New Lao Wai

A Worthy Cause

As part of my visit to China I wanted to visit a charity that was having a positive impact on the community in some way. I had heard about some of the issues with child abandonment and decided that this would be a worthwhile area. While in California, I had heard about an organization called the “Half the Sky” program (named after a famous Mao Zedong quote). So I decided to visit their Shanghai branch.

One of the unfortunate impacts of China’s one-child policy is that that many girls are for various reasons (e.g. many families hope for their child to be a boy) abandoned by families. Half the Sky’s takes in such abandoned girls, and in turn many of these girls might be adopted by a family in other countries. The organization is operated by a cross-Chinese/Western team of educators.

Their website describes the program’s history and goals, so in lieu of me repeating that here, I’ll recommend you visit it at the following URL for more detail about the organization:

http://www.halfthesky.org/

Well, after hearing about Half the Sky and their mission, if you felt like me and wanted to help (offering time and/or donations), their site provides some easy ways to do so. Please visit: http://www.halfthesky.org/03Help/donatenow.html

posted by New Lao Wai at 6:34 PM | Comment (1815)

The Great Chinese Pajamas Party

Something I noticed in particular lately is the variety of clothes you see people wear here in China. You’ll see everything from women that look like models dressed to kill ¹, to guys standing around wearing underwear or pajamas ². I like this variety as it makes for interesting people watching. But I hadn’t really given it too much thought.

But just the other night I was walking down the street near my home when I came across a whole family walking down the street smiling… wearing just pajamas and slippers. This really made me laugh. It made me think back to when I was a young kid and the greatest thing that could happen is when my parents let me have a group of friends over for a pajama party. It would be a night of fun where we would play games, have pillow fights, watching movies and eating/drinking junk food ³.  And of course, everyone wore pajamas! Though after drowning ourselves with cola and candy, most of us couldn’t really sleep.

When I thought back to these days, it made me reminisce about all those fun times I had as a young kid. I thought of bikes, baseball cards, ice cream. Those were carefree days. But I don’t think such thoughts had entered this family’s thoughts. This was just a typical night out before going to sleep.

So it is different here in China. If what you are wearing is maybe let’s say a little less then typical, people don’t give it a second thought (except for foreigners like me). You are just another anonymous person. And sometimes that is sort nice. You don’t have to care so much about appearance when you go run an errand for example.

Well, this was just another simple observation. But exploring China is like peeling an onion, each layer is thin but necessary to get to the core.

1. Dressed to kill – (slang) phrase used to indicate when someone is elaborately attired, for example, for the dance she was dressed to kill. Dressed up to an impressive degree.
2. Pajamas – clothing worn when one goes to sleep.
3. Junk food – food such as candy, popcorn and fast food which is low in nutrition and high in unhealthy substances such as sugar.
4. Reminisce - to recall past experiences or events.

posted by New Lao Wai at 6:24 PM | Comment (11)

Seven Years in Tibet

Seven Years Six Days in Tibet

For May holiday in China, I decided to go explore Tibet (“Xizang” in Mandarin). It turned out to be a great break from the crazy city life of Shanghai. The air was fresh, the sky bright blue and the pace of life a little slower. Everywhere one can see the colorful prayer flags used to mark a sacred area or a funeral site. There were some things to overcome as well, namely attitude sickness. Below are some of the highlights and photos of the trip.

We start out in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. Lhasa is a city with a long and rich history. Being the rooftop of the world, it is indeed high above most of the rest of the world at about 3,700 meters above sea level. At this level, it is common for many visitors to experience some level of attitude sickness… most of us had a slight to strong headache the first day. But this didn’t stop most of us from exploring the treasures within. Some of the major things to see include the following:

• Potala Palace: built in the 7^th century and later expanded to its current size in the 17^th century, the palace became the residence for the Dalai Lama. There are two sections, a red section and a white section, though one can also see a smaller yellow/orange section as well.

• Jokhang Temple: This is the religious center point for Tibetans. Outside one can see prostrating pilgrims below the shiny golden décor of the roof of the temple. Inside, one can wonder through the maze of rooms and halls within, smelling burning incense and watching the pilgrims’ devotion to Buddhist beliefs.

• Drepung Monastery: built in 1416, this is one of the largest monasteries in Tibet, housing over 10,000 monks. It also houses many important relics including letters and scrolls. We are fortunate to be able to stand inside as the monks conducted their chants.

