Tomorrow morning we leave for Beijing, and I'm unsure as to how much Internet access I'll have there, if any. I'll post something as soon as possible to, but it may not be until I'm back in the States on June 2.
After we get to Beijing tomorrow evening, we're going to the Summer Palace. Thursday is the Great Wall. Friday is a corporate visit to Zurich Financial and then a tour of the Forbidden City. Our accomodations are at the Guangzhou Hotel.
I'll be sure to post pictures from Beijing as soon as possible. Check back on June 3 if not before. I hope you have enjoyed seeing Shanghai through my blog thus far.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Lecture, Graduation and Corporate Visit to Siemens
This morning we had our last lecture on the Chinese Financial Market, which was then followed by a graduation ceremony where we received a diploma from East China Normal University and a plaque with our group's photo on it.
This afternoon, we went to our last corporate visit in Shanghai: Siemens. It was very interesting to learn about how Siemens is capitalizing on the huge and rapidly industrializing Chinese market.
Tonight we are heading to dinner with some of the ECNU faculty before we depart in the morning for Beijing via the local airport.
This afternoon, we went to our last corporate visit in Shanghai: Siemens. It was very interesting to learn about how Siemens is capitalizing on the huge and rapidly industrializing Chinese market.
Tonight we are heading to dinner with some of the ECNU faculty before we depart in the morning for Beijing via the local airport.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Lecture from Gary Gao, Attorney-at-Law
This afternoon we heard from Gary Gao, an attorney specializing in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). He gave an excellent summary of the Chinese civil law legal system (which is very different from the common law system of the U.S.), and then got into specifics about FDI. This lecture was particularly interesting to me because of its dual nature of law and business.
Corporate Visit to AIG on the Bund
Today we visited American International Group, Inc. (AIG), a major multinational insurance and financial services company. We met with a Belgian ex-pat executive with AIG who overseas China, Japan and Taiwan, and formerly oversaw Africa from a base in Johannesburg, South Africa. Then we went a few blocks further downtown to the Bund and toured AIA, a branch of AIG. We saw CV Starr's original office (first picture below) which is now a museum about AIG's founding.
According to the website available HERE:
"In 1919, American entrepreneur, C.V. Starr, traveled from California to a flourishing port town in eastern China - Shanghai. There, he found many insurance companies writing policies for individuals and for businesses from abroad, but not for the Chinese people and their enterprises. Starr immediately recognized the vast underserved market in the local population and established the first foreign life insurance operation to offer products and services to Chinese nationals. Relying on the talent and ingenuity of local agents and managers, the company soon established branches throughout China and Southeast Asia.
"AIG's relationship to China continues today. The company was the first foreign insurer to reenter the market in 1992 and has been a leader in the development of China's insurance and financial markets as well as investing in critical infrastructure and other local economic and social priorities.
"AIG is continually looking for ways to build upon its history and commitment to China, and reaching out to underserved markets. That is why AIG is supporting microfinance efforts in the country and is focusing on five provinces identified by the government as development priorities."
During World War II, AIG ceased operations in China, resuming them for only two years in 1947 before the Cultural Revolution under Mao Tse Tung kicked them out again. In the interim, the AIA building on the Bund was used as a police station, a shipping company, and a customs office. When AIG returned in the mid-1990s after negotiating a long-term lease for the building with the Chinese government (nobody owns land in China, just long-term leases), much of the original furniture was still present.
Then we went to the top of the AIA building (9th floor), which offers a good view of the river. The difference in architecture from one side of the river is remarkable: one side being late 19th century, the other having been constructed within the last 20 years. The Oriental Pearl Tower can be seen across the river, though the top was made invisible by air pollution.
According to the website available HERE:
"In 1919, American entrepreneur, C.V. Starr, traveled from California to a flourishing port town in eastern China - Shanghai. There, he found many insurance companies writing policies for individuals and for businesses from abroad, but not for the Chinese people and their enterprises. Starr immediately recognized the vast underserved market in the local population and established the first foreign life insurance operation to offer products and services to Chinese nationals. Relying on the talent and ingenuity of local agents and managers, the company soon established branches throughout China and Southeast Asia.
"AIG's relationship to China continues today. The company was the first foreign insurer to reenter the market in 1992 and has been a leader in the development of China's insurance and financial markets as well as investing in critical infrastructure and other local economic and social priorities.
