Random Ruminations on China

I'm back from China and had an incredible time! I really enjoyed myself. Below are some ruminations:

1. Many people who work in factories stay in dormitories at the factory. During the Chinese New Year, all work in the country practically comes to a standstill for three weeks as people visit their families.
   
2. Many of the people who spoke English, have a British accent as well as a Chinese accent.
   
3. People who work for an American company in China are called expatriats. They are often treated extremely well and have a huge home with a driver and maids.
   
4. I was about 10 times more attractive in China. Many females, probably a few a day, told me that I was very handsome. Also, I noticed many looks. I don't get this in the US. It is interesting how attractiveness can change so much depending on the country.
   
5. People are very nice, at least the ones I met.
   
6. Students take one examination before they graduate high school and this one test determines what college they can get into.
   
7. Coming to America is extremely difficult because it is expensive for the plane flight (about the equivalent of $10,000-$12,000 for them) and because the American Consulate will often not grant a Visa.
   
8. I’m used to seeing national communities in NYC with Little Italy, China Town, and Spanish Harlem. However, it was funny to me that there is an American community in Shanghai where most people and stores are American. I have a new understanding of the importance of these communities.
   
9. When negotiating in markets, start with your initial price at 1/10 of what they ask.
   
10. To communicate with business leaders in China, an interpreter is often necessary. This slows down conversation by 50% and a lot of nonverbal cues and timing are lost. Humor is difficult.
    
11. Massages are dirt cheap. At one place I visited, a 1-hour massage was the equivalent of $5.
    
12. There were 30 million Chinese killed in World War II at the hands of the Japanese. There is a still a bad feeling of the Chinese toward the Japanese.
    
13. Young woman holding hands as they walk is very common.
    
14. It is uncommon to open a gift right away when given it. This is a Western practice.
    
15. 95% students are from single family homes as a result of limits on the number of children that parents can have.
    
16. When introduced in front of an audience and the audience is clapping for you, it is common to lightly clap as well.
    
17. There is a city in China with over 30 million people. New York City, America’s largest city, has a little over 8 million.
    
18. I often heard that the three things China is most proud about are: Hard work, Rich Cultural History, and Face (self-dignity).
    
19. People’s teeth seemed to be more crooked or stained than in the USA. I don’t know if this is because the culture doesn’t value the appearance of teeth or because it costs too much.
    
20. All my meals were served in a dim-sum fashion with at least 6 plates of different food and everybody sharing. People used the same chop sticks they were eating with to take food from the large plates.
    
21. The difference between the East and the West is perhaps most pronounced with communication. If you go to any major city in Europe, you’ll probably be able to get around pretty well and find people who speak English. In China, everything seemed like gibberish including numbers.
    
22. Shanghai has similar temperatures to that of the South of the USA
    
23. Cabs have no seat belts.
    
24. Many, many people ride a bike in the city and there is a separate lane for them on the streets.
    
25. The pollution in Shanghai was very high. Most of the other foreign CEOs had burning sensation in their throats the first few days.
    
26. ABC = American Born Chinese
    
27. Just as someone from Asia who talks about spirituality or alternative healing automatically has some level of credibility in the West, so to does an American business person have a lot of credibility right off the bat. There is huge potential for self-help literature.
    
28. There are over 6,000 Chinese characters in their written language.
    
29. Across China, the written language is the same. However, the dialects are very numerous and they’re also extremely different to the point of it being impossible to understand somebody else with a different dialect.
    
30. As a result of labor being so cheap, there were many people providing extra services. At the hotel, there was somebody to open the door for you when you arrived, somebody to carry the luggage to your room, etc. Also, at the hotel, there were people actually weeding the grass by hand!!!
    
31. Popular web sites in China for youth are:
    • sina.com
      
    • sohu.com
      
    • Taobao.com
      
    • 163.com