Posts filed under ' Beijing'
Team One:
The group met fairly promptly at 10:15 pm in the international wing of the SFO airport. There was a lot of excitement in the air as the group prepared to depart. Those who managed to pack the lightest were given bragging rights while those with large suitcases were lovingly ridiculed. Most students browsed the duty free shop while we awaited departure. The flight from SFO to Hong Kong was fairly uneventful with most students managing to get some sleep. The Cathay Airline flight attendants were extremely welcoming and the TV selection was excellent. Once the 14 hour flight was completed, we finally touched down in Hong Kong. The journey was far from over, however, as we needed to figure out how to get our next set of boarding passes and find our final departure gate. Justine, of the the students in our program from Hong Kong, came to the rescue and was able to ask airport personnel where we should be heading. Airport security requirements for going into China were almost exactly the same as in the US. We all made the connection and finally arrived in Beijing. The Beijing airport, Terminal Three (brand new), was magnificent. The architecture was amazing with an extremely high industrial style ceiling. There was ton of light let into the building and we traveled to customs on a brand new monorail. We breezed through customs and met Paula our China tour coordinator. Finally, we got our first glimpse of Beijing and checked into our Hotel.
We arrived at the hotel at approximately 1:30 pm and had the rest of the day to explore. A small group of students rode the subway to the Temple of Heaven. While there, we noticed a great example of price discrimination. There was a student admittance fee as well as a regular admission fee. We attempted to pay the student rate but were informed that the rate was for Chinese students only. We noticed many older people playing cards and board games inside the garden surrounding the temple. Since admission seemed fairly expensive to purchase every day, we also felt that there was most likely free admission for senior citizens as well. We also noticed major price fluctuations in water and green tea from Y2-Y5 depending on how close you were to a major tourist attraction. We made our way back to the hotel area and explored the Wangfajing district before finding a place to eat dinner.
Other notable observations for the day included the open minds of our group of MBA students. We observed several students trying new things simply for the experience. It was encouraging to see fellow students embracing the purpose of our trip and getting involved in the local experience. We observed several transactions involving negotiations and took notes for our eventual experience in purchasing items for ourselves.
We were surprised at the amount of smog in the city considering that the Chinese government has been taking actions to reduce emissions for the past year, but we also noticed that Beijing was very clean. There was no trash to be found on the ground and recycle bins were located on practically every corner. Traffic appeared light and many commuters were seen traveling by bicycle. Crossing the street as a pedestrian is tricky and it seems best to move in a crowd. Entrepreneurial Chinese were seen everywhere performing jobs such as barber, tour guide, gardener, chef, and street sweeper. The city is obviously gearing up for the Olympics and great progress has been made.
Team Two:
Our trip began Tuesday night in San Francisco. Everyone was excited to finally be leaving. Some worried if they had brought everything, others wondered if they should sleep right away or try to stay up for a while. The group was scattered throughout the plane. This gave us the opportunity to meet people from all over the world that were on their way to Hong Kong. Looking back at our brief time in Hong Kong, we’ve realized how American our group is. We tended to block pathways and not be aware of those trying to pass around us. We speak loudly, and it was noticeable here in Asia. During the transfer, the customer agent placed two of our people on the wrong flight. Luckily, the mistake was caught quickly and resolved. It was a good reminder that we need to do our due diligence to confirm the details of our own plans. The flight from Hong Kong to Beijing went very quickly. The dome structure of the Beijing airport was amazing and let us have our first feel of the humidity. The train to baggage pick up was crowded and reminded us of the youtube videos we watched. Our tour guide Paula met us at the airport and helped us get checked in to our hotel.
As we drove into the city, the contrast between old and new was everywhere. History has been preserved and at the same time, progress is evident all around us. Old apartment buildings are placed next to fancy office buildings. The smog was thicker than any of us expected. Newly planted trees dot the highways. Olympic ads, toys and souvenirs are everywhere, and there are also pictures and ads to raise funds and awareness for the Sichuan earthquake. Bicycles ride alongside cars in some places. Once we checked in to the hotel, we were free to explore the city. Some of us went shopping, some went for massages, and some went sightseeing. We found the city is full of hidden surprises. Walking down a couple stairs, we found a food court full of traditional Chinese food.
Having the remainder of the day to get settled after we arrived and checked-in allowed some of us to see the Temple of Heaven. It is a beautiful tribute to a time that passed many year ago. The Olympics start in only 50 days, and we wonder if the city is ready. The streets and subways are incredibly clean. Olympic stores are everywhere. However, we had a hard time finding people that spoke English and the subway would be difficult without speaking the language. Traffic is still scary. Cars don’t stop for pedestrians, so it’s important to pay attention when crossing the street. China is a place that continually surprises us, and it’s only the first day!! Will explore more of the faces of China in the coming days.
Professor Carr note: Today we arrived, stabilized, got cleaned up and have started to get our China legs under us. Tomorrow, company visits and the the heavy lifting of experiential learning begins. Stay tuned.
June 18th, 2008
We started out our official tour of China with a visit to the place the whole world will be watching in just over a month, the Bird’s Nest (Olympic Stadium) and “The Cube” (venue for the water sports). We were immediately impressed by the scale and magnificence of the stadium, but at the same time disappointed by the smog, which made it very difficult to see. Unfortunately, the fact that construction was ongoing made it impossible for us to get nearer to it for a better shot. In front of the stadium, there were quite a few migrant workers using shovels accompanied by guards standing under umbrellas asking you not to take pictures of them. It was surprising to see that work was still going on this close to the Olympics.
After some confusion on our meetings place for the bus, our group was finally reunited and we began our trek to the Chinese “Silicon Valley,” located in northwest Beijing, and near Peking University (China’s Harvard) and Tsinghua University (China’s MIT) . The bus weaved through pedestrians and bikers and arrived at a bundle of tall buildings with big name logos, such as Microsoft and Google, mounted to their tops. The group admired the elegance of the marble staircase and courtyard then proceeded to butt heads in front of two fighting bulls (don’t worry it was a statue).
On the way back to the bus the group was reminded of the Chinese pride held in the Olympics from a young man on a three wheeled bike. The man’s hair was shaved in a tribute to the Beijing Olympics; hosting Olympic rings, Beijing’s name, and multiple colors. A few stopped to pose with the exuberant man, but had to move on as the group had to travel to the third largest computer manufacturer in the world - Lenovo.
