About China blogosphere, travel, and entrepreneurship

Part Two: Shanghai PVG May No Longer Suck

After passing through for one reason or another, I’m often compelled to express my disappointment with the sheer inanity of mainland China’s international airports. For all the overwrought grandeur of their exterior architecture, they’ve repeatedly let me down with senseless interior design, poor construction quality, and the lack of confidence-inspiring, waiting-passenger-amusing, branded amenities like…I dunno, Starbucks. Reassuringly, I’m not the only one who feels this way.

Let’s take Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport (PVG) for example. I mean, Shanghai has been a pretty happenin’, cosmopolitan city for awhile now, right? PVG itself is pretty darn new too, having only opened less than 9 years ago in late 1999. So…what’s with the wrist-slitting interior lighting? Why do the grimy, smelly Terminal 1 restrooms remind me of mental asylums? And just why the hell are they located in the basement level anyway?

In contrast, you have the mega-mall that is the Hong Kong International Airport (HKG), where it is more about shopping Bvlgari, Cartier, Prada, Fendi, Gucci, Coach, etc. etc. etc. than about flying anywhere. Seriously, does anyone really need to buy a 6.4 carat Tiffany & Co. diamond engagement ring right before their flight?

In contrast, there’s also the spit, polish, shine, and arigato gozaimasu of Tokyo’s Narita International Airport (NRT)…where the most retarded questions you could possibly ask are cheerfully answered, with the utmost respect for your ancestors, by the cutest Japanese airport personnel.

Both airports are fantastic examples of what an international airport hub for a major international city should look like. Up until now, Shanghai’s PVG Terminal 1 just didn’t cut it. It might look nifty from afar but for anyone who has travelled, it was an embarassment for a major Chinese metropolis like Shanghai.

However, the new Terminal 2 at PVG opened earlier this year and lucky for me, my Air China ticket to America meant I would finally get a chance to check it out. Accordingly, I didn’t have high expectations and frankly, I didn’t have any expectations whatsoever. I’m pretty jaded. Therefore, and fortunately for PVG, I was completely surprised to find something so utterly remarkable that I not only called my friends to share my sudden delight, I’m also writing about it.

Like Terminal 1, there’s plenty of cold steel, concrete columns, and marble expanses in Terminal 2. Unlike Terminal 1, however, there was an abundance of natural lighting, warm wood surfaces to break up the bleak white and grey, and (see above) a huge zen-like indoor waterfall. HoMedics, anyone? The latter was honestly revolutionary enough that everyone walking by took out their cameras to take pictures of this most incredibly inspired airport design feature…in of all China. Oh, and the restrooms not only had comfy baby-changing rooms with seating for weary mothers and weary fathers, I daresay there was even a pleasant scent about them. Lastly, the ultimate coup de grace for any modern traveller: free wi-fi internet and plenty of easily accessible electrical outlets for our laptops and gadgets.

Shanghai’s international airport is finally half-way respectable.

Of course, its not as good as HKG…yet, but it definitely has potential…so long as no one screws it up. As with so many things in post-Mao mainland China, the bar was simply set so low that basically any half-decent improvement results in–and deserves–ecstatic praise. This was a half-decent improvement and we should give them credit where its due. Now, it still has a lot really random, low-quality retail and dining (like Hope Star Coffee & Cate), but there were some known brands and even an Ajisen Ramen. Now the KFC by the Maglev Station won’t have a monopoly on my dining patronage.

Bravo for Shanghai PVG. Next up: Beijing Capital International Airport.

UPDATE:The wifi is frustratingly unreliable, consistently hanging every so often and resulting in serious disruptions to any effort at productivity. In better news, there are a lot more respectable dining and shopping than I previously noticed and mentioned (though still not more than HKG). They have a Burger King.

After a long spell in Shanghai, and aside from a few trips to Hong Kong and Taipei here and there, I’m now writing from beautiful Los Angeles. Officially, I’m here to visit family and friends. Unofficially, I’m here to get a healthy helping of good old American mad-cow. Neither In-N-Out nor Claim Jumper will know what hit them (unless I can somehow make it to the House of Prime Rib).

Of course, I’m not here to bore you with my culinary misadventures in the States. Instead, I wanted to take this opportunity to share my random observations as I made my way out of Shanghai and transferred through Beijing before collecting my luggage at Los Angeles.