"AIG is continually looking for ways to build upon its history and commitment to China, and reaching out to underserved markets. That is why AIG is supporting microfinance efforts in the country and is focusing on five provinces identified by the government as development priorities."
During World War II, AIG ceased operations in China, resuming them for only two years in 1947 before the Cultural Revolution under Mao Tse Tung kicked them out again. In the interim, the AIA building on the Bund was used as a police station, a shipping company, and a customs office. When AIG returned in the mid-1990s after negotiating a long-term lease for the building with the Chinese government (nobody owns land in China, just long-term leases), much of the original furniture was still present.
Then we went to the top of the AIA building (9th floor), which offers a good view of the river. The difference in architecture from one side of the river is remarkable: one side being late 19th century, the other having been constructed within the last 20 years. The Oriental Pearl Tower can be seen across the river, though the top was made invisible by air pollution.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Free Day on Sunday
Yesterday (Sunday) the group had the day to do as it pleased. I went with about 12 other students to the textile and fabric market early in the morning. Our professor recommended one specific tailor, so a bunch of us got measured and picked out fabrics for shirts, skirts, dresses and/or suits to be custom-made and delivered to where we're staying by Monday night at 9 pm. I bought 3 dress shirts and also 8 ties from another vendor, for a post-haggling total of about $45 US. Unbelievable.
The market itself was very busy. It was several levels tall and each floor had small sectioned-off shops with tons of gorgeous fabrics. If you were an executive who needed lots of suits, this would be the way to do it.
After the market, about 10 of us took cabs down to the Bund (riverwalk area) and ate lunch at an Italian restaurant. Then 7 of us had scheduled massages at a spa near the university called Dragon Fly (rumored to be one of the best spas in China). The Chinese massage was very relaxing and felt great. It was an hour long and about $20 US - another amazing price compared to the States. The area the spa was in was very interesting. From the street, you couldn't really tell anything was back there, only a small driveway led from the street to the spa. But once back near the spa, there was an entire courtyard of little shops and restaurants: Japanese, Mexican, Thai, Indian and Chinese. It was quite a treasure trove. After the massage the group hung out at the Mexican restaurant for a while.
I took a brief nap in the afternoon as I hadn't slept much the night before, then ventured out for dinner at the back gate of the university with two other students. We wandered around through the crowds for a while seeing things that still struck us as unusual, despite our week-long adjustment to the culture shock, and eventually settled on a little place with just about anything on the menu. We kind of caved in to our cravings for western food and ate ice cream and french fries along with our meals (I blame the massages). At least we resisted the temptation to get McDonalds!
While we were looking for food we wandered into a department store similar to a Macy's. It was the first time I had seen non-negotiable prices and non-pushy sales people in China. In the shoe and athletics department, a giant poster of Clyde Drexler loomed over a display of basketball shoes, which we found kind of funny since he retired from the NBA about 8 years ago (and hasn't been a good player since about 12 years ago), but has apparently worked out some good promotional deals over here in China.
Today (Monday) we have a corporate visit to AIG, then an afternoon lecture. We have the evening free again, but have to meet the tailors at the university guesthouse we're staying at to pick up and try on our shirts. We already leave for Beijing on Wednesday, so I only have two more nights of sleeping in Shanghai. I'm not sure how much Internet access I'll have in Beijing, so the blog might be temporarily postponed after Wednesday. I have some pretty good pictures of me imitating the Clyde Drexler poster and eating lunch with my new tie on under a polo shirt, but they are on a friends camera. If I can get them from her camera onto my computer, I'll stick them below.
The market itself was very busy. It was several levels tall and each floor had small sectioned-off shops with tons of gorgeous fabrics. If you were an executive who needed lots of suits, this would be the way to do it.
After the market, about 10 of us took cabs down to the Bund (riverwalk area) and ate lunch at an Italian restaurant. Then 7 of us had scheduled massages at a spa near the university called Dragon Fly (rumored to be one of the best spas in China). The Chinese massage was very relaxing and felt great. It was an hour long and about $20 US - another amazing price compared to the States. The area the spa was in was very interesting. From the street, you couldn't really tell anything was back there, only a small driveway led from the street to the spa. But once back near the spa, there was an entire courtyard of little shops and restaurants: Japanese, Mexican, Thai, Indian and Chinese. It was quite a treasure trove. After the massage the group hung out at the Mexican restaurant for a while.