Lenovo greeted our Cal Poly group with open arms. We were provided with an excellent presentation from a San Jose state grad whom moved to China three years ago and now works for Lenovo. He gave an excellent, informative and very intriguing presentation. It began with a discussion of the skill set everyone needs in the changing world. He gave a rundown of five new global business skill sets that we should take heed of: 1) global business practice and customer service, 2) have a creative and innovative focus, 3) be a team player, 4) have specific knowledge of your industry and technology, and 5) be fluent in the language of the region in which you conduct business. He also stressed the importance of maintaining relationships by initiating or returning gifts and favors. This is the Chinese idea of guanxi. As an example of this, he described a time when he received a book from a man who he had given a DVD set to a year and a half earlier. He had forgotten their relationship, and was surprised to receive the book. This highlights the difference between American and Chinese business relationships, namely that American business relationships end when the business deal ends, but Chinese business relationships extend beyond the deal, and are maintained indefinitely. We now understand Chinese guanxi at a deeper level.
He then went on to discuss Lenovo. The company has a thirty-three percent market share in China, which produces forty percent of its revenue. In America, they hold an eight percent market share. As a result of their recent marketing campaigns, they are now the most recognized brand in China, and their market share in India and the rest of the world has increased dramatically. They encourage their engineers to look to all areas of science and nature for inspiration (bio-mimicry), which has led to some very successful innovations. For example, after observing that owls are extremely quite while in flight due to the notches in their wings, Lenovo developed the world’s most quiet computer fans by mimicking those notches.
We then began a tour of the factory. All of the topics we had learned about in Dr. Olsen’s operations course came to life. There was kanban systems and visual management everywhere. Each employee had a set of lights above their head and an electronic board displaying their completion time for various tasks. If they were doing well the light above them glowed green and if they were doing bad it glowed red. Other systems were in use including bunches of grapes that were colored to different degrees based on the amount skills they had. The other thing that was most impressive about the tour was the fully automated warehouse where machines brought supplies to the many workers constructing the computers by hand. In summary, we were incredibly impressed by Lenovo, their staff, and what it has accomplished as a company, and we thank them for their time.
After the Lenovo visit, we went to dinner. On our way there we saw new Lenovo computers being transferred from a truck to bicycles. This enabled us to another facet of the supply chain. Soon after this, we arrived at Peking University. We walked around admiring the buildings and came upon a beautiful lake set next to a tower. Then we followed along the winding paths that forked into many different paths. The campus was somewhat confusing as we came upon what we thought was the bookstore, but turned out to just be a smaller version that sold t-shirts and other “Peking University” memorabilia. After another stop at another “bookstore,” we finally found the official bookstore. However, unlike Cal Poly’s bookstore that only sells books and memorabilia, this bookstore was full of clothing, antiques, a pharmacy, and even Olympic memorabilia. We spent some time perusing the store and buying souvenirs before heading back for the bus. Unfortunately, the university was confusing and we got a bit lost, but luckily Gary led the way and we found the bus. Visiting Peking University was important, as were were able to get a feel for the environment in which some of China’s best and brightest are being educated — some of these students will one day be our business collaborators or competitors.
Just as we arrived in English Corner, it began to rain. This was not preferable because English Corner is outside, but the people there took pity on us and shared their umbrellas with us as they practiced their English. This spoke volumes of Chinese kindness and generosity for a guest. We were surprised by the how much we all enjoyed our time there since many of us were not originally enthusiastic about participating in the event. The group quickly dispersed into the immense crowd of eager learners. Many of us were surrounded by multiple English language learners, and were probed by questions ranging from sports (Do American hockey teams frequently lose to Canadian ones?), to politics (Who do you want to win the U.S. Presidency? Obama or McCain?), to current events (What do you think should be done about the current credit crunch in the U.S.?). Many of us were humbled, candidly, about our lack of knowledge regarding certain facets of our own country when compared to these Chinese participants and learners. That this many people would come to this plaza on a Friday night and enhance their learning and English skills was impressive. We now better understand a part of China’s comparative advantage. Our two hours in English corner felt like two minutes and many of us felt guilty as we bowed out of twelve person conversations to run to the bus and return to the hotel to sleep for our next eventful day.
June 18th, 2008
Saturday - June 21, 2008 - Team 4
As a prelude to this post, we’d like to say that today was a truly amazing and memorable day that our words cannot fully capture.
Today, we put on our tourist hats. We had a full day scheduled at the two biggest tourism draws, the Forbidden City and the Great Wall – and for the first time on the trip, the smog had blown away and the sky was blue. After yet another delicious breakfast at our hotel, our Cal Poly group took a short walk down E. Chiang An Avenue to the main gates of the Forbidden City. Under the watchful gaze of Chairman Mao, we entered into the outer city. The city itself was bigger and more amazing than we had first imagined, and we were surprised to learn that the area that remains is only a small fraction of what the city used to be. Although we were given four hours to explore, we easily could have spent the entire day exploring the multitudes of rooms and exhibits set up around the city. One of our favorite areas was the imperial gardens, a lush blend of greenery, temples and gazebos. Walking through, we noticed that much of the city was under renovation. From a historical business standpoint, it is almost ridiculous to fathom how much maintenance and upkeep the city must have needed, especially realizing that it was only a part-time home for one royal family. Some people decided to head across the street to Jingshan Park and take a short hike up a hill to a large temple tower. The views from the top were amazing. Again, we were lucky to have a clear day free from the intense smog that usually covers the city.
We left the Forbidden City with a bit of time on our hands. Groups separated to explore and eat in the city. We (as well as many others) made our way via taxi to the Silk Market. The Silk Market is difficult to describe, simply because there is nothing like it in the United States. First, imagine the largest flea market you’ve ever seen. Second, imagine the flea market only selling new, brand-name (but probably fake) clothes and accessories. Third, put that flea market inside a six story building (each floor is about the size of a football field) with each booth getting a cubicle size area to work. Fourth, put a young Chinese girl in each booth shouting, grabbing, begging you to come look at their wares in broken English. Finally, imagine the place packed to the brim with shoppers looking for the best deal they can get.