• Sera Monastery: Founded in 1419, this monastery is one of three major monasteries of Gelupga (the yellow hat sect). We were let in to observe the monks. The monks were gathered in groups of about 3 to 6 monks. Each group had a leader who would make a statement, rear his right hand back and then slap his hands together, prompting another monk in his group for a response. The expression of each responding monk was anything from confusion and panic to enlightenment (and occasionally amusement).

Later, we drive to Gyantse. We drive up a steep mountain-side and cross a pass at about 5,000 meters above sea level. On the other side is Yamdroktso lake. Though it is snowing and windy, the beauty of the lake is still apparent. Lodged between steep mountains on all sides, this lake brings a level of calmness.

Continuing on, we drive pass impressive glaciers that are dynamically, yet ever so slowly changing the shape of the mountain range. I snap a few photos including one of a little Tibetan girl that looks a little confused at these visitors.

At Gyantse, we visit the Pharla Manor which is a good example of what a Tibetan house looks like inside. The outside it whitewashed with black paint framing the window. The insides are painted colorfully though the windows do not let in a whole lot of light. Next we go to the Baiju Temple, which contains one of the tallest stupas in Tibet. 

Some other things to note:

• While in Tibet, you eventually need to ask “What’s for dinner?” Well, if you like, common Tibetan cuisine includes Yak. I don’t know about you, when I think of Yak, I picture a hairy and hard-working animal, but not necessarily something I want to eat. But I was actually very pleasantly surprised by the Yak dishes we had. When if comes down to it, it tasted like beef to me, but the spices and sauces of Tibet made this meat quite delicious.

• Death: When one dies as a Buddhist in Tibet, it is ritual for the body to be cut up and left for vultures or fish to consume the flesh. The bones are then cremated. The ritual symbolizes the circularity of life within Buddhist belief as well as the returning of flesh and bone to nature.

• If you’re thinking about making a trip to Tibet here are some tips. In general, the government requires tourists to travel to Tibet through a travel agency. Work with an agent who will get a good price for a package with the specific sites you want to see… sounds obvious, but packages to Tibet are typically more expensive than other destinations in China.

Hope you enjoy the pictures and that you might be able to also travel to see the many treasures of Tibet.

posted by New Lao Wai at 11:11 PM | Comment (6)

Trip to Shandong

This last week, my school, Jiao Tong University coordinated trips to various different cities in China including Beijing, Xian, Shandong/Ji’nan and Zhenzhou. Since I had been to Beijing and Xian before, I decided to sign up for the Shandong/Ji’nan trip. Below are some of the highlights from the trip.

Monday evening, we take an overnight train from Shanghai to Ji’nan. The train ride is about 10 hours, however, you could sleep through most of it (if you could sleep). My classmates and I take up most of one of the hard sleeper cars. A “hard sleeper” is one in which there are 6 beds per compartment with three beds stacked up on each side. The beds themselves are indeed pretty hard. Many of the westerners including myself had a little trouble falling asleep on them… others choose to stay up most of the night anyway.

Tuesday morning, we arrive in Ji’nan. We take a bus to the city of Tai Shan (Tai Mountain) where our hotel is. From the hotel, we travel to Qufu, famous as the hometown of Confucius (Kongzi in Mandarin). At Qufu, we see the temple, mansion and burial site of Confusion. The one thing that stands out is the natural beauty of the area. All around are various types of trees that look like evergreens and redwoods. The air smelled so fresh… to the great delight of this group of students from Shanghai. The temple and mansion themselves are very nice examples of historic Chinese architecture, though the burial site itself is somewhat nondescript.

Next we are taken to a manufacturer of precious stone carvings… anything from jade bracelets to statues. We are caught a little off-guard by this initially. Upon our arrival at the building, we are taken to a room with a couple of representatives. They speak about some of the stones’ characteristics and some of the more famous precious stone artifacts in China. Thinking we are on some sort of museum tour, they then take us to a store floor where a dozen or two salespersons are waiting to take orders. We hadn’t been quite expecting that. None-the-less, some of my classmates do buy some of the store’s jewelry. For me some of the statues are pretty interesting, but they are a little bigger and more expensive than what I want to buy.

As the final activity today, we go to a tearoom. This is similar to the previous event. We are seated in a large room where we sample various types of tea. Then some sales representatives go around and take orders. I must admit that I’m not much of a tea drinker, but the tea is pretty good, so I buy one of the teas I liked best. From these last two events, I begin to suspect that the stores help to subsidize the cost of the trip… the cost of the trip seems to me to be a pretty good deal at about 800 RMB. After this we head to dinner with entertainment (live singers singing Chinese versions of some classic rocks songs like Joan Jet… actually pretty fun).

