Summer Palace, Corporate visit, Peking Duck, Public Transportation, Opera, Massage

Day 6 in China

The summer palace is located in the northwest region of Beijing.  It wasn’t too far from our hotel actually. This tourist destination was absolutely breathtaking.  There was eye candy on every inch of the architecture and palace grounds.  Some highlights included here was the 17 arch bridge, which had filled with people right next to it singing traditional Chinese Hymns.  The group had a full choir, brass, percussion and a conductor.  I did very little talking early on at this tour, I just wanted to soak in the beauty of the natural landscape.  There were tons of boats out on the lake that made for… well… a real summer like atmosphere.  To get from the gate we came in at to the entrance to the actual palace itself there was an enclosed hallway called the “Long Corridor”.  They weren’t kidding; this thing is literally almost a mile long.  Each beam and spot of woodwork was carefully painted and every large exposed beam had a mural on it.  The materials put into each minute aspect of this exquisite facility were certainly Royal, I enjoyed the fact that it was the opulence you would find in a European Castle with gold and bronze everything.  Although I was told that all the gold collared paint actually had a significant amount of gold in it; the extravagance was most notably depicted in the woodwork, the glazed tile roofs, the paintings and detailed murals all over everything as well as the architectural integrity of some of the buildings that were close to 400 years old.  After we climbed to the top of the palace where a beautiful temple sat we took a few minutes to soak in the bird’s eye view.  It was still morning which tended to be more hazy/smoggy than in the afternoons; however you could still see a pretty good distance.  What blows your mind is being inside such an old grounds and seeing sky scrapers throughout the distant landscape.  We climbed back down from our nest to take a boat ride half way around the lake.  We ended our summer palace experience in this neat market place specifically designed for the tourists at the Summer Palace. 

Next up on our day was a company visit to Capital Bio, another startup company that originated at Tsinghua University.  Cap Bio’s products are all in the medical field however encompass a wide variety from instruments, testing computers/machines, reagents and even disposable products and containers.  Capital Bio is an incubator project of the Chinese Government and received heavy subsidies, however they are close to repaying their “loans” and they seem to be ramping up to go public.  Any investors out there, this company know what they are doing!  Interestingly enough they do not sell any of their products in China, they are primarily in European and American markets.  Some of the notable innovative products Cap Bio is working on include: a deafness gene mutation medicine and computer chips that track and measure social impacts of cell phone use.  Out of the 500 employees roughly 200 are positioned in their R&D department. 

Another MUST in Beijing is to have Peking Duck.  We went to one of the most famous places to do so.  This was a dining experience second to none.  The duck was cooked to a golden perfection, it was exquisite.  If you take slivers of the skin and dip it in a little sugar it literally melts in your mouth.  Also there is a proper way to eat the breast meat that involves a little rice wrap as well as reduced dark soy and some greens…. Yummm.  All of the food here was absolutely amazing, a combination of quality as well as perfection in plating.  Unfortunately for myself, professor Chung and Denise we were a little rushed through this fantastic meal, as we had tickets to go to the National Opera House to see a show.  I didn’t realize it until early today when I saw a picture of the opera house and understood how vital it was for me to go.  NOT going to the Opera House in Beijing as a music/theater enthusiast would be like visiting New York and not going to Lincoln Center.  This was one of the best spontaneous decisions of the trip.  But first we had to get to the opera house!

So I don’t think I’ve mentioned the scene in Beijing during Rush hour yet, have I?  Put it to you this way, there are already rules involving a vehicle owner’s last digit of their license plate number and restrictions on places in the city and on particular days in which they can drive.  With that said it is still an absolute nightmare.  So in order to get from the restaurant to the Opera house we had absolutely no choice other than taking the subway.  This was frenzy; however it was like organized chaos.  Did I mention we only had an hour till show time!!!  Utilizing the public transportation was a true experience and a rite of passage for me, as I consider myself to be an urbanite.  Couple of quick notes about Beijing’s subway system:  the lines and the lay out are SIMPLE, I mean they just make sense…. It’s a grid!  Clean as a whistle, I mean you could eat of the floor it was so clean, it is against the rules to bring any food or beverage into the subway…. So actually it would be against the law to eat off the floor…. But you COULD!  Not once when we stepped on to a platform while changing trains did we have to wait for the train to come, it was there ready to roll.  I’m not sure if it necessary to tell you but I will anyway, we were packed in like sardines… but it was fun.