Fortunately, we got to witness true capitalism in action as well as practice negotiation (on an admittedly very small scale). We bargained with the vendors for the best prices we could get on scarves to custom-tailored suits. The common bargaining tactic was for the vendors to start at ridiculously high prices for their goods, and then laugh at you when you counter-offered. Then, they try to get you to buy more items and they’ll lower the price. When you start to walk away and head for the booth two steps down selling the exact same thing, they’ll grab you and submit to a price much closer to what you want to pay. It seemed like all the vendors had little shame in the tactics they were willing to try to get even a little more money from you. In the business world, be wary of this. Though we’ve learned that most successful business relationships are built on long term friendship and reciprocation – if the friendship is not there, be prepared to deal with some dirty and ethically questionable practices. From an economic standpoint, the ability to sell items and different prices to different customers is great. There would be relatively few unconsummated wealth transactions in a micro environment, maximizing profits. At the same time, there is a high level of substitutes for products, making every item highly price elastic – thus competition between vendors significantly hurts individual profits. All in all, the Silk Market was a fun, fascinating place – though not somewhere we’d like to work or even visit on a regular basis.
The Cal Poly group regrouped at the hotel to board a bus to the Great Wall of China. The two hour ride to the Mutianyu section of the Wall was a good time to relax and view the Chinese country side. When we arrived at the small rural village, we stocked up on bottled water, and made our way up the hill to the base of the wall. The wall itself runs along the top ridge of a mountain. The group had the option to hike or to pay extra for a gondola ride, and it was split 50/50. The hike was hot and steep, but gratifying and offered some amazing views. Reaching the top and walking up the wall was a surreal experience. You look in both directions and the wall extends as far as the eye can see. Furthermore, the wall protects an area where it almost strategically impossible to bring an army (especially in the 1400s), though a dense jungle on steep hills. So the necessity of the wall is questionable, but it offered spectacular views.
Though the mode of transportation up to the wall differed, the way down was a no-brainer. The Chinese built a toboggan run down the side of the mountain and almost everybody paid the six dollars for the ride of a lifetime. People climbed onto a little sled with a handle that controlled the brake and raced down the curvy track. It was such a good time, a group found Dr. Carr to partake and paid for the gondola ride up simply to race down the track again.
Looking back, the wall itself was a massive project. A point to think about is how a project of this magnitude was managed. The project took many generations to complete. Where did the workers come from? How were they paid? How do you motivate them? How did the emperor monitor progress and deliverables? Furthermore, how was the wall maintained and staffed after completion? The similarities between problems back then and problems today in regards to business and project management are eerily similar.
After the group had their fun on the wall and were starting to fade from the heat, we gathered in the heart of town at a place called The Schoolhouse at Mutianyu. The Schoolhouse is a project started by an ex-pat named from Cal Berkeley, who leased an old schoolhouse from the local village to start a restaurant and a glass blowing gallery. The owner also is heavily involved in local real estate, building and renovating houses at the base of the Great Wall. He was able to take us to a couple local houses to see how local village people live. The first house was very humble; it was a very small house with no heat and very airy walls, although they had a T.V. All cooking was done over a wood stove and the bed was wooden boards covered with a small comforter. The owners extended a warm welcome to us and served us tea and plums grown in their garden. The second house across the street was much nicer, with windows, a kitchen with appliances, and even a T.V. and radio, and hot water for showering. Also, they had a beautiful garden where they grew most of their own food. Our guide informed us that the two couples made about the same amount of money per year, but the difference in lifestyle was based on how they spent and saved their money over the years.
The town itself was old and the population aging. We were told most young men and women were leaving for jobs in the city. Also, we realized that almost the entire economy is based on tourism. There were many people who set up stands at the base of the hike, selling water, hats, and various souvenirs to the many tourists who wanted to hike the wall. Back at the Schoolhouse, we discussed with the owner how he was promoting sustainable tourism in the area and working with local government to improve the area and lives of many of the people. He had many insights to working in China – the biggest piece of advice is, “don’t leave your ethics behind”. Though he said, in China “the law is a mild suggestion, safely ignored” yet at the end of the day he aptly pointed out that (especially) foreign firms need to be compliant or risk being shut down. To be sustainable, it does not pay to cheat to get ahead, because eventually it will catch up to you. Hire lawyers, lots of them, to help you maneuver through complicated Chinese law, and make sure all stakeholders are satisfied and happy before jumping into any project.
Next, the Schoolhouse served us a western fusion meal – called Roadhouse Grill. Their chef, from India, fired up some chicken and burgers and served it with some ice cold beer. Over dinner, we learned that the village was trying to prepare for the Olympics, and were expecting at least 7,000 more tourists for the three weeks. The Olympics will definitely help the local economy outside of Beijing, since any influx of money goes a long way in the small towns. After dinner, we got a demonstration of local glass blowing before heading back on the bus. After a quick debrief, the lights went out the bus went silent as people let the exhaustion of a long day wash over them.
About an hour and a half later, we pulled up in front of a giant building where we experienced our first Chinese foot massage. This may have been the perfect way to end this day as everyone’s feet were sore and tired after hiking the Great Wall. For roughly $12, we each got 45 minutes of heavenly bliss. Though this was a relaxing experience for us, the foot massage was a, important and valuable business experience for us as well. Beijing, like New York, does not seem to sleep. We’ve learned that after a work day in China, business after the formal work day often continues. 24/7, over dinner, foot massages, and then karaoke (or other nightlife). Having this experience gives us knowledge on what to expect and how to conduct ourselves when returning to Asia for business. Our experience is probably a little different than a massage place in the city, because we went to a reflexology school. Young students, our age and younger, were learning to do this as a career. Outside of the school, we were told that the massages can sometimes (not always) be a bit more intimate, and the masseuses can be a bit more aggressive, trying to offer add on features for extra money. A comparison point Dr. Carr provided to us to think about on this issue to get us prepared for this visit is when one goes into Best Buy, buys their flat screen T.V., and proceeds to be bombarded with add on requests for additional products and/or services. One can say no; one can say yes. It’s up to the customer.
The class floated back the bus for the final ride home. We arrived home a little after 11 pm. Most people were exhausted, but there were a few who decided to go out, after hours and, on our own time, off the clock. Unfortunately, this is out of the scope of our one day journal since all the action happened after midnight – a new day - so we won’t go into the details.
