“As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, skills such as communication, innovation, leadership and critical thinking are more important than ever before. How could spending 14000 minutes of your life on a tour to China equip you with the aptitude to compete in a world with no borders? What future opportunities could become available to you as a result of refining skills such as these?”

Technology is the prime mover behind the unification of the world order. The barriers in communication on account of distance no more exist. In terms of technology, the World has become a single entity. Willingly or unwillingly every citizen of a country is now a Global Citizen. The world’s economy has become more integrated than ever before. All countries have to be a part and parcel of this irreversible process of global integration. While technology is the hardware that unites the world, the governance for this unification is brought about by various entities like UNO, World Trade Organization, various summits on environment and bilateral/multilateral treaties amongst countries.  Internet revolution has not only unified the world, it has made available the vast ocean of knowledge and ideas to the humanity. The World Wide Web is not only a web of information but also of human relationships. ‘The symbol of the atomic age, which tended to centralize power, was a nucleus with electrons held in tight orbit; the symbol of the digital age is the Web with countless centres of power all equally networked.’
The discussion here is that what kind of human qualities or skill sets are required to make a global citizen who adds value to the world.

The ability to communicate what one intends to, in a manner that creates desired impact of convincing others or enhancing the understanding is a critical quality required for a global citizen. It can be observed from the characteristics of all successful personalities that they communicate very well. Leadership in any field can be attained only through effective communication.  
The world has become highly competitive. Innovation is the key to make a mark in this competitive world. The quality to innovate enables a person to be different and yet more effective and efficient in delivering value.  In this fast moving world the success mantra is ‘Innovate or Perish’. All organizations whether in business, service, science, academics, government, social or religious fields have to innovate for sustenance and progress. Since the world has become one, the scale of competitiveness has gone up manifold. It is for this reason that an American citizen finds it difficult to compete with an Indian citizen in software and services sector and may lose out on account of Outsourcing.

Similarly a US or Europe based company may lose out to a Chinese manufacturer  in cost competitiveness or may still retain leadership position on account of superior quality and research.
Leadership is the ability to guide, motivate or direct a group for attainment of common objective.  Modern day challenges in any field require team work. Without team work no organization can attain its goal. In business or in scientific fields, in film production or in fashion world, in media or in politics, team work is the key to success. A leader’s inherent ability to lead his team to peak performance makes the difference. The test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and the will to carry on. On account of leadership qualities, professionals of any country can head a multinational organization irrespective of nationality, caste, colour or race. Such differences are fast diminishing and the World is seeking truly global leaders who can lead the human race. To grasp and hold a vision is the very essence of successful leadership.
Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.  When we speak of critical or lateral thinking, we mean original thinking. Those who have the ability to think laterally and can provide solutions to the mankind that are cost effective, efficient, and sustainable will lead the world. People who are able to provide solutions for the lowest strata of the society or the masses are likely to make a mark in the new world order. The reason why China has become the world’s manufacturing power house and has swayed the entire world with its cost effective products is because of the ability of the people in government to think differently.
When we discuss these qualities and such other qualities that make an ideal global citizen, we essentially want to create individuals with all round development. Education system is the key to attain the goal of creating global citizens who can lead the new world order.

We need to find out how the skills considered essential for the making of a global citizen can be developed further in a 14000 minute or 9 day trip to China. China is one of the world's largest countries in total area behind Russia and Canada, and very similar to the United States. With just over 1.3 billion people, China is the world's largest and most populous country.
The question is how does one traverse the length and breadth of such a large country and develop skills as takeaways from the visit that may profoundly impact one’s personality to be a better global citizen. It is therefore very essential to know how China has attained its unique strengths that make it a world leader in many aspects. The entire discussion below is structured with a view to analysing these aspects about China.
The economy of  China is the third largest in the world, after the United States and Japan (2008) with a nominal GDP of US$4.91 trillion (2009). China has had the fastest growing G-20 major economy for the past 30 years with an average annual GDP growth rate above 10%. China is the largest trading nation in the world and the largest exporter and second largest importer of goods.
Undoubtedly China has become the World’s manufacturing power house. This is being attributed to the lowest cost of production. It would be worthwhile to visit some of the heavy industries in the public sector as well as the supporting light industries in the private sector to know how this miracle has happened in China.
It should be analysed whether the technology for large scale manufacturing has been transferred by MNCs wanting to make China a base of production or indigenously developed technology has played a role in attaining this critical mass.
It would be useful to understand the role of subsidies for a low cost of production apart from lower labour cost in China.
It is also critical to know the private enterprise set up in China and how it contributes to such a State dominated economy.

It is also equally important to know how agriculture is performing shoulder to shoulder with the industry to make China world’s leading producer and how agriculture is a state run enterprise. A lot can be learnt by observing how individual farmers own the land and how the State run enterprises are responsible for the agricultural produce. The role of subsidies and tax exemptions in the growth of agriculture too cannot be overlooked.
A visit to China would prove invaluable in revealing how China plans to use education in enhancing its status as the world’s emerging leader.  For being in synch with the rest of the world, education is the critical success factor. A visit to schools, colleges and institutes of higher education to know about how China has taken up the challenge could be of immense value. It would be extremely interesting to know how China is overcoming the vast challenge of getting in synch with the world without English being a dominant medium of instruction.
China has declared its supremacy in Sports especially after the Beijing Olympics. In terms of population, India is the second largest country after China but it is nowhere near to China in sports. It would be useful to analyse how China has created a culture of sports and how sports persons are being trained and encouraged in this vast nation.
It is interesting to know how China has created institutions of excellence in the field of Science and Technology by visiting the parallels of Indian Institutes of Technology/Sciences in China and to learn more about the institutions of eminence in China.
It would be very important to understand the development in communication field in China. The role of internet, technology, mass media and such other aspects should be studied to know how Chinese have developed cutting edge solutions for the whole world.
China has given the world’s greatest inventions of papermaking, printing, compass and gunpowder. How the legacy of great inventions is being carried out in the modern day China needs to be learnt.