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My first two trips to China in May and June required a switch from Cantonese to Mandarin, so I actually DOUBLED my Chinese vocabulary – yes, I went from three to six words. Lai Ho (hello) switched to Nei Ho; m goi (thank you) to xie xie, and jau san (good morning) to you chen. I spent a weekend in Zhuhai, an industrial/"resort" city in the Guangdong province (about two hours by ferry). I learned that English is worthless outside of the SARS region (which stands for Special Administrative Region of China) -- and just a side note, it's purely a coincidence that the acronym was shared with Severe Accute Respitory Syndrome that happened to break out here.
The Land of Cheap refers to the ton of shopping I did for pennies; and the Land of Check my response to my first glimpse inside a communist country. I would be lying if I said I didn't spend the whole weekend comparing what I was seeing to what I know about life. I know it's unfair and presumptious to compare but I think it's the natural way humans tend to assess things.
It was only a weekend, but it had a big impact on me.
Gan Bei!
My weekend started off with a race out of a very long meeting to the international ferry terminal. It had been a tough weather day and my first experience with a “Signal Black Rainstorm Warning”. Essentially the sky turns pitch black in the middle of the day, winds reach 70 miles per hour and the government requires you to stay indoors. By the time my ferry was set to depart we had been lowered from black to red to amber. Getting out of Hong Kong harbor and heading West on the South China Sea proved to be a rocky two hours. I wish I had taken Dramamine. We docked in Zhuhai, walked through the health quarantine line, handing over our little signed declaration cards (no I had not had contact with any fowl, no I did not have a fever, and no I was not feeling nauseas). I handed over my passport to the Immigration soldier who checked back and forth between my passport and my actual visage before administering the stamp and nodding me through. I had been accepted into this communist country to, ironically, go shopping for cheap goods.
I was traveling with a co-worker who had friends who had lived in Zhuhai for over five years. We found a taxi, handed over the card with the address written in Chinese (a must if you plan to get anywhere by taxi in China) and headed off. The city itself felt like a once grand resort town, dirty water and beaches, litter everywhere, drab landscaping and shabby buildings weathered and grimy. We arrived at a building and once through the gates headed up to the 17th floor. In sharp contrast to my very small yet very expensive 610 square foot apartment, my host and hostess had a three floor penthouse with a rooftop patio, media room, 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms; 4,000+ square feet in total -- for half the price of my Hong Kong rent and about US$200 less than my mortgage in Portland.
This is Zhuhai from the rooftop patio of my host for the weekend. The city in the background is Macau, the "Vegas" of China (SARS); while Zhuhai is close the river is enough to make Zhuhai part of China instead of the separately run SARS area
My hosts were a couple from Virginia, he a shoe factory manager, and her a wife teaching English to locals. They were very generous to take and plan a weekend for a total stranger. She essentially lived to tell people how to do things in China. She told me at one point that she really didn’t have any Western friends; most of her friends were local. I think that would be pretty tough. You lose some ability to have someone really understand the nuances of what you're saying. She had also learned some Mandarin -- very impressive.
Our first stop was the Chinese version of a Mall; imagine New York’s Canal Street meets Mall of America store fronts and you get the Zhuhai shopping experience. They lure you in with an English “hello” and love the sale – rule of thumb is to cut every price they give you in half and let the haggling begin. There were so many factory “overruns”, and black market good (housed in the “hooch” rooms) that I started to understand why it’s challenging to get my product managers in China to price product at my suggested retails. Here’s the rundown
Gucci Leather Tote – RMB$280 (US$36)
Gucci Leather Saddle Handbag – RMB$640 (US$82)
Balenciaga Leather Handbag – RMB$800 (US$102)
Fendi Clutch – RMB$100 (US$13)
4 Tops – RMB$400 (US$51)
40 New Release DVDs and 4 TV Show BoxSets – RMB$450 (US$58)
30” strand of Jade Beads – RMB$350 (US$45)
Grand Total – RMB$3120 – US$400
I have to admit this has led to a moral dilemma – it’s just wrong to buy this much black market stuff. Especially given the business I’m in – black market Nike goods are a huge problem for this region, and part of the reason we’re struggling as we move into the China market. I have made a little pact with myself that this is my first and only cheap goods trip of this kind. (except maybe the DVD’s…….) My only solace is that I am one of those brand suckers who have spent over a US$1,000 on a real handbag, so there.
the "branded" shopping experience is a bit different here; note the pile of trash in front of the Nike store and the glaring lights of the "Mall"
Saturday was all about personal care. In the land of cheap, service is everywhere. My hostess took us around the corner to her beauty salon for 90 minute facials, 90 minute massages, a hair wash and blow dry, and a mani/pedi. Four and a half hours later, I paid my RMB$95 (US$12 – yes I said $12 dollars) and walked out the door quite clean. Mind you this was no Four Seasons Spa experience, I stared at a water stained ceiling, there was no Enya playing, but come on it was TWELVE dollars!