So we finally arrived at the Opera House.  This thing was enormous, for anyone from Pittsburgh here is how Denise and I would describe it:  essentially it was Heinz Hall, The Benedum, the O’Reilly and the Byham all under one fantastic glass roof that made the whole building look like a Faberge Egg.  We weren’t allowed to bring our cameras into the theater (which is standard) so this will remain one of those fantastic memories that will only get better and more fictionalized in my mind over the years.  Inside the “Egg” every piece of material used in the architecture was gorgeous.  Marble patterns I’ve never seen before, wood grains completely foreign to me, the first thing I noticed was the acoustics and how my words were just getting sucked up into the air like a black hole.

The show was amazing, and much more like a musical than an opera.  The sets and the costumes as well as the sound and lights were unreal.  Although I obviously couldn’t understand the dialogue I was pleasantly surprised to discover how much of the plot line I was able to understand, luckily we had professor Chung to fill us in as well.  The music was fantastic; the orchestra was filled with a plethora of instruments I’ve never seen before.  Watching the pit was equally exciting, to be a musician for as long as I have and be able to witness so many new instruments and sounds and techniques was one of the greatest thrills for me.  I couldn’t help but think about everyone I’ve ever been to a Broadway musical with, or played music with or even acted with on stage, sitting in the theater and taking in this beautiful production put me into an almost meditative state of mind.  Aside from the fact that I was sitting a solid half a foot higher than anyone else in the theater I’m sure other patrons thought I was weird because I couldn’t stop smiling.  Couple of neat things about Chinese Opera:  although there was a conductor, there is also a percussionist that raps on what sounded like claves throughout the songs.   I discovered this was used a device similar to a metronome, however would also follow the melody and not necessarily the beat, this instrument also gave signals for repeating a refrain or to tag the end of a song.  The costumes were eloquent yet simple, the lighting acted as a costume change in some ways, although there were a few costume changes.  The robes have this huge elongated sleeves, watching the actors maneuver with these sleeves and rearrange them accordingly to the actions transpiring was a show in it of itself.  The vocal style is all in the throat and they barely move their mouths, it is basically the exact opposite from what I was taught throughout my entire life; however I could see how it makes sense to hit many of the minor notes required by their traditional scales.  After the show we were able to see the inside of the theater with the lights up (there wasn’t an intermission) and I asked Rachel (Professor Chung) to ask the musicians if they knew where I might be able to find a music shop… I desperately wanted to buy a drum.  Unfortunately all the musicians were Szechuan; Rachel is Taiwanese and only speaks Mandarin. 

The three of us hung out outside the Opera House debriefing about the storyline and talking about music and theater, Denise is a thespian at heart and regularly attends shows in the Cultural District, even at my theater too!  It was a beautiful night and much needed break from the hustle and bustle of managing a group of 20.  I saw some kids playing street hockey outside the theater and there were plenty of people utilizing the park grounds outside the Opera House for recreation.

The Subway was significantly less crowded on the way back, so yes it was still packed by my standards.  On the way back Rachel talked us into stopping for a foot massage before we went back to the hotel.  That sounded like the perfect ending to our day!  We bought some exotic fruit outside the subway stop and headed toward the foot massage.  So I’ve never had a foot massage before, and here I am in a Beijing massage parlor at midnight with two really fun ladies (insert joke here).  It was well needed; however I must say it was a bit painful.  Funny story, I actually didn’t bring a good pair of sneakers for walking and climbing so my wreck shoes were really just loafers.  I tried to buy a pair of sneakers earlier in the week at the Wu Fujing Market which looked like Time Square.  Long story short I went into about 20 shoe stores and came to the conclusion that there was no way in hell I was going to find a pair of shoes above a size 10 in this entire country!

