I have spent much time deciding in which font to type. And I've also been vacillating on whether or not I would post again. I decided to post. Then I had to decide on what topic I should post. Since this was a blog initially dedicated to my travels in China, I will return to addressing that issue.
It has been just over 10 months since I have been in that country. So what do I miss the most?
Economically speaking, the prices were enticing. Eating cheap, smoking cheap, drinking cheap, traveling cheap, etc. etc. etc. But this is unimportant. But beyond that, I just miss the feeling of being abroad in a place I am unfamiliar with. And even beyond that, there are just fun things about China that cannot be found here, such as:
Ability to use public transportation to travel to anywhere you would like.
Food stands that do not close until 4AM. And all Chinese food.
Karaoke bars.
Friendly Chinese people who enjoy drinking (all men).
Air pollution.
Ground pollution.
Water pollution.
This is becoming a boring post. I will spice it up with an anecdote about life. Or I won't. Next time.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Shanghai Adventures
So finally I have arrived in Beijing after a tiring last month of work and business. I now have the time and will to update this regularly with all the stories/events that I have acquired through my travels. This post, I will explain exactly what my job was in Shanghai, with the following post explaining what happened while I was in Suzhou, visiting my father's friend who works at a factory near Suzhou/Wuxi.
So in Shanghai, I worked for a company called XPT Shanghai (Although their official name in Chinese is Lufeng Cultural Expansion Company Ltd. or something to that effect). The company is an entertainment group that supplies events/parties for brand promotion, clubs, holiday events, and more.
I worked a one month internship with this company, and basically had two duties.
One: I would work in the office from about 12 in the afternoon until 8 in the evening, and I would do small duties, as well as correcting their English translations (the only native English speaker there was the boss who was very strapped for time, so I would make sure that the other workers' English translations were correct).
Two: In the evenings, I would help provide entertainment at the parties. During my tenure with the company, the majority of the events were located at clubs, who would hire us out for two hour shows, differing in size and theme.
The company has about twenty different theme parties, ranging from some called Broadway, Fire & Ice, Future, to Hollywood. Each one contains different costumes and decorations that will be set up in the clubs. At the party, the company supplies a team of people to work the club that night, with different clubs wanting different amounts of people. Some nights it would be seven people, other nights three. At the parties, there are three different positions a person can fill:
DJ: They DJ. Obviously.
Dancers: These are more professional dancers, who spend the majority of the party on stage dancing, and whose costumes are more intricate than the others.
Animations: These are people who as well as dance on stage, they will also go out within the crowd, dance with the people, interact with them, drink with them, smoke with them, and generally make sure that the club's clientele all have a good time. They also dress up in costumes, but are more lightweight and smaller, allowing for easy movement around the club.
So at night, I would work as an animation. The costume getups they had for me to dress up in were pretty crazy, but the club's clientele just loved us.
This is the basis of what I did for a month in Shanghai and in cities around Shanghai that we traveled to. In my next post, I will detail many things I learned about operating a foreign business in China and between the interaction between the foreigners and Chinese, both within the company and with clients.
So in Shanghai, I worked for a company called XPT Shanghai (Although their official name in Chinese is Lufeng Cultural Expansion Company Ltd. or something to that effect). The company is an entertainment group that supplies events/parties for brand promotion, clubs, holiday events, and more.
I worked a one month internship with this company, and basically had two duties.
One: I would work in the office from about 12 in the afternoon until 8 in the evening, and I would do small duties, as well as correcting their English translations (the only native English speaker there was the boss who was very strapped for time, so I would make sure that the other workers' English translations were correct).
Two: In the evenings, I would help provide entertainment at the parties. During my tenure with the company, the majority of the events were located at clubs, who would hire us out for two hour shows, differing in size and theme.
The company has about twenty different theme parties, ranging from some called Broadway, Fire & Ice, Future, to Hollywood. Each one contains different costumes and decorations that will be set up in the clubs. At the party, the company supplies a team of people to work the club that night, with different clubs wanting different amounts of people. Some nights it would be seven people, other nights three. At the parties, there are three different positions a person can fill:
DJ: They DJ. Obviously.
