Mad About Shanghai

Beijing Office Rentals Now More Expensive than New York

According to Cushman & Wakefield, a global real estate services company, Beijing has overtook New York in office rents. The report was released this month.

Thes are the top 6 countries in terms of having the most expensive office rentals:

1) Hong Kong

2) London

3) Tokyo

4) Moscow

5)Beijing

6) New York

More details can be found here.

Shanghai is the 8th most expensive city in Asia

These are the latest survey results released by ECA International on the cost of living in Asia.

The most expensive cities in Asia are:

1) Tokyo

2) Nagoya

3) Yokohama

4) Kobe

5) Seoul

6) Singapore

7) Beijing

8) Shanghai

9) Hong Kong

10) Busan

You can read more about it here.

Megacities in China

The six mega cities in China are:  

1) Beijing

2) Shanghai

3) Tianjian

4) Guangzhou 

5) Chongqing

6) Shenzhen

Cuurently, there are 660 million in China that live in cities, urbanised areas. By 2030, up to 1 billion is expected. To cope with this, five more mega cities are sprouting.

They are :

1) Shenyang

2) Xi'An

3) Chengdu

4) Changsha

5) Wuhan

If you are thinking of moving to China or relocating, thinking of options and dont really like the top 5, the sprouting five sure deserve some consideration.

Mid Autumn Festival - The Day After

What happens the day after mid autumn festival? Usually one can can expect to get mooncakes for up to half the price or one for one free at the stores!

Heres another one given to me by a business partner:

Cost of living in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong higher than New York

According to Mercer, the five most expensive Chinese cities are : Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, ranking 9th, 20th, 21st, 38th and 43th, respectively.

New York is 32th.

Get the report here.

At the rate I am seeing, I am not surprised at all.

QQ International Instant Messenger

Never installed QQ to chat with your Chinese friends and colleagues cos you cannot read Chinese ?

There is an English International version now released. I tried it and its better than the previous version which is resource heavy (like ICQ). This one feel "lighter" just like MSN.

There is even a function that translate the texts for you so you can chat with your Chinese freiends even if you do not understand Chinese.

Download it here.

China Train Travel

If you ever wondered how the bunks in the train networks in China are, here are some pics:

I once heard this "Air travel is about destination. Rail travel is about process". Do you agree?

Pictures from Lori

Top Chinese Companies in the World

In the Forbes' list of Global Top 25 companies in the world, six are Chinese companies.

They are :

Petro China

ICBC

China Construction Bank

Bank of China

Sinopec China

Agricultral Bank of China

The Lanes in Shanghai – Tian Zi Fang

A guest post by Alyssa Leung.

Once a residential neighbourhood, Tian Zi Fang enjoys a touch of delicate Shanghai style architecture that is no longer ubiquitous today as a result of modernization. Nostalgic brick walls, pieced together with elaborately paved brick pedestrian roads make Tian Zi Fang all the more distinctive from other well-known but banal tourist sites.

Tian Zi Fang serves as a refuge for art lovers. Here, you can find creative studios as well as galleries. Slightly tinged with Western art style, the artworks give you a few glimpses of the unique Chinese lifestyle, profound Chinese culture and even more sophisticated Chinese philosophy.

It is a magnet for shopping goers. Exotic boutiques are one of the distinctive features of Tian Zi Fang. Sheltered along the intricate alleys are amazing shops with a fascinating array of elaborate and unique stuffs that are not always available in the city, such as chic accessories, special card cases, modern decorations, delicate scarves, etc.

It is also a venue for friends’ gatherings. Here in Tian Zi Fang there is a wide selection of bars and bistros. If you are in the mood for a shot of espresso or a glass of majito, Tian Zi Fang is ready to fulfill your thirst. Choices of food are also nothing but appealing – Thai food, Vietnamese food, Indian food, Italian food, and on, and on.

Tian Zi Fang is definitely a place you should never miss when you visit Shanghai.

"For more articles about Shanghai tourist locations, as well as about doing business in China, please visit Alyssa's blog at http://interbund.com/explore-china.

 

 

Ticket Prices for Beijing-Shanghai High Speed Rail Revealed

 Tickets prices for the Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway has been released.

There are two categories of ticket prices:

Trains running at 300 kph

555 yuan (85.6 U.S. dollars) for second-class

1,750 yuan for business class.

Trains running at 250 kph

From 410 yuan for second-class

From 650 yuan for first-class

There  300 kph trains will cut travel time to 4 hours and 48 minutes. The 250 kph trains will complete the trip in about 8 hours.

 The entire projects costs US$33 billion dollars with a line length of 1318 km.