly mature. From strict incoming-material quality inspection, to standardized operations on the shop floor, to multi-dimensional testing of finished vehicles rolling off the line, every stage is closely linked and well ordered, reflecting the rigor and efficiency of a modern manufacturer. Although I did not know much about car manufacturing before, I came away with so much from the highly automated production lines, the precisely coordinated smart equipment, and the professional yet enthusiastic explanations from the staff. I now have a much more genuine understanding of the rise of China’s own automotive brands. — KESUMA CALLYSTA (Jiang Xiaohui), Business Administration, Class of 2025 Q2
I felt truly excited and honored to visit Geely Automobile yesterday. Coming to study in China—and above all at Zhejiang Gongshang University—is an invaluable experience I had never imagined possible, and the university has repeatedly given us chances to step into enterprises and see real production at first hand, from which I have benefited greatly. This visit to Geely left a particularly deep impression. After my bachelor’s degree, I worked at an automobile manufacturing and assembly company in Vietnam, so I already had some familiarity with the industry. Walking into Geely, I was struck by the company’s professional management and enormous scale of production. We toured the stamping plant and the final-assembly plant in turn; the highly automated lines and the precise, efficient welding robots opened my eyes. The visit gave me an even more direct sense of how rapidly China’s automotive industry is advancing in technology and smart manufacturing, and it has further kindled my interest in studying and researching these fields.
— NGUYEN THANH TIN (Ruan Qingxin), Industrial Engineering, master’s student, Class of 2025
Organizing this visit to the Geely Automobile Qiantang Base allowed ZJSU’s international students to feel the pulse of innovation in China’s automotive industry at close range, while also broadening their international horizons and helping them clarify their career direction. Going forward, ZJSU will continue to deepen school-enterprise cooperation, build more high-quality platforms for hands-on learning, help students grow by integrating theory with practice, and enable international youth to become a living bridge between Chinese intelligent manufacturing and the world.
