Matthew Coelho
Despite the omnipresent discussions about globalization and the technological revolution that is supposedly making the world a smaller, more homogenous place, a visit to China will reveal the vast differences that still exist. For all the business school talk related to both of these areas, I truly expected to arrive in Beijing, the capital of China, to find a plethora of people influenced by Western culture and able to speak Mandarin and English interchangeably or at least to an extent. Over the next three weeks visiting businesses and traveling across cities, I would draw my own surprising conclusions regarding the overall economic outlook, about the people, culture and sightseeing visits.
The company visits were an incredible opportunity to view China in a way not afforded to many people let alone a foreign group of students. At Lenovo’s headquarters in the equivalent of Silicon Valley in Beijing, we learned about the market penetration strategy, the branding and marketing plans for the company before they were released worldwide. Our meeting with the China Alliance network afforded us a unique legal perspective on operating in the Chinese marketplace from an American lawyer now consulting in China- the biggest takeaway being her belief that the Chinese are so successful in large part because they plan thoroughly. Our visit to Yingkou, a 3rd tier city, was interesting and beneficial for a variety of reasons. As a result of Elinore’s special relationship with the city, we were privileged to have a very traditional banquet dinner put on for us by the foreign affairs office. We toured the new economic zone of the city, which was probably one of the most peculiar experiences from the trip because of a Bloomberg article I later read regarding “ghost cities” in China. These some 20 cities are the result of massive government infrastructure spending on preplanned cities in anticipation of a population boom in the region. It remains to be seen whether these cities will be a factor in what I suspect may become a real estate bubble in China. Our visit to Umbra was an incredible opportunity to learn about the sourcing side of retailing while actually visiting a real factory where we saw the production of many recognizable products sold in stores such as Target, Wal-mart and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Our trip to Umbra was also unique in that we were permitted to visit the dormitories where factory workers lived and to see typical living conditions.
Our interactions with locals and our sightseeing visits left me with some impressions about the Chinese culture and way of life. Perhaps one of the most interesting people we met was Arthur, the foreign affairs representative from Yingkou. Following full days of business and governmental visits, Arthur joined a group of us for a small dinner and told us many things somewhat off the record, which gave us more insight than likely any other interactions with Chinese nationals. He discussed the opportunity for advancement and a future within the party as being limited by vacancies, which is still no guarantee of promotion. He also spoke of the admiration friends and family have for him due to his job within the government as well as China’s infamous one child policy. Also extremely surprising was the reaction most locals had in nearly every city, save Shanghai and Hong Kong, to seeing Westerners. Despite hosting the Olympics in 2008 and the World Expo in 2010, most Chinese people were shocked to see Western faces and often took pictures with us or more commonly, of us. Some of our greatest fun occurred at the night markets and in the famous shopping quarters where we tested our palettes by eating exotic foods and tried our hand at bargaining with locals. Visits to sites like the Great Wall were as incredible as one might imagine, I am still in shock that I realized this dream so early in my life. At the panda reserve in Chengdu we felt and witnessed the pride that abounds among the people of the Sichuan province. An account of my China experiences wouldn’t be complete without discussing the nightlife in cities like Shanghai and Hong Kong. These cities are particularly noteworthy because of their unique blend of Chinese culture and European influence. Shanghai’s Bund area and French concession were wonderful to visit and a great place to go out at night as they were teaming with study abroad students like us. In Hong Kong, the British influence is still pervasive and provided a needed contrast with Mainland China.
Overall, I loved my trip and will be watching China closely in the future. Thank you to everyone’s hard work in putting this tour together.