Finally, back to the hotel where we all prepare for a much anticipated day off…
Day 4 - Beijing, China Forbidden Fun and Great Foot Fantasies - Team 5
Although we don’t know what lies ahead of us in the next upcoming weeks, our team and many of our peers said that this would be one of the most memorable days of the trip. From morning until night, we experienced the life of a tourist. As an expat or visitor to China, a Beijing representative would surely take you to each of these locations: the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City, and a foot massage (more on that later).
The Forbidden City
After waking up early and having a luxurious breakfast at the Beijing Grand Hotel, our first stop would be the Forbidden City, just across from Tiananmen Square. Our hotel is four blocks from what many regard as the center of the ancient world. This relic has much historical importance to the Chinese, and is adorned with Mao’s friendly face as you enter the gates. Both Chinese and Foreigners flowed through the powerfully plain red archways. The towers that watched over the emperor now sat silent as thousands upon thousands of strangers entered the courtyard. The city is surrounded by imperial gardens and contains an impressive outer and inner courtyard. Each courtyard of a lesser official (most likely a court eunuch) is then trumped by the next courtyard of a higher official, symbolized by the number of rooftops the building has.
Although the Forbidden City is only roughly a quarter of its original size, it is still quite impressive, having an area of 720,000 square meters. Being pressed for time, as we had to make it to the bus at 1 pm, I went straight through the Forbidden City from the Gate of Supreme Harmony, Hall of Supreme Harmony, Palace of Heavenly Purity, and finally the Imperial Garden. Part of the city was under renovation. Like much of the city, Beijing is preparing for the Olympics. The government is really trying to make the city, and the Forbidden City, a grand spectacle to be revealed during the Olympics. The animals on top of the roof are meant to symbolize protection (of good fortune). By keeping the good in and the bad out, the emperor can hope to prosper. China hopes this will be true for the Olympics as well.
The Great Wall
After leaving the Forbidden City, we headed two hours north-west to the Great Wall of China. We stopped at a small village situated at the base of the mountains that the wall runs along called Mutianyu. When we got off we were told that we had a nice hike up the mountain to the wall that took about an hour and half for those who choose to hike it the whole and or about 3o minute for those who took the gondola up. For those who hiked they were greeted with about of mile and half of stairs that challenged all who that dared. The walk did provide some gorgeous scenery and lush green forest to explore. Once at the top the group met up for pictures and some time to relax and take in the beautiful sights.
Tracing the path of ancient wall guards our group made our way from one tower to the next. The wall snaked out in front of us with thousands upon thousands of miles waiting for our next step. The view from the wall could not be described as anything less than incredible. A village, most likely older than the United States, sat peacefully at the bottom of the valley before us. Jagged cliff faces and tree-blanketed hills surrounded the village. The wall stretched gracefully from one zenith to the next still guarding the middle kingdom. Each of us was struck with the pure history that was under our feet. The wall was magnificent, one can only realize this when standing on the edge looking out over the past and remembering all that China was and realizing all that it will become.
Once we had digested the beauty and the power of what we had just seen we were delighted to find out that there was a toboggan track that ran from the wall back to the village in the bottom. Each person had their own cart that barreled down the track based on their individual desires for speed. The YouTube video is on its way. This was one of the most enjoyable things we have been able to here in China. Some people were had such a good time that they decided to travel back up the mountain to do it a second time.
Once at the bottom of the mountain we were bombarded by the street-side vendors who tried their hardest to get you to buy their souvenirs. Getting a good price from these vendors has become a skill that some have been able to acquire but many if not all of us have become victim of paying more than we should have. Then we met up with two of ladies who work at the schoolhouse within Mutianyu who would lead us to two different houses in the village. One house was the residence of the richest family in town while the other was the poorest family in town.
The Village
As we walked up the hill en route to a poor lady’s residence, we passed by an old man. Skin and muscles on his aged body hung with evidence of abuse from weather and decades of working in the field. Proudly he smiled to us. Wearing no shoes, he pointed to a small plot of land where he grew his vegetation.
A plot of land no bigger than the size of an American bathroom had never encompassed so much culture. Where we come from, people grow food in their garden for fun or to show off their green thumb. But for this man, this plot of land meant dinner on his table. He had put thought into finding the right place with enough sunlight and soil. He had spent days and months tendering his vegetables and worrying about the weather. Gardening for him was not a hobby. Planting vegetables in his backyard was survival.
Shortly after returning him with smiles, we walked into the house where he and his wife lived. We were told that the lady before us was poor. We didn’t need to be told; the lady’s poverty lay before us in the smoke lined walls and the rotting wood of the beds they slept in. She carried a bamboo broomstick to fend off her dog so we might enter. From the way she held the broomstick– not fearing the unsanitary state of it - I could tell she was a woman with little possession.
Little possession was an understatement. Her house would have looked shabby a hundred years ago. The first thing that engulfed us when we entered the dark living room/kitchen was an smell, a smell that came from decades of grease and some unknown inch-thick liquid in the black pan on the stove. Every bit of the layout in her living quarter concerned me. For example, when I saw a cleaver lying on a wooden cutting board, the dried food and grime still clinging to its blade made me cringe. But what could she do? She didn’t even have a refrigerator. Every piece of her residences was in a perpetual state of half-rottenness.
Her bedroom was even drearier. Her bed was not much of a bed, but a large wooden platform with linen cover that seemed to be decades old. Separated by a thin curtain, the bed was two feet away from the stove and the kitchen. The smell in the bedroom was thus not any better than the outside. Without air conditioning, the inside of the room was not only hot, but humid and dark. By the way, the windows were made of paper. Sweat just poured out of my follicles as I stood in her room, observing her humble possession. On one of the old cups a phrase read, “Fight Against the American; Support the Communists….” That cup probably dated back to the Korean War.
On the outside of her shack I saw stacks of firewood neatly chopped and organized under a tarp. How did she have the strength to organize and stack firewood? Who in this day and age still collects and uses firewood? Who helps her to cut down these branches? Did she get hurt doing that? Does she have children? Why are their still people that live in such a state?
In her room, she generously offered us apricots and tea. For someone with so little, she surely had emptied her closet for us. Yet I was afraid to eat them. Heck, I didn’t even want to touch them! Did she wash these? Did she wash with her hands? Did she wash her hands before she washed these? Did she drop these and pick it up from her floor that was so dirty that I wouldn’t even walk on with shoes? We saved the apricot pits so that they may plant them again.
Yet she seemed content in living in this shack. She seemed happy to have guests. She certainly was generous in giving us all she had, although none of us knew her or would ever see her again.