I took a brief nap in the afternoon as I hadn't slept much the night before, then ventured out for dinner at the back gate of the university with two other students. We wandered around through the crowds for a while seeing things that still struck us as unusual, despite our week-long adjustment to the culture shock, and eventually settled on a little place with just about anything on the menu. We kind of caved in to our cravings for western food and ate ice cream and french fries along with our meals (I blame the massages). At least we resisted the temptation to get McDonalds!
While we were looking for food we wandered into a department store similar to a Macy's. It was the first time I had seen non-negotiable prices and non-pushy sales people in China. In the shoe and athletics department, a giant poster of Clyde Drexler loomed over a display of basketball shoes, which we found kind of funny since he retired from the NBA about 8 years ago (and hasn't been a good player since about 12 years ago), but has apparently worked out some good promotional deals over here in China.
Today (Monday) we have a corporate visit to AIG, then an afternoon lecture. We have the evening free again, but have to meet the tailors at the university guesthouse we're staying at to pick up and try on our shirts. We already leave for Beijing on Wednesday, so I only have two more nights of sleeping in Shanghai. I'm not sure how much Internet access I'll have in Beijing, so the blog might be temporarily postponed after Wednesday. I have some pretty good pictures of me imitating the Clyde Drexler poster and eating lunch with my new tie on under a polo shirt, but they are on a friends camera. If I can get them from her camera onto my computer, I'll stick them below.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Saturday Lectures
In order to attend Hangzhou during the week and avoid the throngs of weekend tourists, we were forced to sacrifice our Saturday to lectures. We have two: Financial Markets and Banking in China, and China's Foreign Trade and US-Sino Trade Relationship. We have the evening and tomorrow free.
GE Corporate Visit and the Oriental Pearl Tower
Yesterday (Friday, May 25) we began the day with a lecture at ECNU on Foreign Direct Investment in China, then we visited a GE facility in western Shanghai and spoke with an American ex pat executive who manages GE's water purification and filtration division in the Pacific Rim. GE's facility in Shanghai is very new (less than five years) and works predominantly in research and development, employing some of the most elite PhD's in southern China.
After GE, we stopped at the Oriental Pearl Tower on the Huangpu River in downtown Shanghai. It is an extremely unique building that dominates the Shanghai skyline. According to the informational brochure provided to us: "The Oriental Pearl Tower is 468 meters high, the highest TV tower in Asia and the third highest in the world. [It] consists of three main whole-scape sightseeing floors. . . . The Space Module is at the height of 350 meters; the highest revolving restaurant in Asia is at 267 meters; the main sightseeing floor is at 263 meters; you can also go outside at 259 meters and 90 meters."
Although yesterday was particularly hazy, humid and polluted, the view from the observation tower really showed how dirty the air in China is from the largely unregulated rapid industrialization. The visibility was so bad that you could barely see more than a row of buildings across the river. It a fitting display, boats carrying gigantic screens playing commercials trudged up and down the river while being passed by an endless stream of coal-carrying barges.
The most unique feature of the Shanghai skyline: the Oriental Pearl Tower
Beijing Olympics celebration on public grounds at the base of Oriental Pearl Tower
Polluted skyline of Shanghai (Pushi side of Huangpu River) as seen from the Oriental Pearl Tower
View of street below from 263 meter observation deck at Oriental Pearl Tower
Polluted Pushi skyline across the Huangpu River
Adjacent skyscrapers from the Oriental Pearl Tower observation deck
A nautical, giant-screen television billboard
Coal barges travel upriver.
After the Oriental Pearl Tower we walked around the Bund (Riverwalk district with restaurants and vendors) and ate at a Spanish restaurant called Mundo Latino. When in Shanghai, do as the Cubans do, I guess. The food was great and we ate on a second-story open-air terrace. After dinner, I successfully communicated the name of our university to our cab driver - pretty pumped about that. I got to sit in the front passenger seat and fear for my life the whole way home while the cab driver appeared totally relaxed.
