$$$$$*** CHINA BACKDROP - SHANGHAI ***$$$$
CONTINUED....
We landed in Shanghai around noon. The afternoon was scheduled for some sightseeing. We met our Shanghai guide at the airport and left our baggage for transport to the hotel. We had landed in the old Shanghai airport used for internal China flights. Patrick, our guide, seemed very intelligent and informed. His English was excellent as well. He told us he was now teaching other tour guides and had worked with the Clinton Entourage when they visited China. After checking into the Raddison, listed as a 4 star hotel, we regrouped for the city tour. I had read many books on Shanghai and China and some dealt with proper questions and those to avoid. Number one on the list to avoid is the "One Child Policy". It was the first question asked and I flinched at the question. Patrick never skipped a beat and answered the question head on. It was to be the way he handled our group for his tenure. While he had never been to the US he had visited Canada. He fielded the questions one after another. Shanghai is quite different from Hong Kong. I felt relief from the mass high-rise system of Hong Kong. Everywhere I looked construction cranes dotted the skyline. Where buildings in Hong Kong under renovation were surrounded by scaffolding made of bamboo tied together with wire, all the way up to the sky, in Shanghai bamboo scaffolding was only allowed to be used up to the fifth story. Metal scaffolding was prominent here and construction was wide spread. Where Hong Kong was vertical Shanghai was spread out. 13.5 million lived here but not on top of each other. Shanghai lacked the subway system and it was replaced by bicycles. Everywhere you turned were bicycles, and their drivers were fearless, darting in and out of traffic, it was unnerving and how they survived was a mystery to me. Where several families lived together in Hong Kong they were separated in Shanghai with each family unit living separately. The government was encouraging apartment purchases by providing mortgage loans to those who wanted to make the purchase. The price of a unit was not cheap but many families held "off the book" second jobs in order to maintain a reasonable living standard. Many cleaned offices after hours, or were tutors, or did odd jobs. The children were required to go to 12 years of schooling, an option for technical school was presented in the high school years. English was being taught to all starting in the third grade. Indeed more children are studying English in China than in the US. We made our way to the Pudong area. A special district that was farm land nine years ago. The city in encircled by a freeway then it is cut into quadrants by freeways from east to west and north to south. Heavier traffic here with lots of taxis and few personal autos. We came out of the tunnel under the river and surfaced in Pudong. The first thing that draws your eye is the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. A bulbous tower separated by extensions going higher and higher. The architecture of the surrounding buildings was just as fabulous, and it was farmland nine years ago. A fantastic conversion, this is the Financial District. The Shanghai Stock Exchange is here in a new building and you could feel the energy of the area. We departed the bus for some sightseeing and picture taking. The people were friendly and curious about us, as opposed to Hong Kong where they never seemed to care. The children laughed ands said hello to us, were happy to pose in pictures with us and exuded smiles for the attention. We were smitten. After buying some ice cream from a street vendor we boarded the bus for more views of the fascinating architecture of the City Hall and Library and Sports Complex. We were escorted to a silk rug manufacturer. The building filled with carpets that took a lifetime to complete or years for the smaller ones. The prices reflected the effort and some were truly masterpieces. Then off to a Mongolian Barbecue dinner. It was fun and interesting. You picked out your meat and fixings and took them to the cook who prepared the meal with great panache and fanfare. We enjoyed the dinner and boarded the bus fro the trip back to our hotel which was indeed far from the action of the city. Dr Phan had supplied Denis and I with a laptop to tap into the 162 network in Shanghai and Beijing. The only problem was when we tried to log on we were not connected. It was disappointing to say the least. I prepared a word document while we waited until Denis could contact Dr Yang at the appointed 9:00 PM time. The answer was that the hotel had blocked our usage of the network. Off I went to the Business Center. It was obvious that the Business Center wanted you there spending money. The computers were old and the modem a 28K variety. I answered some email from home after losing amy AOL connection twice, some things never change!! By then it was time for the Business Center to roll up their office. Off to bed and preparation for the next days events.
We were scheduled to visit the WindInfo building and a rented conference center that morning for presentations from Shanghai SinoBull Information (GuoMao) and WindInfo. Some of us had been contacted by Dr Phan in June with a plea to help Jaing Tai, the President and CEO of GuoMao to get a Visa that was being denied him in Shanghai. It seems the government feared that this young man would not come back to China. They did not think he was over thirty with a wife and children. The presentation was chaired by Dr Yang who introduced us to the operations and the presented Jaing Tai. Jaing Tai was very young looking, belying his true age. I found him to be very intelligent and in control of his company and future. I was impressed with his presentation and his handling of questions from our group. Next was the WindInfo presentation. Unfortunately Lu Feng, the founder, Chairman and General manager did not speak English. He apologized stating that is school he concentrated on computer science and neglected English. The presentation was made by another young man in his employ aided by Dr Yang. It was another impressive presentation. I will expound on it later. Suffice it to say these companies are pioneers, but they do not operate in a vacuum. There are competitors, some are being defeated and surrender but others remain. Some additional capital here could be utilized to buy out the competition and anchor positions. We then moved upstairs to the WindInfo offices. It was packed with hard working employees. WindInfo has just released a new product for the Insurance industry and folks were busy in sales and in technical areas. Then we moved to the Shanghai SinoBull offices in another building. They had just taken over this space and it was impressive. Workstations and employees were everywhere. Some in the adjacent offices and there was vacant space across the floor for the TV project that is proceeding. Another very impressive piece of the puzzle. Many of our group had asked if there was any way to get into the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Jaing Tai had said he had some contacts there and placed a call. We were then scheduled to enter during the time we had scheduled lunch. The Exchange is all computerized, matching trades electronically, and we were not sure that the Exchange was open and operating. The traders were quiet and no activity other than the computer matching was evident. The huge charts on the walls showed a very positive chart pattern for the day. Later that day we were bussed around the city and shown various parts of the city which has a very international history. After a trip to Old Shanghai for shopping and a bite to eat we were to meet at the bus at 4:15 PM. Only one problem we were short two members. We waited while some searched. After 30 minutes we decided to head off to our destination, the Bund. After a shopping trip on the Bund and the Friendship Store we headed to the Acrobatic show in the Opera Center, right next door to the Hard Rock Cafe - Shanghai. As we boarded the bus we were joined by our wayward travelers who had tracked us down and rejoined the group. It was another impressive show that my descriptions could not do justice, so I won't try. Then back to the hotel, bags to be collected at 5:30 AM in the hallway in front of your room.
After breakfast it was off to the new airport, quite a long trip from our hotel. And YES I HAD MY PASSPORT!!!!!
TO BE CONTINUED....... |