Thinking about our different fates and how much I am blessed to live in America, I was very humble. What kind of cars, which electronics, or iPhone 3G, all seemed ridiculously irrelevant when I thought about this old lady’s life. What gives me the right to be so selfish, greedy, and ungrateful? Afterward, wanting to cry, I handed two hundreds RMB to the guide and told her to give this money to the old lady. I knew my money wouldn’t help her life much. Maybe she could buy some vitamins and eat them for a year or two. Maybe she could replenish her fruit supply. Or maybe people who read this blog will be encouraged to give more to those who have less than we do.
Our next stop was the richest house in the village. We found it in defiant contrast to the previous home. It had a shower house, several storage rooms for food and television in the living room. The lady of the house offered us tea. We graciously accepted and completed the tour of her house by watching her husband cook a scorpion and root soup in the caldron outside.
The Schoolhouse and the Foot Massage
After the tour of the city was over we came back to The Shoolhouse at Mutianyu and met its owner. He lives with his wife and two daughters as an eco-tourism entrepreneur among 350 villagers in a small hamlet called Mutianyu under the gaze of the Great Wall. He has created a haven for the tourists seeking a small passionate environment away from the impersonal interactions of Beijing called The Schoolhouse. This small retreat has gained a lot of attention over the past couple of years as a restaurant, and a art dealership. He spoke to us about life in China and what it was like starting his own business in such a different environment. He told us of the importance of partnerships and keeping your values. He was a man of great energy and intelligence of people.
After a delectable meal cooked by a French cuisine trained Indian man from Canada living in a small village in Northern China, we got on the bus and left for the highlight of the day. We arrived at a enormous building with architectural characteristics similar to the district of Columbia’s great museums. We were about to experience something that many of us had never done before and the women dressed as nurses and candy stripers welcomed us with friendly smiles. This was a massage school where people learn the trade of becoming a masseuse. Although the people giving us the massages were only students one would have never guessed this. Their hands were strong and our feet had never needed the attention so much. After an hour of skillful kneading and rubbing we could do nothing but stare into space and try to take in what the day had just given us.
This was a day that each one of us will remember for a lifetime
June 18th, 2008
Team 6:
Today was the first day we had to ourselves in the wonderfully diverse and sprawling metropolis of Beijing. Many people took the morning to sleep away a long day and night. We used the free morning to indulge in a full body massage ($20) to release the tensions of an arduous educational experience – with full knowledge that the pace of the trip was about to increase considerably with the beginning of a new work week. The atmosphere breathed relaxation; candles and silk robes; and a slow quiet Chinese melody eased the strained mind.
Feeling refreshed, we picked a random direction to just walk around the magnificent city. We wanted to explore the old Beijing. We wandered past a Beijing barbershop. At the suggestion for past Beijing explorers, we heard a haircut was a must. For roughly $8, we got a 15 minute head massage, followed by a meticulous grooming session where each hair was cut with unexpected precision.
Moving on, we randomly ran into a Chinese entrepreneur. A man simply named Ben greeted us with an enthusiastic “Howdy guys!” In perfect English, he offered us a tour the great wall for 250 yuan. He had a whole binder filled with journal entries and references from people all over the world. If we hadn’t just been to the top, we would have acquiesced without hesitation. This was a textbook marketing case – his enthusiasm and passion were inspirational. He knew his value proposition and exploited it like a professional.
At this point, we were standing just outside the wall of the Forbidden City, and we knew we had to just get away from the hustle and bustle of the multitude of tourists that populated the area. Despite dozens of taxis just outside the gate, we were unable to find one available to give us a lift. We were saved by a friendly face motioning to us from inside a homemade motorized rickshaw. Without saying a thing we were soon sitting like sardines behind possibly the worst (or by eastern standards; the best) driver in Beijing. Upon arriving at our hotel, the driver pulled out a little book of fare rates, and flips to the outrageous price of 185 yuan per person. We looked at each other and laughed – our driver took us maybe 1000 yards. We offered 40 yuan and he refused to accept it insisting that we owed him 180 a piece. We left the 40 yuan on the seat and walked inside the hotel. From experience at the Silk Market and Dr. Peach’s class, we knew that everything is negotiable, especially in China. He knew as well as us that the price we paid was more than fair. From an ethical standpoint, we were comfortable paying for what we thought was reasonable, as a cab ride would have only cost 10 yuan.
We went to the concierge and said, “We want to see old Beijing.” They sent us to the Hutong district. It was absolutely beautiful, centered on a lake. We randomly wandered down labyrinth like back alleys, and witnessed how locals lived. Everything was small and cramped. We saw all the locals working on improving their meager quarters; washing their clothes in the streets, repairing leaks and cracks, and fixing their own windows. The Hutong district was so small and meager, but it made us think of how in influx of capitalism has changed the city. In a mere 20 years, Beijing has almost completely risen to rival Paris or Los Angeles in terms of living conditions (and housing prices). Only small glimpses of its long past remained.
The night was capped off by indulging in late night drinks with a local girl at a hookah bar on the lake. We discussed at length both the subtle and the significant differences between our cultures and governments. We shared pictures of our trip and discussed the paths of our futures as the rain pattered on the weathered roof and hookah smoke rose through the thick air of the Hutong.
The Hutong Challenge
Sunday was a free day. Each student had the option of taking the day for ourselves to shop (which has been described by other members of our groups) or we could go to The Hutong, an event that Dr. Carr lines up for us. The Hutong had been briefly described to us as a tea tasting adventure and upon that brief description a few of us decided to see what the adventure was about. Students decided early on within the curriculum whether they wanted to participate in the Hutong or not at a cost of roughly $80 USD. Initially we all thought this was too expensive but a select few of us (around 9 students only some of which were on Team 6 and the rest came from other teams; 4 faculty; and 4 China entrepreneurs lined up by Dr. Carr to speak to us) decided that the prospect of having a treasure hunt, cooking our own food, and experiencing rural China was priceless and decided to take the plunge. We learned early on in business you need to know when to take risks and when not too. This time The Hutong was worth the risk and could only be described as extremely profitable both philosophically and experientially.