I slept extremely well tonight, and had magnificent dreams about climbing the Great Wall… which coincidentally was on the itinerary for the following morning!

Business lecture, Booze Factory, Auto Manufacturer, Acrobats and Drumm'in

Chinese Business Culture, the Hooch House, Assembly Line, Acrobats and Back to Hoi Hai Park for more Jams!

Today started out back in our Lecture hall at Tsinghua University.  Dr. Steve Zou gave an inspiring lecture that really pushed the class to think and participate, unlike many American lecturers I’ve experienced.  Dr. Zou explained the quintessential business philosophy that exists in Eastern business culture, Guanxi: pronounced G’wann-chee.  Dictionary definition:

“Guanxi” literally means "relationships", stands for any type of relationship. In the Chinese business world, however, it is also understood as the network of relationships among various parties that cooperate together and support one another. The Chinese businessmen mentality is very much one of "You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours." In essence, this boils down to exchanging favors, which are expected to be done regularly and voluntarily. Therefore, it is an important concept to understand if one is to function effectively in Chinese society.

There are certainly fundamental aspects of guanxi that encompass corruption.  In the classroom it became clear some of my colleagues were initially having a hard time wrapping their brain around this concept.  Corruption is actually a standard part of business in China, it exists, and it’s blatant…. In general it is JUST DIFFERENT (key concept for my American audience… it’s not fair to say good or bad in cultural ethical differences) from Western business cultures.  On the other hand I’m not naive to think corruption isn’t relatively mainstream in Western business culture I just know enough that it isn’t public and happens behind closed doors and away from regulators.  In China there aren’t regulations for business and quite frankly, things get done! 

To establish your guanxi in China you have to first find a local agent or partner to gain access to the overall network.  This is essential for doing absolutely any business whatsoever.  Without guanxi you could be selling plants that fruit gold and you wouldn’t get the time of day!  Once your guanxi is established the network you now have access to is not just one network, rather all the networks connected to all the other networks.  Business dealings and favors are reciprocal and require nurturing like a relationship between husband and wife. 

Dr. Zou discussed strategic risks and strength about entering the China’s market and what they have to offer.  Who better than an Economics professor at a Harvard level institution in Beijing China to discuss this topic with…. Seriously this was such a privilege!!!

Risks: Over expansion, entering the wrong market with the wrong product, currency instability, and political risk.

Strengths:  Resources, large scale economy, support from government, flexibility/social network (guanxi: greasing palms etc.), business management combines East and West styles thus making the best of either worlds or “Harmony”.

NEXT STOP…. The Distillery…. For business school purposes of course =p

The Distiller was a really great tour, having taken a Brew class at IUP it was really awesome to see the rich history of Chinese liquor’s origin and how many of the techniques used are traditional.  Whether you are a drinker or not, historically alcohol manufacturing is one of the most ancient known traditions to mankind and has built empires and sustains civilizations.  I couldn’t really understand some of the nuances about the process however I could see what there were doing in terms of loading the grains, steaming and germinating, brewing and fermenting etc. etc.  This tour was important because it highlighted a very blue collar business with lots of manual labor involved.  From the brewing process all the way to the assembly line…. I joked to myself how I probably just walked by the Laverne and Shirley of the plant!  OK so I’m sure all you really care about is what was the liquor like… well we tried different aged liquor and… well… it seriously tasted like moonshine.  I mean I’m pretty sure they were filling up the delivery truck gas tanks with this stuff…. I didn’t see a pump station nearby anyway!  It was fun though, and so of course the tour ended in their “Gift Shop” where we all got some souvenirs.