Wednesday morning, after breakfast we head to Tai Mountain… this is what I had really be waiting for. Tai Mountain is the most sacred of 5 sacred mountains in China. And the mountain itself is very impressive in its size. Upon getting off the bus, the weather is freezing. Most of us hadn’t been prepared for this (the weather had cooled down quite a bit from the prior day and is unseasonably cold). However, there are a couple locals near the start of the trail selling mittens and hats at a nominal price… much appreciated by all. The route that our group is to take is a 700-meter staircase consisting of more than 1,600 steps… doesn’t like that much until you do it. It takes about 2 hours, but is scenic the whole way. Instead of trying to describe the beauty of this mountain, I present some photos (for more go to http://spaces.msn.com/ventureinternational/) .

After Tai mountain we are taken to a pottery/ceramic store… similar experience as the other two stores. Some nice cup sets, etc., but would definitely weigh down my luggage.

Thursday, we drive to Ji’nan and are taken to Baotu Quan, a park famous for its springs. It contains gardens, ponds and canals along the lines of those in Suzhou. Very pretty. We have about 4 hours here, so some of us wonder around for awhile inside and then go out strolling through the local Ji’nan neighborhoods. I end up practicing Chinese with our tour guide… she is a good teacher.

To end the day we go to Daming Lake, a famous lake in Shandong. Cherry blossom trees are in bloom, making this a picturesque setting.  The sun starts to set and we go to dinner at a restaurant on the grounds of the park.

After dinner, we head to the train station. The train is much like the one that brought us here. Though some of us stay up pretty late, not I. I am pretty tired and actually sleep pretty soundly.

posted by New Lao Wai at 2:27 AM | Comment (35)

Going into Business?

I’ve spent the last couple weeks exploring the options for staying a little longer term in China. As part of this, I’ve talked to some folks who set up business in China. Although this might be a little more than I was initially anticipating pursuing when I came to China, I have met many people who have done it and it does sound like an interesting option.

Since business does not always make for the most interesting blog topic, I wanted to touch on some of the highlights that I found interesting coming from the US:

• In China, where the only constant is change, regulations have been changing fairly recently, so everything I write below is subject to change…
• Depending on the business, taxes may be due as often as monthly. Further, the tax rules cannot only be different from city to city but also from district to district.
• The legal regulations applicable for businesses may also vary dramatically from district to district.
• Because of the above, it is good to either have some good accountants/lawyers with knowledge of the local specifics or be working with one who has good contacts in the locations you are interested in.
• Good legal and accounting services may cost you almost as much and maybe even more than in the US. On the other hand, good resources can make/save you a lot of money… and this is particularly true in China.
• As a business, currency exchange is no easy task. Doing so usually involves a solution that will incur additional costs for the business (cost of doing business in China). Since these fees are often fixed, being a large entity has advantages.
• Some businesses will entail extra expenses you might not have anticipated. For example, starting a restaurant may entail that you hire a minimum number of staff, even if not all the staff is optimally utilized… ever noticed there are lot of workers standing around in some restaurants.
• Depending on your type of business, there are complex restrictions for what kind of entity you can use. For example, there may be rules regarding Chinese involvement/ownership. There are different entities such as WFOEs (whole foreign owned entity) and JVs (joint ventures) that involve varying degrees of local versus foreign management/ownership.

Well, in any case, the business environment in China is very complex. The opportunities are also abundant for those who are able to navigate it well.

‘til next time,

New Lao Wai

posted by New Lao Wai at 4:15 PM | Comment (13301)

Where the Hell is My Bike?!

It’s been a couple weeks since I bought my bike. I live in a part of Shanghai that is not very close to any subway stations, so I figured I could cut down my commute time around town if I had a bike. So I went to the local GMT department store (which is pretty fantastic… they have everything you could ever ask for) and picked out a black bike. I was nothing particularly special… a mid-range bike at about 250 RMB. But it had all the basics (including a bell, which is very useful on the crowded streets of Shanghai).

So things were pretty good. I cut down my walk time to school from 15 minutes to 5 minutes. I could get to the subway station in 7-8 minutes. Yeah!

Well that soon ended. On one particular trip to the subway station, I locked up my bike (I had two locks). I parked it among some other bikes in a location that was pretty visible. I went into the subway station and was off on my trip. I returned a few hours later. Upon getting to the place I left my bike, my bike had disappeared… stolen I presumed. I double/triple checked to make sure I was in the right place… walked up and down the street in hope that it might magically reappear. No such luck. I was pretty hot-and-bothered… I hadn’t even had it a week.

