Plunkey

[PICK3]

tell me all about China

does it suck?

did you eat "funny" stuff?

do they have a Cutter's?

 

[mrplunkey]

tell me all about China

does it suck?

did you eat "funny" stuff?

do they have a Cutter's?

The growth there is insane. We were about one hour outside of Shanghai and counted 21 massive construction cranes being used within less than four kilometers of highway.

Their transportation infrastructure is great. They've got more concrete in their freeways than we do. They've got 18 wheeler trucks, but they've also got 22 wheeler trucks that are massive.

Their international hotels and airports are great. Beijing was truly impressive, but let's write that one off to the Olympics. But the others (i.e. Shanghai) are impressive as well.

Once you get to the countryside, things fall off quickly. Most of the factories are in or near second and third tier cities, but the workers come from hours away (i.e. 9+ hour train rides) and reside in on-site dormitories. It's not unusual for a worker to go home only once per year, for the Chinese new year celebration.

They work six days a week -- professional and factory workers. They generally work eight hour days. Working conditions aren't nearly as bad as you'd think. They don't have the safety stops and/or protective gear (especially safety glasses), but the equipment they use is often German, Swiss, Japanese or American. It's a little more dangerous than a US plant, but it's a slight trade-off of safety in exchange for a massive reduction in regulatory burden.

The food in the countryside gets rough. And I'm a billygoat when I travel -- I'll eat anything. You have to get used to meat used for flavoring instead of a main course. But that meat will be 50%+ fat. About the time I got used to the fat, I hit the countryside in We Fang and got a wrap (sort of) filled with meat that was at least 50% strips of pure gristle and cartilage. That was a bit too much for me.

Also with food, the farther you get from the countryside, the more fennel/anise they use. Once you are very rural, the fennel in the rice wine and food will practically knock you down. I hate licorice with a passion and was forced (by manners) to drink tons of licorice-flavored rice wine for two nights in a row.

They do like to show their recent prosperity via large meals. It's all low-cost food, but it's not unusual to have 25-40 plates on the table. And everyone picks at the food on a lazy susan with chopsticks. I didn't get a single meal in individual portions in any of my six days there.

 

[mrplunkey]

I'm sure they have strip clubs, but there has been a crackdown on Western-style clubs with naked chicks running around. I think the way to get sechsuals is via private men's clubs. We stayed out of those and thankfully we didn't have any hosts who insisted on entertaining that way. Typically in the evenings, we just wanted to get to the hotels and crash.

The one-child thing is real. If you have a second (or more) child, you'll get fined by the government. If you have a government job or a job that is connected to the government (and many are), you'll lose that as well. Wealthy people fly to Hong Kong to have their children. Apparently from there you can buy them an ID and bring them back to China, but the details of how that's done was lost in translation. And boys are clearly king -- they are the retirement plan for parents. The girls always leave the family to join the man. So truth be told, it's not your son who will be taking care of you in your old age -- it will probably be your son's wife.

 

[mrplunkey]

And if you get outside a major city, here's your crapper:

You gotta aim carefully!

 

[PICK3]

The growth there is insane. We were about one hour outside of Shanghai and counted 21 massive construction cranes being used within less than four kilometers of highway.

Their transportation infrastructure is great. They've got more concrete in their freeways than we do. They've got 18 wheeler trucks, but they've also got 22 wheeler trucks that are massive.

Their international hotels and airports are great. Beijing was truly impressive, but let's write that one off to the Olympics. But the others (i.e. Shanghai) are impressive as well.

Once you get to the countryside, things fall off quickly. Most of the factories are in or near second and third tier cities, but the workers come from hours away (i.e. 9+ hour train rides) and reside in on-site dormitories. It's not unusual for a worker to go home only once per year, for the Chinese new year celebration.

They work six days a week -- professional and factory workers. They generally work eight hour days. Working conditions aren't nearly as bad as you'd think. They don't have the safety stops and/or protective gear (especially safety glasses), but the equipment they use is often German, Swiss, Japanese or American. It's a little more dangerous than a US plant, but it's a slight trade-off of safety in exchange for a massive reduction in regulatory burden.

The food in the countryside gets rough. And I'm a billygoat when I travel -- I'll eat anything. You have to get used to meat used for flavoring instead of a main course. But that meat will be 50%+ fat. About the time I got used to the fat, I hit the countryside in We Fang and got a wrap (sort of) filled with meat that was at least 50% strips of pure gristle and cartilage. That was a bit too much for me.

Also with food, the farther you get from the countryside, the more fennel/anise they use. Once you are very rural, the fennel in the rice wine and food will practically knock you down. I hate licorice with a passion and was forced (by manners) to drink tons of licorice-flavored rice wine for two nights in a row.

They do like to show their recent prosperity via large meals. It's all low-cost food, but it's not unusual to have 25-40 plates on the table. And everyone picks at the food on a lazy susan with chopsticks. I didn't get a single meal in individual portions in any of my six days there.

Did you get to mingle with the "peeps", or were you always accompanied by execs?

Did they marvel at your size? (big by U.S. standards, prob huge by theirs.)

Did you get a feel for what the average person in China thinks about the U.S. and Americans in general?

 

[mrplunkey]

Here's my entire bathroom in a countryside hotel. The shower head is just mounted right onto the bathroom wall. There's no tub walls or shower curtain.

 

[PICK3]

Here's my entire bathroom in a countryside hotel. The shower head is just mounted right onto the bathroom wall. There's no tub walls or shower curtain.

that's knot too bad

better than crapping in that hole on the ground

 

[mrplunkey]

Did you get to mingle with the "peeps", or were you always accompanied by execs?

Did they marvel at your size? (big by U.S. standards, prob huge by theirs.)

Did you get a feel for what the average person in China thinks about the U.S. and Americans in general?

I spent time with our guide. She gave us great insight into China. Here's what funny: She's probably in her low 30's and we knew much more about the Tienanmen square controversy back in the late 1980's than she did.

I was with a few execs, but the trip was so rural that they weren't what you'd expect from asian businessmen. They were very blue-collar (but nice).

I was a giant over there. I'd be at least a full head taller than almost anyone. They wouldn't hesitate to comment on it (politely). I'd guess I weigh a good 50%-100% more than many (if not most) of them.

They have a really strange view of Americans. They have an almost irrational reverence for our brands and our popular culture. A US-based company can make a product in China, put their name on it, then sell it back to Chinese customers at a premium. We saw it first hand. A company made instruments for themselves (WeGo) and Medtronic in two virtually identical buildings that were side-by-side. The Medtronic instrument sold for a 100%+ premium price to the WeGo product.

But there is a dark side to how they view us as well. The see us as fat, lazy, indulgent and litigious. They don't understand patents at all. Half of the executives I spoke with used the word "Trademark" instead of "Patent" -- and we had to explain the difference. Also, they had no idea how long patents ran. One owner swore up and down that a patent only lasts 10 years in the US.

 

[mrplunkey]

that's knot too bad

better than crapping in that hole on the ground

troo.

 

[PICK3]

In the "big cities" did night life carrying on throughout the night, or did everything shut down early?

Is TV 100% state controlled govmint propaganda, or do they have the equivalents of sitcoms (and Jerry)?