Dancers: These are more professional dancers, who spend the majority of the party on stage dancing, and whose costumes are more intricate than the others.
Animations: These are people who as well as dance on stage, they will also go out within the crowd, dance with the people, interact with them, drink with them, smoke with them, and generally make sure that the club's clientele all have a good time. They also dress up in costumes, but are more lightweight and smaller, allowing for easy movement around the club.
So at night, I would work as an animation. The costume getups they had for me to dress up in were pretty crazy, but the club's clientele just loved us.
This is the basis of what I did for a month in Shanghai and in cities around Shanghai that we traveled to. In my next post, I will detail many things I learned about operating a foreign business in China and between the interaction between the foreigners and Chinese, both within the company and with clients.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Finally I Am Back
So after a long haitus, I will finally update my blog again. For now I am in Shanghai, living with 7 other people in an apartment in Pudong, but for now I will continue to discuss what happened in Yiwu.
So I mentioned before, in Yiwu I met with a factory owner, a trading agent and many proprietors of the shops in Yiwu. Both the trading agents and the shops directly interact with the customers, but the factories more rarely will see who is buying their goods.
First off, it seemed that most of the buyers of goods were either from the Middle East, Europe, other Asian countries and Africa, because I rarely saw anyone buying from America. Apparently, though, this is because they rarely go the market themselves, they will just have the trading agent do all the work for them. And if they are a constant costumer, they sometimes won't even go to Yiwu at all to make the trades.
One thing I was interested in was the difficulties that the traders run in to, particularly when it came to specific nationalities or gender. One of the store owners, a 23 year old woman, said she had problems working with women that came to her shop because they would just constantly try and bargain but didn't actually know the absolute highest they were willing to pay. She told me that the men that came there had calculated everything out already and knew exactly what they would pay, and the transaction would go by much more quickly.
Most store owners also said, though, that women don't usually come to the stores and that it's mostly men that are buying goods. This was particularly true at a Muslim religious shop that dealt mostly with the Middle East. The one exception to this is that the buyers from South Africa are nearly all women, but none of the store owners seemed to know why.
When it came to nationalities, the two that most store owners seemed to have the most trouble with was the Koreans and the Russians. The Russians because they have a perception of trying to cheat the store owners and the Koreans because they are looked upon as being cheap. One store owner told me the Koreans and the Japanese would want everything down to perfect detail, with the best materia available but wouldn't be willing to even come close to paying full price.
Another store owner told me about a regular customer he had, in Russia, who had bought three boxes of goods before. Then, on their next order which they hadn't payed for yet because they were considered a good customer, they just never picked up the box of goods from customs. After sitting at customs for a few months, the customer then went and bought the goods back at auction for much cheaper than they would've payed the Chinese wholesaler.
This is part of what I did and learned in Yiwu. For now I'm in Shanghai, working for the entertainment company XPT (http://www.xptshanghai.com). I work weekdays correcting English in the office, and at nights at bars/clubs, where my job is to dance with the people and drink with them to make sure they enjoy the party. I'll start updating my blog more regularly, so check back soon.
So I mentioned before, in Yiwu I met with a factory owner, a trading agent and many proprietors of the shops in Yiwu. Both the trading agents and the shops directly interact with the customers, but the factories more rarely will see who is buying their goods.
First off, it seemed that most of the buyers of goods were either from the Middle East, Europe, other Asian countries and Africa, because I rarely saw anyone buying from America. Apparently, though, this is because they rarely go the market themselves, they will just have the trading agent do all the work for them. And if they are a constant costumer, they sometimes won't even go to Yiwu at all to make the trades.
One thing I was interested in was the difficulties that the traders run in to, particularly when it came to specific nationalities or gender. One of the store owners, a 23 year old woman, said she had problems working with women that came to her shop because they would just constantly try and bargain but didn't actually know the absolute highest they were willing to pay. She told me that the men that came there had calculated everything out already and knew exactly what they would pay, and the transaction would go by much more quickly.