After getting “Fueled up” we appropriately went to the Hyundai auto plant.  This was awesome; I’d always wanted to see a real live assembly line in action.  What made this tour especially interesting is that unlike U.S. auto plants, there were significantly less robotic components in the assembly process.  Here are some fun stats: 2,280 cars put together a day.  All cars made here were strictly for sale in China only. No warehouse for storage so everything is “Just-in-time” ordered and stored in the plant.  Supplies are delivered every single day.  From start to finish assembly the car, including painting takes 18hrs.  the cars being assembled were made to order, it was not all the same car being made at one time, instead we saw every different type of model all mixed up.  The only thing actually made at the Hyundai plant was the car engines, every other component is outsourced.  This plant has 118 suppliers.  I was walking around a car plant with 20 American girls, the first thing I noticed was how many workers were able to do the entire process of their job while not even once looking at what they were doing with the vehicle.... it was pretty funny. 

The ride back into the City city was jaw dropping.  Let me paint a picture for you: Ok so you’re in an American suburb and there is a new development being built.  You can tell it’s a development because the streets are paved, the sidewalks are laid and the general infrastructure of street lamps and power sources are clearly built…. But maybe there is only one or two homes actually built or maybe just the frame is erected.  OK, so we’re back in China, imagine the new development scenery… except it’s on either side of the road as far you can see in all directions for the entire 30 minute ride back into the immediate Beijing City. What I saw made the Atlanta housing boom look like nothing. 

Prior to the show I sat down for a nice Sushi dinner near the theater.  The Japanese restaurants in China are beautiful and the food was excellent.  FYI, if you order a salad is sure to ask them not to crack a raw egg on top… that’s how they do it here!  The Acrobat show was pretty cool, it was mostly all the same acrobat tricks most people have seen on television; however I really did appreciate seeing the talent and skill in live action.  Interestingly enough, the thing I was most fixated on was the blatantly obvious enormous surveillance camera hanging exactly where a chandelier would hang in a Western style theater.

After the Show I went back to the hotel to freshen up and then I hopped in a cab and took off toward Hoi Hai Park in hopes of playing some more music with the locals.  Not only did I find a different bar to play at, however the musicians were even better and the bar crowd really loved it.   In fact to make things even more fun, I ran into my new friends from St. Louis and was able to introduce my Carlow pals to them.  Another amazing night in Beijing…. I am really starting to fall in love with this city! 

Jam packed day

Olympic Park, Tiananmen Square/ Forbidden City, Tea House and Jamm’in

Today was “jam” packed with excitement.  We started the day at the Olympic park where we got up close and personal with the “Bird Cage” stadium as well as the “Water cube” where Michael Phelps dominated for U.S.A.   In general it was nice to see the post-Olympic facilities still yielding attractions for tourists and jobs for locals.  As we all know other former Olympic centers haven’t produced the ROI expected, namely Greece.  The stadium cost $423 million to build and I admit that it was disappointing to see that it looks like it hasn’t been used since.  I was quick to point out to my classmates that the creative consultant on this project was Ai Weiwei a very famous Chinese artist who I had heard on NPR that he was recently detained in early April and placed on house arrest by the Chinese government due to his social activism against the government.  These bits of information and perspective were starting to bother me a little. 

The Water Cube was really awesome; the architecture on TV during the Olympics gave the impression that all the funny geometric shapes on the exterior were glass.  This was not so, the building essentially is a frame and the walls are made out of plastic inflated bags… essentially the same principle as a kryovak bag except inflated….yup, it was a lot like bubble wrap!  I thought it was brilliant, what better way to insulate than using air, right??  Beijing is certainly getting its money’s worth out of the Water Cube too; they have converted almost half of the facility into a really neat water park!

