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The academic element of this trip included 20 UW students who signed up for an Exploration Seminar called “Entrepreneurial Explosion in Modern China.”  The goal of the seminar was to expose students first-hand to the incredible economic growth happening in China, to help them understand the forces driving that growth, and to get them thinking about the impact that growth will have on the world economy and on their own futures. 

The students were mostly business and economics majors (undergrads) and about half came from Chinese or Asian heritage.  Most had only a cursory knowledge of recent Chinese history, so we spent the first week seeing an excellent PBS documentary on China’s “Century of Revolution” and touring Shanghai.  The second week we spent visiting companies in Shanghai and getting educated on key economic changes and the drivers behind them – the domestic banking system, foreign investment, manufacturing outsourcing, state-owned enterprises, and the emerging legal infrastructure.  The last 2 weeks we travelled to other places – Hangzhou, Wenzhou, and Yandang Shan – to meet with Chinese entrepreneurs, observe the rural-to-urban contrast and migration, and to have some fun.  Students learned a great deal, as I’m now seeing as I read their final papers.

For me, as the instructor, this seminar provided a tremendous opportunity to explore and learn about China alongside the students.  While I’d spent the last year or two reading lots about China’s recent history and growth, I’ve now had a chance to “live” the experience of that growth – to see the construction cranes in action everywhere, to view the entirely new skyline of Shanghai, to hear directly from entrepreneurs who’ve built and grown their companies in the unique atmosphere of the last 20 years, to ‘feel’ the sense of opportunity and hope that permeates the streets, to smell and taste the smog, to speak with recent rural-to-urban migrants about their experience – and from all this, to draw my own conclusions about China.  In addition to learning a lot, I found the interactions with students to be much more gratifying than any classroom teaching I’ve done at UW back in Seattle.   First, our daily proximity allowed us to learn more about each other and I could relate to students as whole people rather than just members of a class.  Second, many of the students came from Chinese families and could relate personal stories about China’s recent history and cultural mindset that added a rich and enlivening perspective to the discussions (not to mention fluent Mandarin translating!).   And third, students were more comfortable in this relaxed environment to bring their own personal passions – about environmental concerns, about poverty vs. plenty, about moral issues of government control vs. personal freedom – into our daily discussions, giving them an intensity and personal relevance that caused some real deep thinking.   I was impressed by how seriously students treated the subjects we covered and how thoughtful they were in their comments.

In this post I’d like to capture and share some thoughts I’m having about China - and about life in the United States - after returning from Shanghai to our home in Seattle Washington.

Today I found out that the beard trimmer I brought with me to China will no longer works - I must have blown a fuse or something in the power adapter when I tried using it China. So I made some phone calls to see about getting it fixed and to find a store nearby that had one in stock, which left me with a few impressions:

When I heard from the manufacturer the trimmer was “non servicable” and realized that I would have to essentially throw this trimmer out in the garbage (even though the trimmer itself was working just fine before I blew the power adapter) I was reminded that in the United States ours is such a displosable society - where repair/replacement policies or product upgrades are designed to make you buy the latest and greatest version - and throw out yesterday’s “latest and greatest”. My perfectly good trimmer will just take up room in landfill somewhere - alongside yesterday’s cell phones, CD drives, PCs and CRT monitors.

I was reminded how pleasant it can be to have an quick and easy shopping experience here in the States - at each store I called, the person I spoke to understood immediately what I wanted, put me on hold while they checked and then came back and gave me a clear answer on whether they had it in stock or not, and the exact price I would have to pay to purchase it.

To be fair, I should first point out that while I was in China I found most people to be very willing to speak any English they knew, very patient about understanding what I was asking them, and also very helpful in general. However in China it usually took a considerable amount of time and effort to 1) get my question across in simple English or in or my combination of very limited Mandarin and hand signals, 2) haggle through an inflated price to a more reasonable price, and 3) understand the words or actions the person gave to me in response. And after all that, I would never be quite sure that I understood everything related to the “conversation” we had just shared!

When I called a local store and was put on hold, I heard loud music that wasn’t exactly the type of music I enjoy listening to. I thought about how aggressive “marketing” or advertising seemed to be in China, and it felt like a missed opportunity. At the street level and in advertisements I saw in magazines or TV commercials, Chinese marketing seemed to often be “over the top” and overly emotional or agressive in some way. If I Chinese marketeer was able to develop the on-hold experience at the store I had called, I’m sure they’d use the time to advertise products to me in a way that would be loud and alluring or invasive - but likely also more effectrive and productive. Perhaps Western advertisers can learn something from their Chinese counterparts…

In addition to the above, I was also reminded that it’s really nice to use a credit card - and not have to keep a huge wad of paper money on me, and shufflle through bills of several different sizes to find the right amount needed to pay for something. I sort of missed the haggling part, though. By the end of our trip I was quite good at it - and actually enjoyed the whole necessary process.

In my short visit to a store to pick up the new trimmer, I noticed more overweight people than I think I saw in my 4 weeks in China.

Also no one on the street or in the store closely looked at or “examined” me!  By the end of our trip, I was beginning to get tired of having everyone lock on and stare at me and my sons wherever we went.

On the streets of Shanghai bamboo scaffolding can be seen at building construction or renovation sites, while at the Urban Planning Exhibition Hall you can see a built-to-scale plan of how Shanghai will develop over the next 20 years. 
                     

Here are some scenes from our travels around Shanghai and shopping at the Yu Yuan Market…

We returned to Shanghai on Thursday and that evening we hosted a reception for fifteen students from Shanghai Jiaotong University Business School.  Our UW students enjoyed mixing with them and talking about everything from favorite restaurants and marketplaces in Shanghai to how business is taught in China to career prospects in the US vs. China and lots in-between.
     