The faculty and students gathered in the lobby of The Grand Hotel in China at 2:30 pm for the authentic adventure into rural China. Dr. Carr had described finding The Hutong as akin finding Narnia (a fantasy land found when four children open a wardrobe door and wander to the back only to stumble out into “Narnia” as described by author CS Lewis). Three of us were smart enough to bring the maps handed out earlier by Dr. Carr and we divided up into taxis for our hidden destination, each taxi with one map. Our taxi ride was short 10 minutes or so (15 Yuan or roughly 2 dollars or a short taxi ride). Our taxi driver looked very confused and called the number on the map and then charged us 3 Yuan for the call including the 17 Yuan for idling at the post office near the Hutong village within Beijing.
Dr. Carr and his taxi group showed just in time as our taxi driver was getting impatient about whether he had driven us to the correct location. We exited our taxi and met up with the rest of the group and began our slow decent into the rural Hutong of China. The alley ways were almost comforting as aged Chinese residents smiled at us with curious affection. A small puppy with matted fur and watery eyes peaked out of a cardboard box to let out a playful yelp as his master’s gap toothed smile reassured us of our safety. A left turn then a right, then possibly a left and another left and we heard Dr. Carr say, “Welcome to Narnia” as we were about to enter the land behind two mysterious wooden doors.
He opened the traditional red doors and sure enough, we stepped in to a Narnia like world. Mark, one of the Hutong partners greeted us with a traditional Aussie accent and the utmost hospitality. From this point on we were treated like kings and queens. Mark runs an exceptional establishment and I was not exaggerating when I told my friends that The Hutong was the best experience of the trip thus far.
Our Hutong adventure started off with a brief introduction to the Hutong and how it came to be, the business difficulties it had to surmount and the people it involved. The background was then followed by an extremely detailed tea history and information session that explained the intricacies of tea as a culture and market. For instance, who knew that you’re not supposed to leave tea in the water for more than a few seconds? Leaving it in the water increases the acidic content and ruins the tea.
After our brief overview of tea, we were handed out a detailed scavenger hunt and divided the group into two person teams. We had 30 minutes to wander around the Hutong Village and accomplish goals such as buy something green and slimy and round and seedy in a hidden market, take a picture under a white archway, translate a police warning poster and count the number of security cameras. Upon returning to The Hutong we were given aprons and assigned new teams. We were escorted to the kitchen where numerous recipes were laid out on the kitchen table with a wealth of ingredients for each recipe nearby, including Red Capicums (Australian for Red Bell Peppers). Mark jibed us a few times for not knowing what a capsicum was but we immediately laughed it off as he constantly provided us with cold Tsing Tao’s (The Bud Light of Chinese Beers). Each group came up with a creative name and cooked an absolutely amazing dish. We had dishes ranging from spicy tofu with Chinese characters of peace and love scribed on the plate to meat kabobs with flower cut mushrooms and Red Capicums (Mark forgive me if I spelled “capsicums” incorrectly). The dishes were (and I say this with absolute honesty) utterly amazing. Each group created an absolutely fabulous dish and they were all intensely delicious. Our dessert was an orange poppy seed cake with whip cream and concluded the meal perfectly.
Our dinner was followed by presentations by each entrepreneur and a description of their businesses and passion. We heard from The Library Project, an intensely passionate program run by Tom Stader that focuses on utilizing $1,000 to build libraries for Chinese school children in rural areas. Next was a film executive director and producer, Siok Siok Tan, who focused on documentaries on the Olympics (Boomtown Beijing) and a documentary on graffiti within the Chinese community. The last presenter was MCK, an owner of a branding company called Khaki Creative, focusing on the Chinese market. Each presenter was unique and special in their own area of expertise. They were inspiring people to learn from and we thank each of them for their time.
As the night winded down, each of us stepped back through the red door of The Hutong and out of Narnia, and back into the real world. A brief lapse of depression washed over us as we realized we now had to find our way back out of The Hutong maze of streets and buildings. I actually looked out and down each street for a recognizable face and upon finding none, ducked back into The Hutong to try and find friends and teachers to guide me back to civilization.
Over all the event was the best I’ve had by far and extremely memorable. I would recommend working with Mark to set up an event at the The Hutong to anyone coming to China. You will not regret the experience.
Team 7:
Today was our free day in Beijing.
Many students began the day by visiting the Silk Market. This was a great opportunity for everyone to practice the negotiating skills that Dr. Peach taught us last winter. People purchased everything imaginable, from suits to prescription sunglasses. Beautiful silk and bamboo fans, tea sets, purses, pearls, old coins, toys, silk ties, articles of clothing and traditional art work were also popular items. Shopping in the Silk Market was an educational experience. It became evident that “best prices” are suggestions, and that the stall keepers would most likely sell you an item for a lower price if you walk away from them. It was interesting to see that a simple fan may be quoted to you at 280 RMB but that you could walk away with that fan for 15 RMB. It also became clear that the seller would give different people different starting prices and handle the negotiations differently depending on the customer (classic market segmentation). A shopper could easily spend all day at Silk Street bargaining or even observing other people bargain. It was fascinating to see how the shopkeepers worked.
A couple of the Chinese students in our program tried shopping by themselves in the Silk Market, but without the true American-looking people surrounding them, little or no customer service was provided by the shopkeepers, and these Chinese students felt somewhat mistreated because they received less (or no) customer service, and sometimes simply ignored. The Chinese students then experimented, and started speaking to each other only in English, hoping the shopkeepers would notice and realize these Chinese students were from America, and start providing more customer service. It worked! However, once the shopkeepers knew these students were from America, they no longer wanted the extra customer service. The shopkeepers started getting more aggressive and as the Chinese students started walking away from a ridiculous offer, one of the shopkeepers started pulling on one of the Chinese students to go back to their shop and accepted the Chinese student’s price. These Chinese students realized that customer service was best given when the shopkeepers know you are a foreigner, and they also automatically assumed you were Chinese just because you looked Asian, and in addition would automatically assume you knew how to speak Mandarin.
In the morning, while some students went to the Silk Market, others visited the Summer Palace, which was opened to the public in 1914. This palace was built to celebrate Emperor Qianlong’s mother’s birthday in 1750. It was used by the emperor and his family for pleasure. The Summer Palace was burned down and badly damaged by the conquering colonial powers not once, but twice. The Palace is representative of how the Chinese people have and continue to be capable of building large scale magnificent projects rapidly. This site is rich in culture and home to an imperial garden and the Tower of the Fragrance of the Buddha. It appeared that people still come to the tower to worship. The architecture was remarkable. The Garden of Harmonious Interests is a replica of a famous garden in South China. The garden consists of buildings surrounding a lotus pond. We were fortunate to witness women in traditional dress posing on the bridges of the garden. Sitting on the long corridor in front of the lake, home to the largest painted gallery in the world, one could imagine sitting there in 1750 watching boats float by. Despite the large crowds of tourists and school children wanting to be photographed with Americans, it was very relaxing watching the boats and listening to traditional music.
