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).
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
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.
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