The Rise of the Dragon

Today was supposed to be another important day with a meeting in Shenzhen at a very important factory.  I had confirmed a meeting with them earlier in the week to meet today.  What I failed to do was to reconfirm this morning.  So, making the assumption that everything was good to go, I took a two hour bus ride down to Longgang District in Shenzhen.  When I arrived, I called the factory to have them pick me up.  However, they told me the sample I was expecting was not ready yet and would not be ready until Tuesday.  Since there was really no reason for me to head to their factory, we arranged for a meeting on Tuesday. 

Hoping to make something of this two hour trip, I called another factory to visit with.  However, they were all the way on the side of Shenzhen.  This city is not terribly big, but the transportation system is not the best.  Road wind all over the place and are packed.  It probably would have taken me another 2 hours just to get over there.  So, I decided to take the bus back to Dongguan and do some work from the hotel.

It is frustrating that I spent 4 hours on a bus without visiting a factory, but I know I should have followed up before I left the night before.  Lesson learned.

My condolences go out to the Bachman family, who lost one member and had another member injured by an unprovoked attack in Beijing.  Unfortunately, nothing of it is talked about here in China.  I’ve watched just about every news channel and read through every online newspaper.  The only way I heard about it was reading the US news.  Whether or not China is purposely failing to report this is disappointing, but it is typical of something that would go unreported in China due to its censorship control.  It really is sad to hear something like this happen; however, it is a very rare occurrence.  Surprisingly, it happened in Beijing at a tourist spot where the security should be pretty high; at least higher than those places without Olympic events.

My first travel day of this trip was today. As I am still adjusting to the time change, I was up at 4:45am. This is a lot better than my last trip where I would get to bed at 4am. I am making an effort this time to go to bed at a normal time and get up at a reason able time. This way I can get over the jetlag quicker.

I had breakfast at the KFC next door to my hotel, since it was the only thing open, then prepared for my trip down to Dongguan.

It’s always an adventure taking Chinese subways and trains anywhere, but it’s an even greater adventure when you have luggage to carry with you. I took the subway to the Guangzhou East Railway station and then took the train to Dongguan. It was a very cheap way to travel, costing me about $9. If I was to take a taxi, it would be about 10x more.

After arriving at Dongguan, I finally bought a sim card for my phone, so I can begin communicating more effectively with the factories. I then took a taxi from the train station to my hotel. The big thing right now is the Olympics and the Opening Ceremony tonight. Like most people I spoke with, the taxi driver was going home early to watch the Opening Ceremonies.

After checking in and eating lunch, I met up with my clothing factory. They picked me up from my hotel and drove me to Humen, a suburb of Dongguan, about 30 minutes away. I toured their facility and looked at samples of their recent products. They do a very great quality work and have many clients from Australia, Europe, and the United States. What’s great about Humen is their access to cloth and fabric. Many cloth and fabric factories are located in Humen, which makes it an ideal place to produce clothing.
After our meeting, we went for an early dinner. It was to be an early night for all of us, because the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics was to begin in just a couple of hours. It’s always important to take the time to get to know your factory/supplier not only on a business level, but on a personal level as well. Meals are a very good opportunity to do this.

I got back to my hotel room at about 7:30pm, early enough to get ready for the Opening Ceremonies. The Ceremony was a very impressive display of Olympic spirit and Chinese culture mixed together. Zhang Yimou, Director of Jet Li’s Hero and House of Flying Daggers, directed the Opening Ceremonies. I loved the opening of where the drummers counted down to the beginning.

I am excited to see the Olympics. I made a vow 7 years ago when I heard that Beijing got the Olympics for 2008, I would be here for the Olympics. Although I am not here for what I originally vowed I would come for, I am honored and excited to be in China nonetheless. The excitement for the Olympics is amazing. The great national pride China has and has always had for themselves will be most prominently shown during these Olympics. I expect China to do very well.

Today was a contacting day. I spent the entire day in my hotel room calling factories to set up times to meet with them. I was hoping to get this done before I left, but it is so hard to set specific dates until you get here. This is because there are a lot of unknown factors that are just not known until you get here, such as hotel logistics, transportation, etc. My original plan was to head to Shanghai for a couple of days next week, but because of some logistical issues with factories, I will not be able to go to Shanghai any longer. I was very much looking forward to go to Shanghai, but it might be good that I don’t go with the Olympics beginning and Shanghai hosting one of the events.