Upon telling this story to a few of my friends, they all gave me a sympathetic smile. “Welcome to Shanghai!” as though my losing my bike was part of a right of passage into Shanghai. And I guess it sort of is as it happens pretty often. There are some unwritten rules (perhaps common sense) that I had failed to follow:?

• Buy used. You can get a used bike for 40-50 RMB that will not draw attention.
• Buy a good lock first (even better get a western style lock) and buy it from a different store than were you buy your bike (sounds a little paranoid, but hey, can’t hurt).
• Lock your bike to a pole if you can.

But even if you follow all these rules, you’re not completely safe. People I know who have been here for 2+ years have had 3-4 bikes stolen.

This event has me asking some questions

Shouldn’t a factor of conscience prevent this crime from being so prevalent? In China where cars are a luxury item that is out of the reach of some many people, bicycles are many people’s livelihood and perhaps their source of income. I know that I’m fortunate with respect to having a bike for convenience, but what if the bike belonged to someone who needed it for their job?

What do you do to protect your bike?

Anyone got a good used bike for sale?

In the meantime and since my mode of transport are a couple of shoes, I've take?some pix from Nanjing Lu.

The Bund

Pudong

‘til next time,

New Lao Wai

posted by New Lao Wai at 3:05 AM | Comment (737)

New Lao Wai - Intro and Some Observations

I have been in Shanghai about 3 weeks now and my thoughts are moving from the excitement of being in a new place especially one as dynamic as Shanghai, to observation. I’m sure some of my observations will be old hat to many of you, but hopefully some of this might also be amusing and maybe even bring back some memories for you of your first experiences in Shanghai.

Before I get to that, I want to introduce myself, a new lao wai (“foreigner”) to Shanghai. I’m from the San Francisco Bay Area most recently and have lived there most of my career. I have worked mostly in finance and IT roles, while my education is in international business. Always looking for opportunities to expand personal horizons, I decided to take a break from the day to day routine in Silicon Valley to explore the opportunities in China and become immersed in its culture and language... and now I’m here.

Getting off the plane in Shanghai, my senses were overwhelmed despite having spent the last 18 hours stuck in a metal tube of recycled air thousands of feet over the Pacific Ocean. Walking out of customs into the main terminal, I walked through a parade of people waving banners with the names of people they were waiting to pick up. Despite it being 10 pm, there was still a lot of activity. Stepping out to the curbside into queue for a taxi, I watched as everyone else dashed to get into line. Some guy tries to cut his way in front of the Chinese couple in front of me. They politely point him back to the end of the queue. Hmmm, my first lesson in China… keep your eyes open, stand your ground, and politeness/patience is sometimes the best first approach.

Since I arrived, I’ve keep a note of some of the things that stood out for me:

• Biking is still very much the most common form of transportation. I think there is a direct relationship with this and why the Chinese seem to be pretty healthy.
• Related to this, since most people don’t have cars in Shanghai, almost everything you need is within walking distance, which is really great. I can do my banking, grocery shopping, and go to the gym all within a block of my apartment.
• Sometimes things get lost in translation. I went by a DVD store the other day and saw that “The Italian Job” had been re-translated as “The Italian Utility Room”… I guess that although the movie had been successful in America, in China it is destined to be more of a closet classic. Also, one can find toilet paper under the title of “Fresh On Sheets”.
• It does snow in Shanghai… check out pictures on my personal site at: http://spaces.msn.com/ventureinternational/
• Watch your step in intersections. Even when the pedestrian "walk" light is green, cars can and do still turn and drive through.
• Everywhere I've been, I've felt very safe. However, as with any large city, pick pockets are around especially where there are tourists, but some common sense goes a long way.
• Haggling is as much a sport as an art here. For foreigners like myself lacking a mastery of Mandarin, carrying a calculator to counter the vendor’s initial price is the easiest way to go. Haggling is pretty much expected by vendors, so for new folks like myself… get good at it as quick as you can.
• "4" is a bad number (sounds similar "death" in Chinese). "8" is a good number (representing fortune and also sounds like the word for "Dad"). The pro and cons: you can get a cheap phone number if it includes a "4". What does "888" really mean… "Daddy, daddy, daddy"?

What funny or odd things have you experienced in Shanghai?

Finally, I wanted to comment that people here in general have been very kind and gracious. I wanted to express my appreciation to everyone who helped my get my feet on the ground in China. I greatly appreciate all the support.??

More to come…

New Lao Wai

posted by New Lao Wai at 5:03 AM | Comment (592)

Filed Under: Introduction