Part One: Shanghai Metro Pat-down

After the recent bus explosion fire that had quite a few Chinese friends wondering if the Shanghai Metro system was safe from those dastardly Xinjiang terrorists, I actually wondered: just what sort of security does Shanghai have to stop random terrorists from running into People’s Square and creating an unfathomable disaster. That is, other than the logic disaster of trying to board before letting people off…during rush hour. Rarely have I seen any reasonable security in Shanghai’s metro stations, and it honestly looks all too easy for someone with hidden explosives and malicious intent to just walk on in and obliterate the mob of humanity that uses the metro system daily. With the Olympics quickly approaching and Chinese domestic media scaring the populace with occasional reports of terrorism threatening to derail (heh) China’s rightful ascension to international glory, I thought they’d ramp up security or something. It never felt that they did…

…until I, of all the harmless-looking people in the world, rolled my luggage into the metro station this past Tuesday afternoon.

As I fumbled to stuff my 10 kuai into the ticket vending machine, a station attendant immediately and briskly walked over to me. At first, I actually thought she was coming to offer, gasp, customer service! Pleasantly flattered, I quickly tried to politely wave her off to let her know there’s no need as I understood how to use the machine. But no, she neither cared where I was going or whether I knew how to pay for fare; she just wanted me to open my luggage to show her the explosives I was surely hiding. Oh.

I, of course, complied. I set my luggage down and flipped it open. Interestingly, she didn’t seem too bothered by the brick-like bulk hidding in one corner of my luggage wrapped mysteriously in yellow graphing paper and a baijiu giveaway bag. I mean, national product or not, it could’ve been flammable baijiu, a fatty amount of explosive C4 plastique, or something equally dangerous, like 6 month F visas. No, instead, she poked warily at my Calvin Klein Escape deodorant. I quickly explained its purpose for masking unpleasant, women-luring, body odor. Confounded, she had no choice but to let me continue with my journey.

Four kuai ticket in hand, and suitcase zipped shut again, I quickly entered the station. I glanced back only briefly, you know, to make sure I wasn’t being tailed, due to my pleasing aroma, and made my way towards Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport.

There is an utterly amazing perk many American expats or travellers in China can enjoy so long as they’re customers of Bank of America (whom are legion, despite the fact that Bank of America is somewhat widely despised amongst many in the States): BofA customers can use their BofA ATM card to withdraw the USD in their accounts back home as RMB cash via China Construction Bank ATMs throughout China…for free.

No ATM fees, no currency exchange fees, no credit card cash advance fees, and no need to set up a CCB bank account either. Just cold, hard, delicious cash converted at the day’s exchange rate.

I used this a year ago and, embarassingly, I didn’t think to write about this useful tip until Dan over at China Law Blog just recently discovered and posted about it earlier today.

Now, the daily ATM withdrawal limit in China was raised from 5,000 RMB to 20,000 RMB in mid-2007. Accounting for the current exchange rate (6.94 RMB per 1 USD at the time of this posting), this means you can effectively move up to about 2,880 USD into China each day, barring any daily withdrawal limits you have on your BofA account. If your limit is lower than the converted amount you want to access in China, you’ll need to call Bank of America in advance to raise your limits appropriately, lest you get confounded at the ATM. There’s also the current 2000 RMB per transaction limit at CCB’s ATMs, so you’ll need to repeat the withdrawal process 10 times to get the full 20,000 RMB daily limit. After making everyone behind you wait, however, you can walk smugly past them carrying your fat stacks of 100 RMB bills. Baller.

Now, 20,000 RMB is a decent sum of cash for the vast majority of transactions. That’s about 5000 street-cooked fried rice meals in China or 714 Starbucks cappucinos. Being able to freely access and convert your USD into RMB cash should be particularly useful for business travellers and other short-term visitors. You no longer need to hassle with carrying large amounts of cash, getting cashiers cheques, using wire transfers, or going through the hassle of setting up a Chinese bank account (which would require you to bring money in first anyway). Not only do you save money on fees and exchange rates, it is downright convenient.

The free ATM withdrawals perk has been available since April 2006 and you can thank BofA for opting to buy a stake in CCB and partnering with them instead of pursuing the retail banking market on their own. I, however, only learned about this service in mid-2007 when I needed to quickly move several thousand USD over to cover development costs for my startup, adex360, without fussing with wire transfers. In fact, BofA required me to physically appear at a US banking center just to wire my own money to myself in China. Yeah, like I’m really going to buy a round-trip airplane ticket just so I can pay them an additional 45 USD fee for a wire transfer to myself. I ended up withdrawing over several days to accumulate the RMB bricks I needed.