Most store owners also said, though, that women don't usually come to the stores and that it's mostly men that are buying goods. This was particularly true at a Muslim religious shop that dealt mostly with the Middle East. The one exception to this is that the buyers from South Africa are nearly all women, but none of the store owners seemed to know why.
When it came to nationalities, the two that most store owners seemed to have the most trouble with was the Koreans and the Russians. The Russians because they have a perception of trying to cheat the store owners and the Koreans because they are looked upon as being cheap. One store owner told me the Koreans and the Japanese would want everything down to perfect detail, with the best materia available but wouldn't be willing to even come close to paying full price.
Another store owner told me about a regular customer he had, in Russia, who had bought three boxes of goods before. Then, on their next order which they hadn't payed for yet because they were considered a good customer, they just never picked up the box of goods from customs. After sitting at customs for a few months, the customer then went and bought the goods back at auction for much cheaper than they would've payed the Chinese wholesaler.
This is part of what I did and learned in Yiwu. For now I'm in Shanghai, working for the entertainment company XPT (http://www.xptshanghai.com). I work weekdays correcting English in the office, and at nights at bars/clubs, where my job is to dance with the people and drink with them to make sure they enjoy the party. I'll start updating my blog more regularly, so check back soon.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Heeello.
It's been a long time since I've posted. Mainly because proxies have been blocked like crazy and because I've been really busy with my visa.
So first things first, my visa. When I was in Shanghai, the hostel told me that I would need to go to the visa office the next day and register for residence in China. So, Shuai and I got up early and headed to the visa office. I grabbed a number and waited for a couple hours, and finally got to the counter. Shuai wasn't with me, so I was left to talk to the man alone. From the conversation, I deduced that I could not in fact register for residence in Shanghai because I will be studying in Harbin. Well, it was currently 3PM and I was not in the mood to be told I had to travel to Harbin, especially since I needed to be there by the next day.
Nevertheless, with the amazing help of Shane Nunn, I was able to get a plane ticket for that evening. The plane was for 9:10PM, and I was running close at 8:30 arriving at the airport. Luckily, I made it through in time to wait until 9:40 to board, and until 11:00PM to take flight. I arrived at Wentian's apartment at 2:30AM. Quite fun.
The next day we went to the university and with the help of Peggy, we were able to get to the visa office in Harbin that morning. We gave them my passport, temporary visa, and everything else, and they told us to go the next Monday to get a checkup at the doctor. After that I would be clear to go.
So Monday I arrive at the doctor's bright and early. I've been told that all I need is my passport number and I will be good to go. Well, we get up to the window with everything ready, and they tell me that I at least need a copy of my passport to be able to get the exam (the visa office for some reason kept my passport and all my documents).
So Tuesday, I again arrive at the doctor's bright and early. And I get to the window with copies of every document I have and they tell me that, no, I need my real passport or I cannot do this. So, I had to go to the visa office and get my passport back, and question why they had kept it in the first place.
Either way, tomorrow will be a good day because I will go to the doctor and get my checkup. Then I wait a while, and I will finally have my visa. Right now, I have to go with Ning to the train station to pick up Shuai, so I will post again soon with more of my experiences in Yiwu (still haven't been in Shanghai meeting with businesses because of the visa ordeal).
So first things first, my visa. When I was in Shanghai, the hostel told me that I would need to go to the visa office the next day and register for residence in China. So, Shuai and I got up early and headed to the visa office. I grabbed a number and waited for a couple hours, and finally got to the counter. Shuai wasn't with me, so I was left to talk to the man alone. From the conversation, I deduced that I could not in fact register for residence in Shanghai because I will be studying in Harbin. Well, it was currently 3PM and I was not in the mood to be told I had to travel to Harbin, especially since I needed to be there by the next day.
Nevertheless, with the amazing help of Shane Nunn, I was able to get a plane ticket for that evening. The plane was for 9:10PM, and I was running close at 8:30 arriving at the airport. Luckily, I made it through in time to wait until 9:40 to board, and until 11:00PM to take flight. I arrived at Wentian's apartment at 2:30AM. Quite fun.
The next day we went to the university and with the help of Peggy, we were able to get to the visa office in Harbin that morning. We gave them my passport, temporary visa, and everything else, and they told us to go the next Monday to get a checkup at the doctor. After that I would be clear to go.
