China Part 3

One member of the team I was traveling with asked one of our Chinese counterparts if they celebrated Christmas in China, the response was great "Do you think we are from Mars". He went on to say that to some it was a Christian event and to some it was a holiday for gift giving, sounds a lot like the US. The point is that it became very clear to me their is not a significant difference between the peoples of China and the US. They can live where they want to, they shop in stores not unlike ours, the own cars, they have children and they want to be happy. Most of the problems between our two countries are purely political, we and they have taken such large stands on so many issue's that we can't or won't back down. In fact while we were there the US and Chinese navy were conducting joint search and rescue missions in the China Sea. The other big shocker while I was there was that if we bring product in from the US don't change anything on the packaging. The chinese consumer is very concerned about quality and believe US and Western European quality is much higher than their own. China is growing rapidly and economists say it is going to become the largest economy in the world in the next thirty years. They are suffering the problems because of it, I have never seen polution so bad, many days your throat is scratchy and your eyes water because the smog is so bad, they also have a shortage of fresh water. This is primarily the reason that the majority of their population lives in the east. This is an exciting country with it's share of problems but it also is exotic with wonderful people and if you get the chance the visit would be worth your while.

China Part 2

You leave the U.S. at 8:00 am on one day and arrive at Pu Dong airport in Shanghai late in the evening of the next day. It is not that it takes 36 hours to get there but the shift in time zones and crossing the international dateline screw you up beyond belief. You go to your hotel and do everything you can to crash because this trip add's new definition to the term jet lag.

You step out of your hotel the next day and the first thing that happens is your senses are assaulted by the sights, sounds and smells of 20 million people living together. The streets are narrow, the colors are vibrant and the people are talking and smiling and it is very much like any big city anywhere. Then you take your first cab ride, most cabs in China are small, if you have 3 or 4 people one of you will end up in the "seat of death", that is the front seat next to the driver and unless you love chaos and impending doom it is no place to be. The amazing this is their are thousands of cars going in many directions, ignoring most traffic laws, as we know them but their are very few car wrecks and to maker matters even stranger you almost never see any gas stations.

The people you meet are very friendly and almost always smiling, they love to use their English and quickly ask you were you are from. The speak very highly of America and what they know about the U.S. is extremelly positive.



All populus cities posses that great Amercian eatery, Kentucky Fried Chicken, they are everywhere, like Walgreens or CVS in the U.S. you can't not find one. I bravely ventured into one and the only thing I recognized on the menu was the hot wings.

Shopping is a great adventure in China, they have standard retailers with different rules and most Americans would be ok, the adventure comes in when you go to the outside markets, everyone there wants to show/sell you something. They all have one thing in common, they carry a calculator. When you ask how much, they type in a number and hand you the calculator; let's say 600 RMB, you then say too much and they ask you to type in a number, you type in 150, they have a fit and retype 400 and then ask you for your best price, you put in 200 and they say no. At this point you musht be willing to walk away, if you are you will get it, if not you will haggle all day and then overpay. A chinese person I met said that if you pay more than 1/3 of their initial asking price you are getting took. I bought a handcarved pipe that started at 1,860 RMB (about $230 US) I got it for 300 RMB (about $32 US).

China Part 1

It's 35 hours and counting before I board my plane for China. As part of my compulisve attitude I have studied a great deal about China and am really looking forward to the trip. I will miss my family, two weeks is a long time, and I will miss my wife incredibly. I leave home at 8:00 am on Nov. 7th and arrive in Shanghai at 8:00 pm on Nov. the 8th. Not that it is a 36 hour trip but the length of the trip, combined with the international date-line, combined with the 12 hour time difference makes for tough travel, of course, I get home almost right after I take off when I return so it's a trade off. My trip starts in Shangai, then to Beijing, then to Harbin, then a couple of other places I can't remember right now and then back to Shangai. China has the longest continous culture in the world, same written langauge, same traditions for 3,000 years. They have 1.3 billion people, more than the US and Europe combined. Their written language has 40,000 characters and they speak 85 different dialects of 8 major languages. Shangai is eight times larger than New York city and has 20 million people, the night sky is lit from thousands of modern skyscrapers, but every day in the parks you can see thousands of people practicing the ancient art of Tai Chi. While in China I will visit the Forbidden City and the Great Wall, two of the worlds biggest tourist attractions. The purspose of my trip is to work with both Chinese and Western Retailers on a consultative basis. The Chinese and looking for efficiencie and the western are looking to fit in. I am sure we can help. In a few days I will send out China Part 2 with my initial observations, talk to you then.