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PHBS Student Lounge: Wagon Wheel Café

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It is said that every flowering enterprise has a small beginning and no one can say that the petty store next to you isn't the next big thing. This reporter visited one such store a few days back, The Wagon Wheel Café at the Peking University HSBC Business School Academic Building. Located in room 202 amidst the classrooms and the conference and seminar rooms, the café is ideally suited as a spot to unwind after a day’s classes. And the café is not just a place to unwind; it provides an ideal place for academic discussions as well. One visitor laughingly talking about the café said, “Every great institution has a spot that turns into a melting pot of ideas, where theories are borne out of informal discussions and debates that shape the world happen. Harvard has scholar’s pub, London Business School has the Windsor Castle, and we at PHBS have the Wagon Wheel.”



The café is the brainchild of the 马车轮 association of the Peking University Shenzhen. Candidly referring to themselves as the promoters of entrepreneurship, this is their first business venture. “Everyone starts small,” they said. The store is jointly run by the members each serving in the store according to his or her convenience in a truly co-operative fashion. The store was run as an experimental venture branded as ‘Student Club’ for about 2 weeks before its humble inauguration by the Dean of PHBS, Dr. Hai Wen. The ceremony featured Dr. Wen delivering a speech appreciating the students who took the initiative wishing them a success followed by introduction of the club’s activities by Bing Li, one of the founders. “We aim to create a comprehensive service platform for students and teachers of PHBS and PKU Shenzhen. AT present the services include sales, printing and copying, sales of PHBS souvenirs and paraphernalia and above all a spot to hang out.” The club as a part of its branding efforts offered initial discounts to the tune of 10 RMB for every 100 RMB spent. Students could add a 100 RMB to their prepaid account and claim a refund of 10 RMB. Promotional drinks and cakes were offered at the opening ceremony as well which for some was a reason to attend the function. “Cherry on top, we get free cakes,” this reported overheard this in a conversation between two gentlemen devouring the cake and milk tea.  



When this reported entered the face, he was greeted by a pleasant smell of fresh confectionaries and cakes being set for display. The lady behind the counter who also happened to be this reporter’s classmate was busy trying to get things started for the day at 9:00am. She did spare a few minutes to talk about the café. “It is about the atmosphere that is provided here which is essential to any academic setting that people love Wagon Wheel,” she said. “Most people, including a lot of international students come here to have tea and chat with each other. The surroundings are a relief from the monotonicity of the rest of the building,” she added. This is indeed true. The café’s ambience is unmatched in University Town. A small counter with a familiar face making students feel much more comfortable since the start, a gramophone adorned by two showcases of paraphernalia on one side, the cafe’s environs are more appealing to a student than any other place. The tinge of being after all in a business school is seen by the door with racks displaying copies of Financial Times and The Economist. The café has been very well received by the students and faculty members of PHBS so much so that the class part for Professor Koger’s Asset Valuation class was held here.

To quote David from Lawrence of Arabia, “big things have small beginnings.” This reporter hopes, that Wagon Wheel scales new heights itself. The wandering reporter signs off to enjoy his cup of tea with soft mesmerizing music in the air.

Written by Sunny Mewati

 


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