The 2008 Beijing Olympics were absolutely the most important games of my generation, the spirit and nature of sport can really be powerful between cultures and nations, I know it sounds cliché and NBC tells you all about it every couple of years but it’s TRUE!  I really felt the spirit of the 2008 Olympic Games even three years after the fact.  This was the one place in Beijing that I felt like I’d been to before, having watched the games on TV there were little things about the facilities and storylines about the events that came back into my memory.  A friend of mine is a Chef for Aramark and worked for the Olympics in Beijing, during this tour I couldn’t help but truly gain the appreciation for the once in a lifetime experience she must’ve had here during that special time.  I think that same “once in a life time” emotion was really starting to hit me, ironically at the same time the social repression that exists in China was becoming more and more obvious to me as well.

Tiananmen Square was vast, with a cold feeling intentionally looked like it meant business.  China’s communist ideals and Chairmen Mao’s authority are both highly palpable in this place.  There were trees of cameras symmetrically placed EVERYWHERE, I couldn’t help but realize the enormous steps the country has taking for such strict surveillance.   My personal political views are not in line with such policies as America’s “Patriot Act”, however this tour made me think twice about my overall rights as a U.S. citizen.  We saw some special security officers marching through the square, this was the icing on the cake….. or should I say mortar on the brick.  I wondered as I was taking pictures of Chairman Mao’s most famous portrait about how he might have felt to see his “vision’s” headquarters turned into such a popular attraction for people from around the world.  China only recently in the past few years stopped charging people to enter the square, even if you were a natural Citizen of China up until 2006 it would’ve cost you.  I thought it was amusing that in America’s capital not just monuments and parks, however even museums are FREE to the people, however in China they charged…. Solid revenue plan though! 

Into the Forbidden City:  This place was a fortress, it seemed almost too Fantastic to be real.  I couldn’t stop thinking about that Oscar winning movie The Last Emperor the whole time, what an amazing it would have been to see this city when it was functioning!  The legend says that the Forbidden City has 9,999 and ½ rooms, this is to show respect to Confucius who is believed to have 10,000 rooms in Heaven.   The official number isn’t actually that far off, with 8,704 rooms this city within a city (and then within a city again) was my first glance at China’s rich and ancient history on the ground, standing in it, and breathing it.   The architecture was a marvelous mixture that gave both the impression of power and strength, as well as beauty and art.  Because the style of architecture is just so different than western styles it was important to me as an amateur historian to compare the dates and age of the buildings as well as the eras in which they were built.  I tried my best when I saw a sign in English explaining a certain statue or temple to put things into perspective, for instance the second gate was built around the time of Shakespeare, or the throne for the emperor was erected around the time of Napoleon’s reign.  I used this trick throughout the trip to really help me gain the sense of how old my surroundings really were (in America our concept of “old” does not do world history justice).  The Forbidden City’s gates were essentially one giant square after another, followed by beautiful gardens, temples, living quarters and just what seemed to be rooms and spaces for the sake of it.

* Interesting fact, just prior to the Olympics in 2008 the Government commissioned for the Forbidden City to be excavated and for most of the walls and such to be painted and touched up.  Well they did a really good job, too good in fact…. It was said that the Forbidden City looked too new!  I’ve heard of this dilemma from art historians before, it’s a funny irony that exists for curators.  Trying to please the Chinese Government I’m sure isn’t exactly the easiest task either!

For entertainment tonight we went to a traditional Chinese Tea-House nearby.  This was a blast, although the translation for the show was pretty much non-existent I was lucky to have our guide Vivien sitting right next to me.  Between watching the “variety show” of sorts and the fun snacks as well as great tea being served this was an all-around fun event, and apparently it is an absolute must if you are a visitor to Beijing.  Walking into the theater there are pictures everywhere of famous and important people that have come to this Tea-house, it was like a famous deli in New York or one of those Hollywood restaurants with people that patron the facility.  Most of the acts were comparable to old Vaudevillian routines, with music, comedy, random low key acrobatics and just plain fun it was an exciting show even despite the language barrier.  If for nothing else it was fun because all the other guests in attendance were enthusiastic and excited to be there. 

