Mad About Shanghai

Xiang Yang Market Activity

We decided to go to Xiang Yang market tonight, the penultimate trading day.

It was chaos - we had never seen so many people there - thousands upon thousands of people, all drenched in seat and smelling a bit off after a hard days work, were literally tripping over themselves to get to the bargains (as you can see in this photo).

The noise was incredible as well - from every corner of the market came the shouts and chants - vendors yelling out their best price to anyone walking past.

Brad decided to record the sound on our camera, and we got really lucky with a bit of amusing dialogue. Listen to this audio file: Download good_price_for_you.WAV

At first you can plainly hear the cacophony of vendors hawking there goods, you will also hear a man and woman yelling "san shi kuai, san shi kuai" (30RMB, 30RMB). They were selling long sleeve t-shirts.

The guy suddenly sees Brad and offers him a `friend' price of 60RMB! With friends like that, who needs enemys!

The old habit of ripping off the laowai is a hard one shake, even when standing there with a sign on the pile t-shirts with a big "30" foreveryone to see!

Update

Yep - its really closed!

Update

The new Xiangyang Markets.

The Many Roles of a Footpath

Walking along a busy footpath (sidewalk for my North American friends) yesterday, it dawned on me that the footpaths in China must have more uses than the footpaths in virtually anywhere in the world.

They are so commonly used for social activities that they appear to almost be an extension of peoples living space.

Here is a list of things that I have seen a foot path be used for:

• Spittoon
• Carpark
• Cycleway
• Bike parking
• Garbage bin
• Drain - mop buckets, left over drinks and chamber pots (only in the old town areas)
• Dish washing area
• Storage area
• Food preparation area - like the guy I saw plucking a chicken the other, less than 1 meter away from the traffic on Xizang Nan Lu
• Restaurant
• Product displays
• Market
• Clothes line
• Playground
• Sunbaking for the oldies on a sunny winter day
• Pet `litter' tray
• Card tournament venue
• Smoking room
• Mothers clubs
• Toothbrushing sink
• Hair washing basin
• Barber
• Shoe shining
• Hawking
• Obstacle course
• Sitting on to watch the world go by
• Walking - almost forgot
• Scooter repairs
• Photocopier repairs
• Beggars workspace
• Toilet

The one thing that I have noticed that is missing from the footpaths - I have never really come across buskers - no cute kids playing the violin or hippies playing Simon & Garfunkle on the acoustic guitar - maybe not allowed.

Cultural Difference: The Key Challenge for Chinese businesses' internationalisation

Recently when I was having a Business Mandarin coaching session with one of my students who is a Strategy Director for one of the major international consulting companies, we had a discussion about "Internationalisation of Chinese companies".

I asked: "Currently there are several popular examples of Chinese business internationalisation such as Lenovo's acquisition of IBM 's PC business, TCL's acquisition of Thomson (French TV business) and Haier's establishment of operation in US.  So what is the key challenge for Chinese companies going global?"

My corporate advisor student said: Among others, cultural difference is the biggest challenge for both Chinese companies operating overseas and international companies operating in China alike. Cultural gap always exists and it takes great effort for businesses to realise this and try to bridge the gap. Lenovo and IBM for example are putting the top management (composed of half Chinese executives and half western executives) under cultural training. The result of the training will impose a crucial impact on the health of the marriage.

I have also read some articles with similar topics recently and these articles endorsed my student's viewpoint. The article commented on the difference in leadership and communication style of Chinese people and American people:

1. Leadership: Chinese people rely on leader's directions and American people are used to bi-lateral communication, constantly discussing and exchanging ideas, info and suggestions with the supervisors.

2. In a conversation, Chinese people tend to suppose that the counterparts  already know all the background info, therefore they never explain the background and directly jump into discussion or conclusion. Their points are normally hidden in their facial expressions and gestures.  While American people tend to suppose the counterparts do not know the background info and always explain the background first. Their points are obviously explained in the sentences - no need to explore further.