So Monday I arrive at the doctor's bright and early. I've been told that all I need is my passport number and I will be good to go. Well, we get up to the window with everything ready, and they tell me that I at least need a copy of my passport to be able to get the exam (the visa office for some reason kept my passport and all my documents).
So Tuesday, I again arrive at the doctor's bright and early. And I get to the window with copies of every document I have and they tell me that, no, I need my real passport or I cannot do this. So, I had to go to the visa office and get my passport back, and question why they had kept it in the first place.
Either way, tomorrow will be a good day because I will go to the doctor and get my checkup. Then I wait a while, and I will finally have my visa. Right now, I have to go with Ning to the train station to pick up Shuai, so I will post again soon with more of my experiences in Yiwu (still haven't been in Shanghai meeting with businesses because of the visa ordeal).
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Yiwu Meetings
So I'm in Shanghai now and finally have found a proxy that works and allows me to update this blog. So this post will be dedicated to my experiences in Yiwu.
To begin, let me describe the city of Yiwu, known as "the small commodities market city." There is a reason that is the nickname of Yiwu, because the market in Yiwu is amazing. It is the largest wholesale market in the world. It is over 1km long, has 4 stories, and contains over 70,000 shops and over 500,000 different types of goods you can buy wholesale from Chinese factories. Almost every factory in China has a booth in Yiwu, making this an international business hot spot.
The largest populations of foreigners in Yiwu were Korean and Middle Eastern, which was readily apparent by the massive amounts of Middle Eastern restaurants and hookah in Yiwu. In the market you could see people from Europe, Africa, South America, North America, and Asia all buying goods wholesale so they could sell to their home markets, or maybe even redistribute them again to businesses.
I began my trip through Yiwu going to the market and interviewing the shop owners there. I will give a general overview of what I've learned they do and who they work with. Basically, the shops are filled with samples of products from the factories, and all the customers that want to buy goods will walk around the market looking for goods that they are interested in buying. All the foreigners will come with a trade agent, who has a knowledge of the market and knows where to take them. Also, the agent will help the customer bargain with the shops, work with the government to export the goods, and also just allows foreigners who do not speak Chinese to communicate with the shops.
The shop owners will negotiate with the customers and take down their order. Once the order has been made, the shop will send the order to the factory for production. Once the goods are produced, the factory will send all of these goods to the trading agent's company, who in turn will ship these products overseas to their customers destination, who then will pick up the goods at customs, and the deal is done.
This is the basic way that companies are able to buy cheap goods in China, and in subsequent posts I will discuss how the Chinese have difficulties dealing with other countries and the risks involved for each party.
To begin, let me describe the city of Yiwu, known as "the small commodities market city." There is a reason that is the nickname of Yiwu, because the market in Yiwu is amazing. It is the largest wholesale market in the world. It is over 1km long, has 4 stories, and contains over 70,000 shops and over 500,000 different types of goods you can buy wholesale from Chinese factories. Almost every factory in China has a booth in Yiwu, making this an international business hot spot.
The largest populations of foreigners in Yiwu were Korean and Middle Eastern, which was readily apparent by the massive amounts of Middle Eastern restaurants and hookah in Yiwu. In the market you could see people from Europe, Africa, South America, North America, and Asia all buying goods wholesale so they could sell to their home markets, or maybe even redistribute them again to businesses.
I began my trip through Yiwu going to the market and interviewing the shop owners there. I will give a general overview of what I've learned they do and who they work with. Basically, the shops are filled with samples of products from the factories, and all the customers that want to buy goods will walk around the market looking for goods that they are interested in buying. All the foreigners will come with a trade agent, who has a knowledge of the market and knows where to take them. Also, the agent will help the customer bargain with the shops, work with the government to export the goods, and also just allows foreigners who do not speak Chinese to communicate with the shops.
The shop owners will negotiate with the customers and take down their order. Once the order has been made, the shop will send the order to the factory for production. Once the goods are produced, the factory will send all of these goods to the trading agent's company, who in turn will ship these products overseas to their customers destination, who then will pick up the goods at customs, and the deal is done.