After GE, we stopped at the Oriental Pearl Tower on the Huangpu River in downtown Shanghai. It is an extremely unique building that dominates the Shanghai skyline. According to the informational brochure provided to us: "The Oriental Pearl Tower is 468 meters high, the highest TV tower in Asia and the third highest in the world. [It] consists of three main whole-scape sightseeing floors. . . . The Space Module is at the height of 350 meters; the highest revolving restaurant in Asia is at 267 meters; the main sightseeing floor is at 263 meters; you can also go outside at 259 meters and 90 meters."
Although yesterday was particularly hazy, humid and polluted, the view from the observation tower really showed how dirty the air in China is from the largely unregulated rapid industrialization. The visibility was so bad that you could barely see more than a row of buildings across the river. It a fitting display, boats carrying gigantic screens playing commercials trudged up and down the river while being passed by an endless stream of coal-carrying barges.
The most unique feature of the Shanghai skyline: the Oriental Pearl Tower
Beijing Olympics celebration on public grounds at the base of Oriental Pearl Tower
Polluted skyline of Shanghai (Pushi side of Huangpu River) as seen from the Oriental Pearl Tower
View of street below from 263 meter observation deck at Oriental Pearl Tower
Polluted Pushi skyline across the Huangpu River
Adjacent skyscrapers from the Oriental Pearl Tower observation deck
A nautical, giant-screen television billboard
Coal barges travel upriver.
After the Oriental Pearl Tower we walked around the Bund (Riverwalk district with restaurants and vendors) and ate at a Spanish restaurant called Mundo Latino. When in Shanghai, do as the Cubans do, I guess. The food was great and we ate on a second-story open-air terrace. After dinner, I successfully communicated the name of our university to our cab driver - pretty pumped about that. I got to sit in the front passenger seat and fear for my life the whole way home while the cab driver appeared totally relaxed.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Longjing Mountain - Dragon-well Green Tea Hills
After our boat tour on West Lake, we headed southwest of West Lake, between tree-covered mountains and through one mountain via a long tunnel to a small village called Longjing ("Dragon Well") - located in the valley and which can only be reached via the tunnel through the mountain.
Once in the Longjing, we were surrounded by terraced hillsides full of tea trees. This is where the famous Dragon-well Green Tea is grown and dried. The valley, with persistent mist and fog, is ideal for growing tea, and has been doing so for 1200 years.
We were led through a courtyard, up a winding stone staircase into a tea house, where we were served fresh tea and instructed on true tea technique and the secrets to harvesting and reaping the healthful, vitamin benefits of this precious tea, housed some four hours away from the industrializing east coast in its own, ancient, clandestine valley. By the time Chinese tea reaches American shelves, it has either been preserved and packaged in an inorganic way that reduces the valuable nutrients, or it has been falsified and supplemented with willow leaves and other plant material. The most nutritious, rich tea is harvested in March - very young and early in the season - this is called the "Empress" tea. The harvest season continues for a total of 9 months of the year. For a few select Americans, I was able to procure some of this Dragon-well Green Tea, although I got the April tea (second in nutrients only to the (rather expensive) Empress).
The derivation of "Dragon-well" comes from a local belief that a dragon controlled the rainfall of the misty, foggy mountain valley. As a result, local citizens would travel to Longjing to offer gifts to the dragon as early as the 3rd century A.D.
Once in the Longjing, we were surrounded by terraced hillsides full of tea trees. This is where the famous Dragon-well Green Tea is grown and dried. The valley, with persistent mist and fog, is ideal for growing tea, and has been doing so for 1200 years.
We were led through a courtyard, up a winding stone staircase into a tea house, where we were served fresh tea and instructed on true tea technique and the secrets to harvesting and reaping the healthful, vitamin benefits of this precious tea, housed some four hours away from the industrializing east coast in its own, ancient, clandestine valley. By the time Chinese tea reaches American shelves, it has either been preserved and packaged in an inorganic way that reduces the valuable nutrients, or it has been falsified and supplemented with willow leaves and other plant material. The most nutritious, rich tea is harvested in March - very young and early in the season - this is called the "Empress" tea. The harvest season continues for a total of 9 months of the year. For a few select Americans, I was able to procure some of this Dragon-well Green Tea, although I got the April tea (second in nutrients only to the (rather expensive) Empress).
The derivation of "Dragon-well" comes from a local belief that a dragon controlled the rainfall of the misty, foggy mountain valley. As a result, local citizens would travel to Longjing to offer gifts to the dragon as early as the 3rd century A.D.