From personal experience, Brad and I sometimes have cultural conflict - when we realised that the conflict arose due to our totally different background, we would sit down and talk about it and explain to each other. We realised that if you put yourself in the others shoes and try to understand the other by effective communication, things will be much smoother.

Cultural difference is unavoidable; the key is how to effectively deal with it. Being positive, understanding  and partaking in constant communication are the keys.  I would thoroughly recommend that any company dealing with China invest some time and money in undertaking some cultural training for their management.

Xiang Yang Market Closes This Friday

The closure of Xiang Yang Market, for obvious reasons, has come upon us rather suddenly - in fact, the ever popular Shanghai fake market closes for good this Friday the 30th June, 2006.

We went last weekend to see what was happening and to ask where people would be going.

The first thing we noticed was the large number of stalls selling at fixed prices to clear out the stock. Most t-shirts were at 30RMB (I got some Ecko and Diesel shirts), most handbags and backpacks were going out the door for 30RMB each (we got a Nike backpack).

Belts, jewellry and many other items were all at fixed prices. I wouldn't be surprised if by now, or at least over the next few days, that virtually everyone will be selling this way. Dump the stock - make a few kuai.

Needless to say, this is a much more relaxed way to shop at Xiangyang market - very few people hassled us (except for the old woman who kept pushing bottles of cold water onto my arm - made me jump each time) and the not haggling part was nice as well.

We asked some of the vendors where they were going after the closure - none of them told us, they all said they didn't know. We did however get a number of business cards with mobile phones - the optimistic guy who sold me 13 pairs of black business socks said to call him soon for more. Actually, come to think of it, he isn't optimistic - he knows the quality - I guess I'll be seeing him soon.

So if you are after a bargain, get down to the good old Xiang Yang market before she shuts this Friday. There are bound to be bargains galore over the next few days as the merchants try to dump as much stock as they can. I think we will go have a look on Friday.

For those of you coming to Shanghai after the closure, don't despair, you will still be able to find bargains around. There might not be a single place where everything is concentrated, but you will find the merchants as they move on.

Update

Yep -its really closed.

Update

The new Xiangyang Markets.

We were robbed!

Australia V. Italy - Worldcup 2006.

Those Italian soccer (football) players obviously take acting lessons.

I have never seen such a blatant deliberate tumble - and I don't believe the ref fell for it. I know that when the ref replays the game he is going to be embarrassed as hell for letting the weaker side get away with play acting so they can win.

The Socceroos (Australians) outplayed the Italians the whole game - then to have some over actor steal - thats what it was - steal a goal that way was wrong. I wouldn't mind losing to the Italians if we were in golden goal time - but to lose from cheating really bites.

Well done the Socceroos - they played a great game, I am confident they could have scored in golden goal time because the pressure they had on for the second half was intense.

My only consolation is that the Italians in their current form won't get into the final 2 - but playing the Ukraine, they have a good shot at getting to the semi's.

C'est la vie - thats world cup for you!

Here is a secret video of a recent Italian Squad training session :

This training session brought to you by NIDA.

The Aussie Artists in Shanghai

At present Shanghai is a popular place for Australian artists - we just saw The Urban Dream Capsule  in Xintiandi yesterday and tomorrow we are going to watch The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) at Shanghai Oriental Art Center. Both programs are presented by the Australian artists.

The Urban Dream Capsule is the most weird live art performance - four artists live in a sealed window for 12 days. They are fully self sufficient and eat, sleep, cook, shower... do everything in the window in front of the live audience for the next 10 days.  You can even watch them live on line here and here .