For dinner one group of students ventured to Ghost Street in an attempt to eat in a local restaurant. The street was lit with red paper lanterns. After walking down the street and seeing many different types of cuisine, ranging from Taiwanese to Muslim, we decided to try a hot pot meal. For this type of meal, a pan divided into different sections is placed over a propane fueled burner at your table and you cook the items that you ordered at the table. The group concluded that it was one of the best meals of the trip despite the fact that we sweated more during dinner than on our trek up the Great Wall. Upon exiting the restaurant we discovered that it wasn’t our imagination and in fact it was hotter inside than out. We cooled down by purchasing delicious ice cream. While none of us knew what flavor we were buying we were all pleasantly surprised by our choices.
June 18th, 2008
Today we checked out of the Grand Hotel Beijing at 10:00 am; this would be our last day in Beijing.
We began the day with a fascinating presentation at a nearby conference room from an expat and executive from Ogilvy, a marketing consulting firm. He began his speech by discussing the internet in China and the latest issues surrounding it. Topics included the demographics of China’s “netizens”, the internet’s major uses, and marketing tactics. He mentioned that the Chinese use the internet mainly for entertainment purposes and prefer instant messaging over email. He also discussed the misconceptions concerning the “Great Firewall of China.” This term is really a misnomer and its myths mirror those of the Great Wall of China (it cannot be seen from space and it can be penetrated). There are relatively easy ways around these restrictions for those who are computer savvy and 99% of internet users don’t care much about said firewall restrictions. In addition, he noted there are only 30,000 “internet cops” policing the entire population of China’s internet users. It is a challenge for this enforcement group to control the country’s netizens. He also provided insightful, honest and enjoyable information about his business experiences in China. It was an excellent and informative presentation.
Our second visit of the day was to Beijing United Family Hospital where many of the doctors are expats. The operations manager of United Foundation for Chinese Orphans (UFCO), talked to us about her efforts in helping orphans find medical treatment. For several years sge has been enlisting young volunteers to help be caregivers to orphaned children, and often abandoned infants. Her stories were remarkable and touching, and at some points seemed overwhelming. She is a very strong individual to be able to deal with such emotionally charged cases. She talked about different sources of funding for her non-profit organization including fund raisers, and talked about the interaction with international adoptees and the financial incentives ($3,000 per adopted child) for the orphanage.
Before boarding the night train for Suzhou we visited Carre Four, a French retailer equivalent to Wal- Mart. Our goal on this visit was twofold — first, to load up on snack and dinner for the beckoning 11 hour train ride, and second, to compare and contrast with the Wal-Mart business model. Upon entering we noticed that we were in a small mall which eventually turned into Carre Four. We went up flat escalator ramps to the second and third floors. The floor was huge and the layout was similar to familiar isles back home, the products however, were very foreign. There were isles dedicated to rice wines, and isles dedicated to instant noodle bowls. Familiar products were also available, from red wines to deodorants, but these came at a steep premium. The perimeter of the store was like that of a grocery store back home it had delis, butchers, bakeries and fresh produce. The amount of seafood was comparable to the amount of other meats and most of the seafood was live or very fresh on ice. A lot of the meat products and cuts seem to be oddities to people from the west, but it is important to understand that many people who came from rural areas or poor families grew up on these more affordable food items, but have grown accustomed to them and enjoy eating them even once they move into big cities and earn higher incomes.
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The train station at Beijing was incredibly packed; many people in China seem to have no reservations about pushing and shoving. It is difficult to imagine a similar scene at a U.S. train station. It just shows that public transportation is still the main form of transportation for many Chinese residents. We were fortunate to avoid much of the afternoon rain and we finally boarded the sleeper cars at 7:30 pm on our way to Suzhou.
June 18th, 2008
Man, kids are the best.
Just this week my seven year old, Amelia, asked me the following questions:
First set of questions: “Papa, who came first - God or humans? And if God came first, then who made God?”
Second set of questions: “Papa, how big is the Great Wall? And how many inches are in the Earth?”
Ok.
So where does one start with the first set of questions? That’s a pretty big issue to tackle. Did my best.
Re: the first part of the second set of questions, you would think it’s an easy question to answer …. until you find yourself having to explain it to someone who has never seen the Great Wall and/or whose sense of “big” is completely different than your own. But I did a bit better on this one, due to the good work of a recent National Geographic feature on China that I could show her.
Click HERE to see this visual of the Great Wall super-imposed onto a map of the United States that appeared inside that issue (it was a special issue on China called China: Inside the Dragon). The scope of this project was amazing. Can you imagine being the project manager responsible for making this thing happen, meeting budget, finding the right personnel, etc.? Makes my piddly little management worries and stresses seem insignificant.
And little Amelia, you are the best. Thank you for your wonderful honesty and curiosity about the world. It inspires and reminds me to keep learning and asking questions.
June 17th, 2008
Last quarter I had you watch The Tank Man. Most of you seemed to like the video. Many of you were understandably shocked by how today’s young people and students in China did not know about or had forgotten the T*a*an*^n S***r* incident of the same day of this post, 19 years ago (click HERE for a picture that is worth a thousand words in memoriam to those brave souls who put themselves on the line that day; h/t to the China Law Blog for the picture lead).
This article in today’s Wall Street Journal (click HERE) touches on this very point. See, read and learn more about this phenomenon among the youth and college educated of today’s China. Your thoughts?
See also this recent WSJ article. Christian Groups Step Delicately in Sichuan. I had written on this very topic in my recent post, Human Rights, Part II. This raises an interesting religious, moral, legal and ethical question: What would Jesus do?
That is …
1. Would he travel to Sichuan, and pray, comfort and give counseling (only) and not violate or challenge Chinese law that forbids proselytizing in China, particularly by foreigners (at least via spoken as opposed to conduct)?