Hoi Hai Park is famous for its shopping, until midnight and later.  Just northwest of the Forbidden City it is a lake surrounded by shops, bars and entertainment.  After a taxi ride that rivaled a James Bond scene we were there.  Tonight I didn’t have the shopping bug everyone else did, keep in mind I was in China with 20 girls… our itinerary necessitated shopping like life needs water!  After trying to be convinced that I needed some random piece of junk about 50 times (by the way it’s mostly the exact same junk from store to store) I found something…. But it wasn’t something you could haggle.   Down a narrow doorway in between two shops read on a small chalkboard sign the most inviting words in the English Language for anyone who has ever played music….. “Jam Session Tonight”.  At first glance this didn’t look like the type of doorway I should wonder in by myself, however like I said before I was building my confidence with this town.  The tourist and traveler warning tips I had been inundated with were valid, but not all that much more than other major cities I’ve been to.  So there I was in the Center of Hoi Hai Park with the most glorious and inviting sign I’ve seen in this market place, so I went for it.  I love playing the drums and collaborating music with others, it feeds my soul…. So you can imagine the elation I felt literally sitting halfway around the world when I sat down behind this beat up old drum set in this dive bar with a couple of guitar players and made some music.  We started out on neutral territory blues, reggae, and some rock n’ roll…. It wasn’t half bad!  What made this jam session special was when the better of the two guitarists played one of his own songs (or at least I think it was an original…. Keep in mind I was only able to communicate through music…. and pointing on the menu what beer I’d like to try next!!!)  I must have played for about an hour and the bar was starting to fill up, I could tell by the look on some of the guests faces that they were perplexed on how I ended up on stage.  To finish the night I ended up meeting a couple of American students from St. Louis, MO.  AS my Grandma Helen always says, “It’s a small world”.  Pittsburgh to St. Louis is about a 10 hour drive, but when you’re both in China?? It seems like next door.  We chatted for a while and and they were kind enough to take a couple of pictures of me playing as proof that I’m officially an international rock star (at least in my mind).  I rode a taxi back to the Hotel by myself tonight….  It was a liberating experience, I felt like anything was possible…. But for the first time really believed it…. Maybe it was just the positive messages Jay Z was spitting on the Radio but I really felt alive.  The cab driver was pretty funny, without a common language we communicated on a pure human level…. He saw my thumbs up and smile so he cranked the radio up and we jammed out the rest of the way back!

I told you it was a “JAM” packed day!!!!

Business AND pleasure

Business Tour and self-guided city tour:

This morning we took an awesome tour of one of the largest Tech companies in the industry and by far the leader in China.  Lenovo had a beautiful complex that encompassed their four branches within their company: R&D, Marketing, Manufacturing and Distribution.  Lenovo is the Fourth largest retailer in the world and has affiliation with IBM.  The tour itself was like a Disney World tour, it mostly encompassed the tour guide pitching new gadgets which I’ll tell you about in a second.  The guide was kind enough to explain some of the company's history (or at least their own interpretation).  The company actually began as a tiny start up on Tsinghua University's campus... remember I mentioned Tsinghua U. is like MIT?  Some interesting facts include that like most other successful global companies in China, the government is a stakeholder.  Also, Lenovo has been commissioned by the Chinese government for things outside of their industry.  For instance Lenovo designed the 2008 Olympic Torch.  Lenovo is also THE official sponsor of the National Basketball Association.  In fact Lenovo beat out an American company who is a direct competition with them for the title; you might know of them.... Hewlett Packard??

Ok as for the gadgets there were plenty, the one the tour guide was pushing the most was their new Tablet, not surprising right?  Lenovo has a tablet that runs on the Android platform; however, they have an accessory hardware style keyboard that the tablet can be connected to.  Once the Tablet is connected to the keyboard it forms a laptop that automatically runs on Windows 7!!!  Pretty sweet huh?  It should be hitting the U.S. market in the next few months.  Here in the states many Americans are still struggling with the exact function and necessity of a tablet.  Well let me tell you, it all comes down to the commute to and from work.  In many Western countries people drive, they have their laptops at point A and point B and that makes sense, even to me.  In Asian countries people commute on public transportation, this gives the tablet a stage.  Tablets make more sense in crowded subway over a bulky laptop.  Whether you agree with the tablet or not, you can count on the market continuing to expand rapidly.