Sunday was the real reason for the trip; a 45 minute drive out of the special economic zone of Zhuhai into the countryside and land of factories. My goal was to purchase some custom made wood furniture for my apartment. I succeeded. In three weeks I will have delivered a handmade traditional Chinese tea chair in black with the carvings of my choice and a hand craved black wood coffee table. RMB$2100 (US$269).
So there’s the shopping piece of my experience – great fun and good deals!
outside the furniture factory where I put my chair and table
like I said, no Four Seasons or Dosha, but twelve dollars....
this factory (not the one where I purchased) was room upon room of chairs, tables, wedding cabinets - it was beautiful stuff
this store was visually pretty cool, just rows and rows of Chinese soldiers -- check out the lifesize ones through the back door. the little old man who ran this shop was so sweet to me -- he even offered me tea....
The Land of Check
But the real experience was simply seeing China, the people, the quality of life, the reality of this geographically huge and populace country. One of the things I noticed was the total lack of Newspapers – they don’t allow them in – simply put. We were watching the International news for a few minutes and all of a sudden, it just cut out. At first I had the thought, oh we lost reception, and then my host reminded me that it was actually being censored. This led to a whole conversation about how truly ignorant the checks and controls of this communist country have made its people. They don’t know their own history, how Mao ruled, what he did to achieve what is. They don’t know about HIV, the bird flu, and I’m sure countless other epidemics, pandemics that could potentially strike. (On the flip side, as Westerners we’re so bombarded by the media’s sensationalist slant on these issues, that their situation might be a nice break), but joking aside, it was truly astounding.
this was China's stripmall -- about halfway between the factories and the city, tons of artwork, knick knacks, pottery....
While we were driving out into countryside I noticed hundreds of little plots of land all neatly farmed, with a metal shanty standing by each. It dawned on me that these shacks were not tool sheds; they were where the farmers live. It was noticeable that the little plots were rather quickly and systematically being replaced by massive factories and factory storefronts. The decorative goods; Chinese soldier statues, furniture, pottery, stone work, traditional screens, carved boxed, were endless and the same from one factory to another. There was one stop we made that housed 3 long concrete buildings, two stories high, each stretching on hundreds of feet and selling the same goods form every door. I walked through many, purchasing some things as I went, in a few climbing up rickety stairs to see additional goods in the loft areas. In one I peered into an open door and saw a mattress with a single cover. They all lived above there shops; laundry hanging in front of the upper windows, dirty corners that housed bathrooms consisting of a sink and a squatter (no showers, no western toilets).
a kind of before and after shot of the Chinese countryside in this area
In the streets that ran in between these long buildings, there were dogs, chickens (no, I didn’t come into contact with any of them so I didn’t have to lie on the quarantine card when I reentered Hong Kong), and children. They were like any kids; playing some childish version of football, hopping in puddles, pushing their little sisters over, riding rusted out old bikes. The marked difference was the cleanliness, the lack of shoes, the dirty clothes, and one little two year old girl carrying a rusty meat cleaver (yeah, that seemed somehow wrong to me too). There parents, busy minding the stores and sitting around card tables playing Mahjong. I even witnessed one woman break the neck of a chicken, in what I am assuming was preparation for that night’s dinner.
the people I'm with are the couple who ran the factory where I purchased my furniture. You can see how dirty everything is -- and the storefronts (with the "apartments" above in the "concrete city" I referred to...
I could go one, but it’s not really necessary. My real point is the absolute contrast of everything I know to everything they know about life. Without judgment I can say that it’s like being on another planet.
On Sunday evening, as I looked out the ferry window, the amazing city skyline coming into view, I made a little vow that I would not bitch quite so much about some of the quirks of Hong Kong – it is truly an easy city to live in – and now I know that for a fact.