So yes, you can certainly make withdrawals over several days (or weeks) should you need to move more than 20,000 RMB. Of course, going to the ATM each day isn’t the most graceful way of moving large chunks of money, but it may be less annoying than having to set up, pay for, and then wait for a wire transfer that can sometimes take longer than you prefer. As with my example, you often can’t actually initiate a wire transfer of your own money to yourself from abroad anyway, thereby necessitating that you have someone abroad who can wire funds to you. Moreover, for many expats and travellers, trying to communicate with Chinese tellers when their English is about as good as your Chinglish can be a hassle as well.

There may be more good news too, as it appears that BofA and CCB has had a free wire transfer pilot program in place since late 2006 also. This allows BofA account holders to wire transfer money without the 45 USD fee or the 20,000 RMB daily limit to CCB account holders. But, before you think this is a better option than making 10 withdrawals a day over several days to move larger chunks of money, remember that you need a BofA account, a CCB account, and you’d still need to initiate the transfer at BofA in person in the United States. Therefore, as far as using this to wire your own money to yourself, it would only be useful if you’ve already set up your CCB account and you’re doing initiating the wire transfer right before you fly over from the States to China. The actual target market for this service are family members, friends, and businesses that need to move money between themselves and have the people to initiate and receive wire transfers on both sides. If you’re just one person in China trying to access your money in your US account, then the free ATM withdrawal service is still what you’re looking for…if you’re a BofA customer, that is.

18 days of free ATM withdrawals and you’ll be able to transfer the yearly maximum of 50,000 USD. Heh, how’s that for hedging against RMB appreciation and USD depreciation?

One final note: Despite the conveniences afforded by this partnership, don’t expect any service from CCB banks and representatives regarding your BofA account. The most they’ll know is that you can access your BofA account balance through their ATM. They are not there to help you with managing your account otherwise or answering any BofA questions.

Just read a nicely-written article with interesting statistics about China at The Independent (via Dan over at China Law Blog).

Though China’s market reforms and subsequent economic growth started 30 years ago, it has only been the recent decade where an appreciable amount of the masses are finally grasping just how profound it is. I say “grasping” because even so, the vast majority of them have yet to appreciate or truly understand just what China’s rise to global economic and political prominence will mean, burdened as they are–understandably–by their fears and ultimately their ignorance.

Here is a good excerpt (emphasis mine):

I am not sure we in the West fully grasp the magnitude of what is happening. Intellectually we can see it affecting us but emotionally it is hard to understand that we are moving towards a world where Western ideas, our ideas, will no longer hold sway. China has other ideas. Those will increasingly co-exist alongside ours in shaping global economic and political development….We will not find this comfortable. What we think will matter less and less. But we cannot do anything about it, and in any case, consider the alternative. Would we really want a China that was failing in economic terms, with all the misery that would cause? That would surely be far more dangerous and disruptive to the world than a continuation of China’s thrilling but terrifying success story. (more…)

Just heard from my local Chinese friends that “an explosion” killed three people earlier this morning on one of Shanghai’s public transit buses (Route 842). Many of them are speculating that this may have been a terrorist attack (by none other than those dastardly Xinjiang “splitists” of course) while some have even expressed a certain apprehension with using the Shanghai metro now.

Speculation aside, the official media and police insist that the Line 842 incidient was not an “explosion” and just a “fire.” Initial coverage by Xinhua said it was an explosion but has since been revised to the bus having caught on fire.

Original Xinhua quotation at Shanghaiist:

At least three people were killed in a bus explosion in Shanghai at about 9:00 a.m. Monday, according to fire fighters who rushed to the scene.

The cause of the explosion is not yet known. (more…)

Sometime in early 2007, some wise guy on ShanghaiExpat.com felt expat entrepreneurs in Shanghai could really use a community and network to support each other’s endeavors. He offered to set up some events and invited those interested to join his e-mail list, promising to notify everyone of when and where those events would eventually take place. I signed up and not long after, I began receiving e-mails with digital fliers from some organization eventually known as NextStep Shanghai.

I attended my first NextStep entrepreneur mixer over three months ago, when it was held at Volar on January 15th. Keen to network with fellow entrepreneurs to pick each other’s minds and swap business cards (you know, to feel important), I even dragged my business partner (who dragged his friend) to come along.

Unfortunately, we ultimately left feeling rather disappointed.