Overall I was most curious about the company's historical timeline and how it directly parallels the growth and quality of life in China.  If you held Lenovo's timeline history up to Apple's it is very similar, Apple has just been ahead consistently by about 10 years.  Also, Lenovo admitted that although their R&D department is certainly pushing boundaries and having strong success in innovation, as a whole the company prefers to focus inward.  Lenovo claims that they would rather be the second or third company on a new product, however get it right or make it better.  A good analogy for anyone my age would be the age old Nintendo and Sega video game analogy.  For every new game console that enhanced the bytes Sega always led the way, however Nintendo would always hold out a little longer and get it right.

The rest of the day I spent exploring with another student and getting more comfortable with the city and my surroundings.  This afternoon proved to be very valuable to gain a little street smart skills and for confidence on getting around town using the taxis or the rickshaws, or even the subway.  I got to talking to an interesting acquaintance at a local watering hole today.  This gentleman named Graham from Liverpool England is a mechanical Engineer by trade.  Graham was about as English as it gets, a pleasant chap he ended giving some good advice about the city.  About 3 times a year Graham comes to China for business.  What kind of business?  Coal mining!  China has significant energy reserves; however they require so much they still need to import energy stocks (1/4^th the world’s population and all).  Graham was soaking in the three days he had to enjoy Beijing before he embarked on a tour of half a dozen small mining towns in the vast Chinese wilderness.  Beijing is a whole different world, however according to Graham the frontier towns of China are absolutely out of this world.  Due to the socio-economic nature of China, although they are powerful and have money, their lack of social wealth fare leaves millions hungry and severely poverty stricken.  Lenovo mentioned that they started to take part in corporate welfare programs, however they didn’t start until 2000 and more than likely is carried out because of their success and large exposure.  Also, their causes have nothing to do with feeding or helping the severely under privileged in their own country.  If you recall right after the Tsunami in Japan this past March, the country of China gave federal aid to Japan.  I remember reading about it in the Economist magazine and them mentioning how it was a really really big deal that China did this because charity is not  a norm in their Culture.

Another GREAT DAY!!

College Bound

Day 2

Hitting the Campus: School stuff

Today we got to see the academic institutions and college life in China’s top two most prestigious school.  Tsinghua University’s campus makes a Big Ten campus look like nothing.  35k students, 29 dorms and enough botanical garden landscape to create tranquility among the entire human race.  Founded in 1911 Tsinghua University has historical ties to the U.S.  Unfortunately due to the very painful history China has endured over the past century the college has changed functions and focus many times in its 100 year history.  Lunch here was traditional Chinese, however was located in the Muslim Cafeteria there were no pork dishes.  Ironically the food was really good, and overall the dishes that were served resembled the American perception of Chinese food.  I must say that the quality was quite good, disproving the concept that cafeteria food is sub-par…. At least in China.

Tsinghua Univesity is regarded as the MIT of China, if this is the case than Peking University resembles something like Berkley.  With sidewalk art and beautiful architecture as well as superb landscape all over the campus, Peking U. was a little less intimidating and overall was pretty relaxed.  There was a huge lake and a million awesome little hide-a-ways ideal to curl up with a good book or study poetry.   University motto: Actions speak louder than words….   Pretty awesome!  Interesting fact, all students had to live on campus, and there were housing barracks for professors and their families as well.

Overall the tours and the lectures today helped give me a much greater understanding of what China is all about academically, culturally, economically and globally. 