This is the basic way that companies are able to buy cheap goods in China, and in subsequent posts I will discuss how the Chinese have difficulties dealing with other countries and the risks involved for each party.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
In Yiwu
This morning I arrived in Yiwu from the train, and Shuai and I immediately went to obtain a hotel room. We ate breakfast and soon after, Shane, the Hendrix alumnus who I'm indebted to for helping me out so much met us at the hotel. After resting for a while, we went out for what was to be my first view of Chinese business and the beginning of my studies into Chinese business style.
We went across the street to the wholesale market in Yiwu. Describing it cannot even come close to bringing this massive place justice. It is over 1km long, with 4 floors, all advertising items you can buy wholesale from factories. It's the largest wholesale market in the world and is very impressive. So, we went through and along the way, talked with some of the workers, and set up meetings tomorrow with 8 of them.
In these meetings, I will be able to learn about how goods from China are sold internationally, because nearly every factory in China has a booth set up in the market. Everything from plastics, to cell phones, to hair clips, to pool floaties. People from all over the world come here to buy goods, and after my interviews tomorrow, I will be able to explain this system of business much better.
I will get some rest now, because I need to wake up early to make it to meet an agent who assists foreigners in buying goods, and then I will be on my way to the wholesale market. I will post the results of my interviews on here. Until next time, zaijian.
We went across the street to the wholesale market in Yiwu. Describing it cannot even come close to bringing this massive place justice. It is over 1km long, with 4 floors, all advertising items you can buy wholesale from factories. It's the largest wholesale market in the world and is very impressive. So, we went through and along the way, talked with some of the workers, and set up meetings tomorrow with 8 of them.
In these meetings, I will be able to learn about how goods from China are sold internationally, because nearly every factory in China has a booth set up in the market. Everything from plastics, to cell phones, to hair clips, to pool floaties. People from all over the world come here to buy goods, and after my interviews tomorrow, I will be able to explain this system of business much better.
I will get some rest now, because I need to wake up early to make it to meet an agent who assists foreigners in buying goods, and then I will be on my way to the wholesale market. I will post the results of my interviews on here. Until next time, zaijian.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
A Vacation From Myself
In what I see as probably some of the worst news of the year, it appears that I will lose a bet when June comes to an end, unless a miracle happens. And the horrible result of this bet is I will have to grow facial hair for a month. I never have wanted to grow facial hair and never have. It's not something I look forward to either, but alas, it appears on the horizon so I have been doing some thinking about what kind of facial hair I will grow.
I can say for certain now that I don't want any type of goatee or soul patch. I'm leaning now towards the simple mustache, just because I can't even imagine myself with anything else. But, I'm up for suggestions. Let me know how I should ruin my face with hair that is bound to look like a puberty mustache.
In other news, tomorrow we will be returning to Guilin from Nanning. I've had a good time in both Nanning and Beihai, but it's time that I begin my work trip up to Yiwu, Shanghai, and Beijing.
I'd say the highlights of Nanning and Beihai have to be experiencing the Chinese way of eating and drinking, and of course swimming in the ocean, which is always fun. We also got to walk down the street in Beihai, it was pretty damn old and I'll post photos. Until then, Shuai and I are planning our train travels and I have to get out of this internet bar because the internet is super slow.
I can say for certain now that I don't want any type of goatee or soul patch. I'm leaning now towards the simple mustache, just because I can't even imagine myself with anything else. But, I'm up for suggestions. Let me know how I should ruin my face with hair that is bound to look like a puberty mustache.
In other news, tomorrow we will be returning to Guilin from Nanning. I've had a good time in both Nanning and Beihai, but it's time that I begin my work trip up to Yiwu, Shanghai, and Beijing.
I'd say the highlights of Nanning and Beihai have to be experiencing the Chinese way of eating and drinking, and of course swimming in the ocean, which is always fun. We also got to walk down the street in Beihai, it was pretty damn old and I'll post photos. Until then, Shuai and I are planning our train travels and I have to get out of this internet bar because the internet is super slow.
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