To be sure, there was a reasonable crowd, but for an “entrepreneur” mixer, it was sorely lacking in…well, “entrepreneurs.” Of course, like many professional mixers everywhere, there’s a high probability of meeting a lot of sales reps for various companies hoping to find customers, connections, or (mostly business-to-business sales) opportunities. You also run into a lot of individuals trying to network their way to some important person at some big-name company in hopes of landing a job that’ll look good on their resume. As anyone with experience with such professional events would know, these are often expected. Nonetheless, the bottom line is that such an environment isn’t exactly helpful for actual or aspiring entrepreneurs looking to discuss new business ideas or solutions to new business problems and difficulties. As such, I had a nice drink or so, and met a few decent people, but didn’t consider the event having been worth my time.

Not long after, Elliott asked me to guest-blog here at CNReviews.com. As I sat down to detail my experience, I realized it wasn’t quite fair to judge NextStep’s entire concept and execution on the basis of a single event’s results. Setting my notes aside as a draft, I resolved to give NextStep another chance by attending another event.

That draft sat untouched for months.

What can I say? I’m a busy guy. It wasn’t until April 15th that I finally made my way, through heavy rains, to another event. This time, it was held in The Collection at Shanghai’s ever-lovely Xintiandi.

I’m glad I went.

(more…)

If you’re coming to Shanghai, you’ll most likely be arriving through Pudong International Airport (PVG). Located 30 km east of downtown, it took over most international flights from the older Hongqiao Airport (SHA) when it first opened in 1999. It is big, it is modern, and the architecture is, uh, big and modern.

It is also remarkably unremarkable.

You really do not want to hang out there.

Yes, you’d think such a cosmopolitan first-tier city like Shanghai would have an impressively cosmopolitan airport like Hong Kong’s, filled with name-brand shopping and palatable dining options for the legions of travelers passing through each day, but as far as major international airports go, Shanghai’s PVG sucks (so does Beijing, but that’s a story the Imagethief tells best). Get past immigration, head for the exits, and make your way to downtown Shanghai, where it is far more interesting.

If you’re foreign to Shanghai, and no one was sent to pick you up, there are three common methods for getting from the airport into the city center, which is where you’re most likely headed. Each of these options are detailed below, with pros, cons, instructions, and some useful tips.

Method 1: Taxi

Why: Convenience. Unless there is a long line of people waiting to get taxis, this is your option for door to door service, and especially useful if you have a ton of luggage. The major drawback will be the cost, and the risk of dishonest drivers intentionally taking a less-than-direct route from the airport to your stated destination. Unfortunately, this risk gets higher the more foreign you appear and the less familiar you are with Shanghai’s roads/geography.

Typical rates during the day to the Puxi side of downtown Shanghai will be around 150-170 RMB. To the Pudong side, around 100-130 RMB. As long as you’re certain your destination is in the city center, you should get worried if the fare hits 200. A vein on your forehead should pop if you see 300. (more…)

A few weeks ago, I wrote a brief post advising would-be entrepreneurs and business-owners looking to source from China to do their due diligence when using Alibaba to source products from Chinese suppliers. As Alibaba continues to ramp up its marketing and advertising efforts, I want to reiterate this advice.

I passed through Hong Kong’s international airport this past Monday, and was amused to find that Alibaba had blanketed the entire terminal with its advertising. Most prominent were the 16 massive banners (similar to the one pictured to the right) suspended from the ceiling across the entire reception area of the terminal. Each one featured a random “member” from some randomly significant country exclaiming how Alibaba helped them. Every one of them also “Thanks Alibaba.com!”

“Tushar, let me ask you: How do you find the ‘best quality suppliers’ when the suppliers can simply purchase their positive reputation on Alibaba?” (Note highlighted portions to the left)

Yes, let’s recommend TrustPass to ALL suppliers. That way, they will all appear to be more “reliable” and prospective buyers everywhere can rest at ease! Suppliers also get “Verified Company Status” as an extra!

Fantastic.

Oh, and just why is Alibaba on an advertising blitz, particularly in Hong Kong’s international airport?

Because the China Sourcing Fair will be held there between April 12-15 and 20-23. Not a bad idea to remind all those fair visitors that they didn’t really need to come to Hong Kong to find “the best quality suppliers.” They’re all on Alibaba.com already.

Thanks for the tip, Tushar.

More pictures: Terminal Left, Terminal Right, Tushar, Kenneth, Charles, and Eden.