I rarely stay in Guangzhou, so I decided to go exploring around my hotel location during lunch. I am staying pretty much right in the middle of the shopping district. There are a couple of malls around where I am staying, 2 KFCs and McDonald’s pretty much across the street from each other. It took me about an hour of walking around to finally find the alley with all the authentic Chinese food. It feels great to get a full meal for less than $2.

Tomorrow, it is off to Dongguan for my first of many factory visits. I’ve been to Dongguan many times and look forward to going back there and start getting real work done. It is also the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics, so I will need to make sure everything gets done before 8:08:08pm when the Olympics are set to start. The atmosphere for the Olympics is exciting. Everywhere you go the Olympics is taking precedence over anything else. I am very excited to actually be in China for the beginning of the Olympics.

I left at 8:20am Mountain Time and got into China at 11:00pm (9:00am Mountain Time), so in total I was traveling for more than 24 hours including 2 layovers. This is the most unpleasant part of traveling to China; however, as soon as I make it to China I enjoy every minute of it. The flight and layovers were very uneventful. There was not much I could do while I was at the airport. I made some phone calls and did some planning for my business. I wish all airports would offer free internet access. Call me cheap, but I don’t see a point in paying money to use the internet in the airports for an hour or two. There are a few airports that have internet computers or even free wireless access. I was surprised during my layover in Japan that they still don’t have free wireless or something similar, because the Japanese are known to embrace advanced technologies and like to stay ahead of the curve. So far, the only place I have been with free wireless is the Hong Kong airport. Even the airport in Taipei has free internet machines. Time goes by so much faster and I am able to be much more productive when I have the internet.

Surprisingly, all of my flights were early today. I exchanged some money in Minneapolis thinking it would be a better deal exchanging money at an airport in the US compared to one in China; however, I was wrong. I was actually able to get a better exchange rate at the Chinese airport than the one in the US. It’s been a while since I’ve exchanged any money at the airport usually I do it at a bank, so this was a learning experience for me.

I definitely noticed a heightened security as I went through Chinese customs. In the past, if I had nothing to declare I could pretty much walk right through to the exit. However, this time we all had to wait in line to scan our luggage before proceeding out to the exit. This took about an extra 10 minutes. I walked over to the area to take a taxi and noticed there weren’t many people in line. I thought to myself that because of the Olympics they are making sure everyone stands in line in an orderly manner. However, I was soon proven wrong as a large group of Chinese came from all different directions lunging for the first taxi they could find. I’ve learned from past experiences that if you can’t beat them, then join them. Since I was supposed to be the next person in line, I grabbed my one suitcase and carryon bag and went after the first taxi that was open.

I’ve finally arrived to my hotel room, 26 hours from the time my flight left. I don’t think anyone can ever get used to the time it takes to travel to China.

I’m looking forward to begin what is to be a very eventful two weeks with factory visits and project negotiations.

This will be the first time I write rather informally in this blog.  Tomorrow I will be heading to China for two weeks not for the Olympics, but for a sourcing/factory audit/meeting trip.  My very good friend, Jason Barber, gave me the great idea of blogging about this trip to show what a typical trip is like.  I hope that you will gain important insights from the entries I will make each day these next two weeks.  Thanks for reading!

I was catching up on some business news last night when I came across an article from the Salt Lake Tribune from July 19, 2008 titled “On the job: U.S. managers must learn Chinese business rules” by Anita Bruzzese, who interviews Erik Duerring, director of consulting services in Asia for Development Dimensions International, Inc.:

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_9933254?IADID=Search-www.sltrib.com-www.sltrib.com

I thought it was a great article that was very informative and beneficial until I came to one point:

Corruption is a normal part of doing business. ”Ethical” may have a different meaning to the Chinese than it does to Westerners. For example, large expensive gifts to a Chinese company are not seen as bribery.”

Although corruption is an issue that the Chinese are facing at all levels of business and government, they are certainly putting in a lot of effort to cut down on corruption.  What shocked me the most about this article was that the the director was almost promoting the fact that you have to get involved in bribery and corruption in order to succeed in China.

The truth is people in China are being executed for corruption and accepting bribes in China.  Why risk the chance of getting caught in China by bribing Chinese officials and business executives and facing severe penalties in the process.

For example, last year the former head of the Chinese food and drug safety department, Zheng Xiaoyu, was put to death for corruption amid a series of health scares concerning Chinese products.  While this may be an extreme example of the results of corruption and bribery, any type of punishment by the Chinese government can’t be pleasant.

