Had our industrial visit to Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable Company today.
A little background information bout the company:
Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable Company Ltd. (YOFC) was established in May, 1988. It's being operated by China Telecommunications Corporation, Wuhan Yangtze Communications Industry Group Co., Ltd. and Draka Comteq of the Netherlands.It is the only specialized company in China which masters preform making, fibre drawing and cabling techniques for mass production.YOFC is a high-tech company dedicated to the manufacturing, research and development of optical fibre and cable products, which is the largest one in China at present...

So what are optical fibres?
An optical fiber (or fibre) is a glass or plastic fiber that carries light along its length. Fiber optics is the overlap of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and application of optical fibers. Optical fibers are widely used in fiber-optic communications, which permits transmission over longer distances and at higher bandwidths (data rates) than other forms of communications. Fibers are used instead of metal wires because signals travel along them with less loss, and they are also immune to electromagnetic interference. Fibers are also used for illumination, and are wrapped in bundles so they can be used to carry images, thus allowing viewing in tight spaces. Specially designed fibers are used for a variety of other applications, including sensors and fiber lasers.
Light is kept in the core of the optical fiber by total internal reflection. This causes the fiber to act as a waveguide. Fibers which support many propagation paths or transverse modes are called multi-mode fibers (MMF), while those which can only support a single mode are called single-mode fibers (SMF). Multi-mode fibers generally have a larger core diameter, and are used for short-distance communication links and for applications where high power must be transmitted. Single-mode fibers are used for most communication links longer than 550 meters (600 yards).
Joining lengths of optical fiber is more complex than joining electrical wire or cable. The ends of the fibers must be carefully cleaved, and then spliced together either mechanically or by fusing them together with an electric arc. Special connectors are used to make removable connections.

After the visit, most of us dropped off at the SHOPPING MALL.
Me,Ja and Clive headed off to Starbucks first.
At last my Raspberry Frappucino!
They dont have java chip though.
What a pity. :(