Caught this GOOD Magazine feature by Thomas P.M. Barnett via China Law Blog and felt violently compelled to share this with as many people as possible. Sure, it doesn’t cover everything, but it should be a required reading for a basic foundation of non-idiocy for everyone (especially Americans) when it comes to understanding the relevance and importance of China. 

Put down your rifle (no offense, Mr. Heston), pick out another cold one, and get your read on:

10. Because Nixon went to China and your world was born.

9. Because China may be an ancient civilization, but it’s a young society that’s growing up very quickly-and unevenly.

8. Because China’s transformation echoes much of America’s past: not only the good, but plenty of the bad, and the ugly too.

7. Because China’s rapid and deep integration into manufacturing means that Chinese products permeate your life-at some risk.

6. Because China’s demand for resources is altering global markets in ways both profound and perverse.

5. Because the panda “huggers” versus “sluggers” debate is a lot of hot air-until Washington scares Beijing into raising your mortgage interest rate five points overnight.

4. Because as China builds out its infrastructure, it can set a good or a bad example to developing economies struggling to deal with fragile environments.

3. Because China is globalization’s general contractor: always happy to take the job and your money, but hard to get on the phone once you discover problems.

2. Because China will not be our biggest future enemy but our most important ally.

1. Because we’re less than five years from a new generation of Chinese leaders with whom a far stronger relationship may well be built.

I’m particularly amused that the list ends with something that could be construed as a point of hope.  

UPDATE: Part 2 of 2 posts on China Proxy Server Tips. Part 1 by Min Guo is here.

I hate to make a second post for this but given that I cannot simply edit my additions into Min’s post, I decided I’d have to throw up another post for the benefit of readers like Sue who are having trouble with the Great FireWall (GFW).

Note: In order for Min’s Option II to work, you’d have to be able to get the RSS feed link, which can be hard if you can’t get to the blog in the first place. Of course, you can have a friend get it for you, but that requires you discovering the blog first. Moreover, certain feeds burned through Feedburner have difficulty getting into China, which is why you’ll see some blogs using Feedsky, a Chinese equivalent to Feedburner.

Option III: Anonymouse.org

Probably one of the more famous casual proxies, Anonymouse has the added benefit of being available in German and English. Well, that’s actually pretty unimportant, but I guess the Germans never know when Germany is going to block popular Chinese portal sites like sina.com. Using Anonymouse is about as simple as inputing the URL address for the website you wish to visit. In return for their service, they’ll pop up a window and overlay an ad on the targeted webpage (both of which you can close easily). Anonymouse isn’t hardcore enough to get through everything, but it works most of the time.

Option IV: T0r Pr0j3ct (note: l33t used to mask sensitive keywords)

I’ll quote Black and White Cat for Option IV and V:

Since the block is a strong one and Youtube has also been harmonized, now is perhaps the time to mention two of the serious proxies that get through to everything, including BBC news video, can handle Youtube and enable you to watch Google videos.

1) The first is maddeningly slow (though one enthusiast assures me it works quickly on his computer) but you need it if you want to download the faster second option. Tor works in Firefox. Once you’ve installed the program on your computer, you will see a red notice at the bottom right of your brower saying “Tor Disabled.” To turn the proxy on, click once on that notice and it will turn into a green “Tor Enabled.” You can now read or watch anything you want, but slowly. Tor also offers high-quality anonymity and privacy, but only if you read, understand and act on the instructions. For most of us that is not necessary since we simply want to get past the blocks.

Option V: Ult——h (sensitive keyword)

2) The second, faster option only works in Internet Explorer. I’m not going to name it in full because it is blocked at the keyword level in China. I’ll refer to it here as U. If you want it, it’s the first result for this search (look for the word Download on the U page). Don’t even bother Googling it on the mainland unless you are using a powerful proxy like T0r. Unlike T0r, U is an executable file that you save onto your computer, but do not have to install. If you decide you do not want it anymore, delete the file. As with option #1, you can read anything or watch anything, though it often messes up Youtube - if that happens, close down IE and U and try again.

If you choose Option V, you should be aware that it is a creation of FLG and financed by the US government. Bear that in mind when deciding whether you want it on any particular computer. Both these proxies function only in one browser. So if you use Tor in Firefox, you can carry on browsing in Internet Explorer while you are waiting for the page/file to download.

There you have it.

Anyone have any opinions about all these methods? BTW, please be discreet about using sensitive keywords in comments so CNReviews doesn’t get harmonized! It is already slow enough as it is in China. — Elliott