OR
2. Would he travel to China and enter China under the guise of signaling aid and comfort as the reason for being there but the true purpose being otherwise (see related quote in the article, “When Jesus said go out to the world and preach the gospel, he didn’t say just go to those places where you can get a visa.”)?
OR
3. Does is matter what said motivation is for going there? The point being he went and he served.
I don’t have a clue what he (or any icon in another religion) would do in this situation. I am a mere mortal that cannot read heavenly minds. Nor do I have the confidence to boldly advise others that the answer is black and white due to a piece of scripture I select to support my case while ignoring those segments that may suggest otherwise.
This is a difficult question but an important one to ask for China, its future, and how China and religious organizations interact in the future for the betterment of a “harmonious” society.
What do you think?
June 4th, 2008
UC San Diego Professor and former Deputy Assistant of State responsible for China, Susan Shirk, has written an outstanding book, China: Fragile Superpower: How China’s Internal Politics Could Derail Its Peaceful Rise. Her book is so good and so well written that I will likely require it as book review reading next year for all students.
In her book she has an excellent chapter on how the media and internet present both challenges and opportunities for the CCP. For example, the “let’s bash Japan” issue and phenomenon in China has now become even more of a volatile issue that the CCP cannot control and manage to its benefit, in large part due to the Internet.
This NY Times article, China Leader Makes Debut in Great Wall of Facebook, made me think of her excellent book and analysis, and her chapter on the media and Internet. Although Prime Minister Wen Jiabao still lags behind people like Obama and Aaaarnold in number of fans, he is ahead of icons like Ronald Reagan and rabble-rousers such as Hugo Chavez.
One other thing about this article of note:
Once the earthquake hit, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao got his butt out to Sichuan, right away, to at least go through the public motions that showed he and the government were there and cared (too bad they were asleep on building code issues for schools before the quake, though, in particular - but that debate will occur in another place and in another time).
See also this NY Times article, Fearing Floods: China Orders Evacuations in Quake Area, re: how the Chinese government just ordered the evacuation of 150,000, that’s right 150,000 people, due to possible flooding if a natural dam were to burst. And an estimated 16 MILLION buildings were destroyed by the quake (click here). 16 friggin’ MILLION! The import here is that in China, Katrina like events and disasters are not unusual (e.g., Yangtze flooding; the snowstorm this past winter that stranded hundreds of thousands of peasants at train stations trying to get back to see their families during the Chinese New Year, etc.), and their top down government/model seems to handle these situations pretty well (see my related post on this topic, Human Rights, Part II). To move and evacuate 150,000 people in China, with it’s 1.3 billion people, tends to be ho-hum news that makes page three, not page one. And the CCP knows it has to get these situations right … if they botch too many of these post natural disaster relief situations, it knows its days in power will be numbered. Not many second or certainly third chances will be given in today’s Internet world to top down governments.
Yep, ladies and gents, this is not yo’ momma’s CCP.
May 28th, 2008
I have been watching and studying some of the US business schools who have entered the China MBA market for some time now (joint executive MBA programs are the usual market entry strategy). One such school is the University of Maryland Smith School of Business; an excellent business school with excellent programs, students and faculty and with loads of money to do great things (they are not scared to charge market rates).
For example, click HERE to learn about what schools like Smith are doing in China with their executive MBA program. It seems that each week I get a high quality marketing brochure in the mail from Smith re: one of its programs and said brochure, just one of them, must cost at least as much as my entire marketing budget for all of our Cal Poly Orfalea College of Business graduate programs.
Well, even the big boys falter. Smith just closed up it’s executive MBA program in Beijing (only); it looks like its much larger and well known Shanghai program is alive and well. Other B-schools are also struggling. See this May 15, 2008 Business Week article that just came out, China: Why Western B-Schools Are Leaving. Yet another good example of how local Chinese (in this case Chinese MBA programs) can replicate and achieve quality quickly, thereby making things miserable for the early foreign market entrants.
The money quote in this article:
Thirty Chinese universities are now authorized by Beijing to provide executive MBA programs. “The Chinese schools are coming right at the teeth of what I offer,” says Gary Gaeth, the associate dean of the University of Iowa’s Henry B. Tippie School of Management, which will start a program with the highly regarded Peking University this year. “And their MBA programs are every bit as good as everyone else’s.”
Oh, how that market and invisible hand can quickly swing the other way.
Yes, in China, when you make it you can make it big. But when you lose, well, you know the rest of the line. In China, experienced and knowledgeable expats will tell you, “Here, anything is possible. But nothing is easy.”
May 19th, 2008
Westerners can be ethnocentric (see, e.g., my previous post and our comment discussion, Cultural Knuckleheads in the Global World); but let’s be fair — so can others, including the Chinese. And per Dr. Morris’ lecture with us we learned that a fair bit of this stems from China’s historical “we are the Middle Kingdom” and our emperor has a “mandate from Heaven” cultural superiority/bias/thing and that house of cards. On either side of the Pacific, ethnocentrism is not terribly attractive, in my view.
I also see over-the-top nationalism to be a subset of ethnocentrism. Example: “I love my country” = okay and it seems to me is not ethnocentric and is legitimate patriotism. But “I love my country because we are the best at or we have the best ____” or “We’re Number One!” many times = obnoxious nationalism and hence ethnocentrism (particularly when said by one who has not traveled much to be able to have a decent sample size to gauge what the “best” or “No. 1″ is or by someone who is afraid to try new things and/or is not terribly adventurous).
Yes, the line between legitimate patriotism and obnoxious nationalism is fine, but it’s important. It’s easy to tip from one into the other.
See Dan Harris’ recent China Law Blog post on this very subject (Chinese nationalism) and how it relates to business. It’s worth the read.
Some will argue one side caused or led to the other’s grief. I have no idea how to sort out the casual chain. Others will offer excuses for their ethnocentrism (whether it’s western, eastern, northern hemisphere, southern hemisphere, or other) (e.g., “But you misunderstand me. I am not really that way as a person; and how can I be classified as ethnocentric for believing what I believe. That’s not fair. And in any event, I am right, you know.”). That stuff does not much matter to me. At some point, we all just need to get over the reasons and excuses, cut out the feeling of being right and/or superior to the other, and move forward.
Your thoughts?
Prof. Carr June 10, 2008 addendum: See the WSJ article that just came out relating to this very post, Victim or Victor? China’s Olympic Odyssey
May 18th, 2008
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