I will never recommend to anyone that they bribe anybody in China.  There are more ethical ways of doing business and succeeding.  When you have to get involved in this risky practice to get ahead, you may be risking you life!

I just read an interesting article to show another sign that China is trying to show their humanitarian side during the Olympic games is their effort in organizing a group of 200,000 volunteer cheerleaders to root for any participating national team during the Olympics.

“Most of the volunteer cheerleaders – which include many retired civil servants – though, have never shaken pom poms in sassy pleated skirts, let alone roused a crowd with victory jumps.”

This article also mentions that 28 groups of elite dancers who went through intense competition to perform as cheerleaders, acrobats, and dancers. To train this group of cheerleaders, they have called upon cheerleaders from the New England Patriots.

“Some routines are self-choreographed and throw in some Chinese flair. One group squats and kicks with red fans, flicking them open and shut with a loud whir to Asian-infused techno.

Another squad twirls nunchucks before switching to pompoms mid-song. “Everyone knows cheerleading is a Western activity, but we hope we can find a Chinese way to do it [and] show the world,” says He He, who sports long, dyed-red hair and a sparkly belly-button ring.”

This is going to be very interesting to see during the Olympics!

Read the article: http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/news?slug=ys-cheerleaders070808&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

As China is preparing for the Olympics in 15 days, the government has come out with new Olympic propaganda to encourage citizens to be “civilized” when interacting with foreigners. What is title the “8 Don’t Asks”, Chinese should not ask foreigners the following:

1. Don’t ask about income or expenses.
2. Don’t ask about age.
3. Don’t ask about love life or marriage.
4. Don’t ask about health.
5. Don’t ask about someone’s home or address.
6. Don’t ask about personal experience.
7. Don’t ask about religious beliefs or political views.
8. Don’t ask what someone does.

So what exactly should they be talking about with foreigners? This is a worthy attempt by the Chinese government to keep the peace during the Olympics.

The link below shows of other Olympic propaganda the Chinese government has come out with including how to treat handicapped people and atheletes:

http://www.peacefulrise.org/2008/07/18/interact-with-foreigners-olympics-propaganda

We’ve all heard the saying “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”.  This means that when we go to some place new, you should do as the people do who are from the place you are visiting.

However, common complaints heard from  many people who are trying to do business in China include:

• The Chinese do things all “wrong”
• They are constantly changing their minds
• Why won’t they…
• It can’t possibly be our problem, because we Americans (Westerners) do things “effectively” and they need to learn to do it our way.

This is a very passive way of thinking.  For some reason, we Americans (other Western countries included) are very proud and feel we are better than every other country on the planet.  Why do you think we need to police the whole world?  Regardless of that fact, we feel like our way is the best way and that any other way is wrong.

Have you thought for a minute that their way, the Chinese way, could also be right?  The Chinese have the fastest growing economy in the world, the world wants China to produce the majority of their products, and they are hosting the Olympics in less than 4 weeks.  Have we thought for a minute that their way is also an option?

The way to success in China or any other country is to focus on results.  Focus on what you are their to accomplish and less on how you accomplish it.  When we get caught up in the how, then we start focusing on things that we cannot control.  When we focus on the what (results), then we are more willing to adapt to their way while focusing less on the uncontrollable things.

The Chinese will be Chinese and Americans will be Americans.  Adapt or fail.  Remember the saying is “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” and not “When in Rome, force the Romans to do as you do”.

The Summer Olympics in China are only 25 days away.  I really can’t wait for that day.  I am excited that China will finally be able to show off itself as a country of international prominence.  I am also excited that people will actually see how advanced and civilized they really are.

A topic of interest to Olympic travelers and athletes is the safety issue.  Can China protect all the tourists, athletes, and citizens that will inundate regions of China for the Olympics for over 2 weeks?

Recently, an incident of 10 Australians and their local translator being held hostage in Xian, China, Tibet accusing the Chinese government of human rights crimes, and other similar incidents have caused quite a stir in the media to ask ourselves, “Is China safe?”

The Olympics are only 25 days away and embarrassing incident hurts more than helps the overall image of China.  However, from what we are told, incidents like this are rare in China.  I say from what we are told, because it is common for these type of things to be under-reported or un-reported  in China.  The reason why we heard anything this time was probably because it involved foreigners.

From my experience, China is very safe.  The only real thing you need to be worried about are pickpockets and haggling the right price for cheap gifts on the streets.  As long as you stay away from sensitive issues, such as politics, human rights, Taiwanese independence, etc. you should be just fine.