We are most fascinated by their motive and enthusiasm of presenting this art performance and were amazed by the constant interaction between the artists and the audience (they can't hear each other, but only use sign languages and white board.) How tiring that would be when an endless stream of audience demand your attention 24 hours a day for 12 days. But the artists were being very responsive and active.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) will be presented by The Reduced Shakespeare Company from Australia tomorrow night at the new theater in Pudong - the Shanghai Oriental Art Center. We are always interested in the architecture of the theater which symbolizes a blossoming butterfly orchid. So we will kill two birds with one stone tomorrow night - check out the fabulous theater and watch the award-nominated comedy - how good is that!

Babela's Kitchen - A Good Cheap Feed

Sabrina and I have been seeing ads for a restaurant chain called Babela's Kitchen for a few months now. It's an Italian inspired restaurant and we have seen several of them popping up around Shanghai, generally with long queues (we saw a queue at one site the other week that was at least 100 deep!).

So tonight we finally decided to go and check it out for ourselves. The decor was simple and quite pleasant - nothing flash. The thing that amazed us though was the prices. Most pasta main meals were between 8 and 15 RMB - thats right, A$1.40 to $2.60!

The menu is fairly simple, its bilingiual and has pretty pictures, there are not too many choices, but there is enough there to keep everyone happy - vegetarians included.

We ordered calamari rings (8RMB) and garlic prawns (15RMB) for appetisers, followed by a pesto pasta for Sabrina and baked penne bolognaise for me (both 12RMB). A can of ginger ale (5RMB) and a strawberry cider (9RMB). Dessert consisted of Tiramisu (10RMB) and mango pudding (8RMB) for a grand total of 79RMB (A$15) for a 3 course meal for 2.

The food was good and tasty, it was delivered fast and the service was adequate (Chinese style service ;).

So all in all, a very positive experience and outstanding value for money. I think we may make regular visits to old Babela's Kitchen - its only a 10 minute walk from our place!

The one we visited is on level 3, 68 Huaihai Xi Lu (just off from Xizang Lu), Ph: 021 6326 3827.

There is another in Pudong that you can check out here.

Yoyo Craze Sweeps Shanghai

The good old yoyo has made a huge impact on the kids of Shanghai recently.

Its almost impossible to go anywhere on the weekends and not see boys aged between 6 - 14 playing with yoyos!

I have seen boys `walking the dog' in the subway, doing `around the world' on street corners and in parks, and the old favorite `rock the baby' when ever there is a spare minute. Ah, it brings back memories of my school days, filled with card swapping and yoyo spinning - enjoy it while you can youngsters of Shanghai - the reality of high school and the looming college entrance exam will soon sap your exuberance!

It is the obvious must have toy for this summer.

Ps. Check out the wild things they do at the World Yoyo Championships.

Noise!

So much noise - its driving me crazy!!!

Like much of Shanghai, we are living in a construction demolition zone. Right now at the front of our apartment building is another 2 buildings being demolished, to another side there are 3 buildings being built and behind us is a massive undertaking where they are building a Metro station.

All of this shows the progress of the city which is great, but unfortunately, also means incessant amounts of noise.

The demolition crews start the jack hammers and cutting equipment at 6am and finish after 6pm - 7 days a week! That's right - at 6am this morning (Sunday) we were again awoken by the  jack hammer.

Looking at the size of the building, and the fact they are demolishing by hand, it appears that we will be listening to that for a long time to come!

Its a painful sound and is extremely agitating and disruptive, especially when I am trying to do some big technical translations like I did this week. Add that in to the usual horns and squealing bus brakes and its a great mix.

I may have to invest in a pair of ear plugs!

Typepad Issues in China?

Hot off the back of the recent Technorati and Google blockages - is Typepad the next to face periodic blocks by the Chinese Net Nannies?

I hope not, but over the past week or so I have been virtually unable to connect to Typepad without a proxy.

You can count the number of times that I have connected and when over the past week because thats when I have made an entry.

Interestingly enough, during the times that Typepad has been inaccessable, there has been no problems accessing Mad About Shanghai or other Typepad hosted blogs, so it is obviously Typepad it's self that has done something to raise the ire of the Net Nannies.