Boat Tour of West Lake and lunch at Lou Wai Lou Restaurant in Hangzhou
After our tour of the Ling Yin temple, we dined just minutes away at Lou Wai Lou, a restaurant in Hangzhou, right on West Lake (the lake that makes Hangzhou a famous tourist retreat). Lou Wai Lou is world famous and renowned for its delicacies. I have posted a photo of the lavish room where we ate as a group, and a photo and video clip of the view of West Lake we had while dining.
After lunch, we crossed the street and boarded a traditional Chinese boat for a tour of West Lake. I have posted a couple of photos of the breathtaking views of West Lake and the gardens and pagodas of Hangzhou that we had from the boat.
After lunch, we crossed the street and boarded a traditional Chinese boat for a tour of West Lake. I have posted a couple of photos of the breathtaking views of West Lake and the gardens and pagodas of Hangzhou that we had from the boat.
Trip to Hangzhou, China: "Paradise on Earth"
Today we traveled by bus about 3 hours west into the country to the city of Hangzhou. Hangzhou is famous as a retreat destination (although its population is still 6 million): a city of romance and leisure, known for its gardens and called "Paradise on Earth."
Our first destination in Hangzhou was Ling Yin Temple, built in 326 A.D. by a Buddhist monk from India (who, as legend has it, brought the mountain upon which the temple is built with him). According to the website travelchinaguide.com, which can be accessed HERE:
"The presence of a temple on this site can be traced back to the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317 - 420AD) when, according to local legend, Huili an Indian monk came to the area where he was inspired by the spiritual nature of the scenery to be found here. To his mind this had to be a dwelling of the Immortals and so he gave the temple a name "Ling Yin (Temple of the Soul's Retreat). The Chinese name is translated into English as either "Temple of the Soul's Retreat' or 'Temple of Inspired Seclusion' for the setting has a quiet and beautiful grandeur that encourages a feeling of peace and for contemplation.
"The temple was to gain in importance during the Five Dynasties (907-960 AD) when the King of the Wu Yue State initiated a large-scale development of the temple as a sign of his devotion to Buddha. In its heyday, the temple comprised nine buildings, eighteen pavilions, seventy-seven palaces and halls with over thirteen hundred rooms providing accommodation for around three thousand monks. A monastery on this scale is difficult to imagine and needless to say over the centuries it has been subjected to many changes of fortune due to wars, religious repression and other calamities. The main temple that can be seen today is a result of the restoration that was carried out in 1974 following the ten-year Chinese Cultural Revolution."
The temple rests on the top of Ling Yin mountain. The following progression of pictures and video clips takes you from the mountain's base up to the highest building of the temple. Nearly every major building on the way up the mountain contains at least one approximately 50-foot high Buddha.
Our first destination in Hangzhou was Ling Yin Temple, built in 326 A.D. by a Buddhist monk from India (who, as legend has it, brought the mountain upon which the temple is built with him). According to the website travelchinaguide.com, which can be accessed HERE:
"The presence of a temple on this site can be traced back to the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317 - 420AD) when, according to local legend, Huili an Indian monk came to the area where he was inspired by the spiritual nature of the scenery to be found here. To his mind this had to be a dwelling of the Immortals and so he gave the temple a name "Ling Yin (Temple of the Soul's Retreat). The Chinese name is translated into English as either "Temple of the Soul's Retreat' or 'Temple of Inspired Seclusion' for the setting has a quiet and beautiful grandeur that encourages a feeling of peace and for contemplation.
"The temple was to gain in importance during the Five Dynasties (907-960 AD) when the King of the Wu Yue State initiated a large-scale development of the temple as a sign of his devotion to Buddha. In its heyday, the temple comprised nine buildings, eighteen pavilions, seventy-seven palaces and halls with over thirteen hundred rooms providing accommodation for around three thousand monks. A monastery on this scale is difficult to imagine and needless to say over the centuries it has been subjected to many changes of fortune due to wars, religious repression and other calamities. The main temple that can be seen today is a result of the restoration that was carried out in 1974 following the ten-year Chinese Cultural Revolution."
The temple rests on the top of Ling Yin mountain. The following progression of pictures and video clips takes you from the mountain's base up to the highest building of the temple. Nearly every major building on the way up the mountain contains at least one approximately 50-foot high Buddha.
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