I’ve resisted posting my overall thoughts about China to date - mostly because I knew that my initial impressions would be naive “knee jerk” reactions that wouldn’t honor the unique character and complexity of this fascinating country. I also felt that it would be necessary to see and experience several different cities before I begin to form my perspective on the character and culture of the people of China. Now that we’ve left Shanghai and spent the weekend in the more rural and relative quiet of Hangzhou and Yan Dang Shan, I feel more able to consider and share my thoughts.

This post will serve as an overview of my reactions and impressions of China, and I’ll add more to it over time. It’s certainly difficult and not very accurate to generalize of course (especially in China, which is a county comprised of many unique provinces and cities - each with their own history, culture and personality) but to capture and pass on my own impressions for others something must be said, so I will offer here my own thoughts to date.

1.     My thinking is that the people I’ve met here seem to be primarily driven and industrious. The Chinese seem willing and able to overcome incredible challenge and hardship to achieve amazing things. This can be seen in their history and architectural and industrial achievements, the amazing migration of large parts of their population to distant city centers, the rapid expansion and growth of their economy, and their adoption of technology and global finance and business systems and practices.

2.      I should point out that I think on a day-to-day basis I’ve experienced the Chinese people at their best – since I’ve almost always been accompanied by my two young sons, and most people here seem to have a joy and almost a reverence for young children. I’ve found the hotel staff, shopkeepers, and most people we’ve met in taxis, at tourist locations and out on city and rural streets to be considerate, gracious, and helpful – with what I would call a reserved but friendly and perhaps even at times a “happy” nature.

3.      Everything in China seems possible, but at the same time many things along the way seem not easy and even frustrating – especially to Westerners. There are subtle nuances to the language (multiple versions of the same word that differ only in tone, unique dialects in many cities and provinces, a structural simplicity that leaves the meaning of statements or questions relative to the current situation), an overall desire not to “lose face” or cause others to lose face, and also an “indirectness” to speech and interaction that I just can’t begin to explain at this point in time.

4.      To Western sensibilities, normal behaviors for the Chinese people can seem at times “rude” – spitting out in the streets or in public spaces, less regard for “personal space”, “pushy” to the point where cutting in line is commonplace, impassive responses to smiles or a display of frustration or anger from Westerners, urinating in public, chaotic driving and an alarming disregard for pedestrians and other drivers. 

5.      The cuisine I’ve experienced here in China has been varied but excellent. Each province has its own unique specialties - so there is a wide variety of rice, noodle, poultry, fish, and dumpling dishes, and many soups, stews and sauces. However the preparation and presentation of food is more basic - perhaps more “honest” or less sanitized, actually. As Westerners we just aren’t used to seeing chicken feet, fish heads, and various intestines and organs displayed at a buffet table or on a serving or dinner plate. Dairy seems to be relatively rare, and I don’t think the Chinese understand or fully appreciate cheese. In what I think we now view more as the unfortunate fast food category, some Western foods have been exported successfully (Kentucky Fried Chicken and Starbucks) while others (McDonalds burgers and Pizza Hut pizza) have not. Looking forward I would say that I’ll really appreciate whole milk, thick pulpy orange juice, pizza with ”real” cheese and tasty tomato sauce and a thick barbecued steak when I return to the States - but I’ll also miss Chinese soups, sauces, dumplings and Beggar Man’s Chicken very much!

Yesterday we went to Changfeng Park where they had a go cart racing track! It was awesome!!! I raced on the track twice. Once vs. my Dad and once vs. my Mom. You go very fast, and it’s kind of hard to turn on such a twisty turny track. On the first race I spun out of control on a sharp turn. I beat my Mom on the second race.  There were these two other kids driving on the track who were completely crazy. They slammed me against the side of the track. I hope to go again with my mom’s college students so I can race and beat them too!

Well, I’m  sorry you couldn’t be with me on the race track, Thomas.

We visited the Suzhou Silk Factory and I learned how silk is made. First the workers collect and feed leaves to a bunch of silk spinning caterpillars (see pictures 1 and 2 below). Then they wait for the caterpillars to spin a cocoon in a bamboo rack. Once the caterpillar’s cocoons have been completed they give the completed cocoons to another worker. This worker first soaks the cocoon in water and then opens it up and takes the butterfly larva out of the cocoon. Then the worker takes the silk cocoon and stretches it over a bamboo piece that has been bent over into the shape of a bridge. The worker keeps draping more and more stretched cocoons over the bamboo piece, as many as she can fit. Then she takes all of the stretched cocoon silk pieces to the next group of people and they hang it out to dry. Once the silk has dried 5 people grab a side of the silk piece and stretch it out and then drape it over a bed sized board to create a silk blanket that the factory sells to stores, and then the stores sell the silk blankets to custumers.

Thomas here - the other day we went to Suzhou Gardens. It was a very hot day. Lots of people there wanted to take photos with me and my brother Lucas. The coolest thing we did was go through these big rock caves. It was pretty cool. There was also a big pagoda my family and a few of my moms students rested in for about 10 minutes. Near the end of the trip we got to a bonzi garden with little trees that looked like full grown trees. We also found a shop where some of the students got some photos of the garden and a refreshment shop where me and my brother got a coke each. When we finally got out of the garden and into a taxi cab the cool air conditioning felt like heaven.

Here’s a collection of scenes from various neighborhoods in Shanghai that I enjoyed, and I hope you do too….