Our one professor Claudia gave the most poignant analogy about China and its “ancient cultural that has no history”.   Forgive me I’m going to butcher this but it really was quite eloquent the way Claudia told it:

“There was an old wise man that had a beautiful estate for many many years with a great big house filled with many nice things.  When the old wise man passed away he had willed his estate to a very young man.  Unfortunately, by the time the young man inherited the estate everything was dilapidated and the walls and floors were cracking and the beautiful things were broken.  Instead of renovating the old wise man’s house and preserving the originally architecture and landscape, the young man decided to tear the house down and build a new one that is very cold and has no character.  Although the old house is gone at least the walls are secure and the house functions.  This is what happened to China”

Claudia explained the Cultural Revolution from the 1950-s thru 1970’s as if a Western academic.  Incredibly, she has never even been to America.  I considered her lecture a high privilege, and would compare it to listening to world renowned scholar that teachers at an ivy league school here in the states.  Trust me she had the credentials!

A great day overall. 

The Eagle has Landed!

Day 1

Arrival… After 17 hours flying over Greenland, Siberia, and the Gobi Desert we finally arrived.  After months of planning and preparation I took my first steps within “The Sleeping Giant”.  Unfortunately those steps almost immediately led me into a back room by myself for Security purposes.  OK, so I was standing at the immigration desk for about 5 minutes and it was clear that the immigration inspector did not believe that I was the same person in my passport picture.  In a thousand ways I am not that person in the picture; physically the photo was of me at age 18 just prior to graduating high school.  Since that snapshot I have gained a diploma, bachelors, and experienced 3 years of a diverse, fast paced, and vibrant young career while pursuing a master’s degree.  So there I am awaiting my fate, after roughly 4 different security immigration officials proceeded to bounce their eyes back and forth from my passport photo of what I looked like almost a decade ago and my mid/late twenties mug in the flesh.  Next I gained the “privilege” of moving on….. Into the back security room.  Surprisingly I was only nervous for a second, between the jet lag and disillusionment that I was really in China I only had a minor panic attack and then instantly I was hit with the sensation of calmness.  After I tossed about 6 ID cards at some very official looking gentlemen (which basically created a chronology of my aging over the past decade) they finally granted me entrance to the capital city.

The bus ride from the airport gave me a feeling of exuberance I haven’t felt in a long time.  I can only compare it to the gut excitement  when you’re about to experience something  100% new for the first time like entering a sports stadium or Disneyland when you’re a kid, or a first kiss as a teenager or even getting dropped off at College.  The small differences in infrastructure and the vast road systems on the way to the airport were amazing…. Everything was so new and fresh to me.  For that matter to be fair most everything in Beijing is relatively new, there was construction EVERYWHERE!

The Hotel is very nice, from an insider industry stand point I was impressed with the building and the interior decor.   The Royal King is HUGE and seems to offer a lot, personally I am not planning on spending much time here but it is cool.   

Dinner was at a destination restaurant where the authentic traditional Chinese cuisine dining was completely integrated into their landscape, it was comparable to a tavern theme at Colonial Williamsburg or Epcot Center.   We discovered an interesting occurrence that is related to their education system and migration.  Many young people come Beijing from small towns outside the greater Beijing area, to maneuver and change locations within China is very similar to us as moving to a different country to work (i.e. applying for a Visa).  Also the servers and the “actors” dressed in tradition Chinese garb did not have much more than an elementary education; in fact they couldn’t answer some of Dr. Chung's questions about the menu because they couldn’t read it.  With over 600 characters many children forego furthering their education do to circumstance and difficulty of even their own language.   The plating and garnishing of the dishes was beautiful and I really enjoyed trying Chinese food that I wasn’t used to in the states.    

the blog is up and running

My inaugural post:

This is my first blog and my first time to the far East.  I've been tuning into as many articles and specials on television during this month which also happens to be Asian Heritage month.  I'm excited for a number of reasons to take this journey, most importantly I am excited to see how it changes my perspective of the world and the concepts of business and trade that I've only known in a Western sense. 

I'll be in China in 7 days.... more then!