Day 18 - Shanghai Nights
This morning, we flew to Shanghai to visit a supplier that is working on one of our projects.
DISCLAIMER: DAY 18-20 ARE “RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT” DAYS. IN CHINA, IT IS CRITICAL TO DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS AS A PREREQUSITE TO DOING BUSINESS. I AM BOUND BY MY RESPONSIBILITY TO DEVELOP SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS PARTNERS AND THEREFORE HAVE NO CHOICE IN THE ACTIVITIES IN WHICH I MUST PARTICIPATE TO MEET THIS OBJECTIVE.
When we arrived in Shanghai, our supplier wanted to have a meal to introduce us to some of his key employees. As you can see from the pic, they like to eat in style. Jerry (the guy to my right) is the manager of the company, which is owned by his uncle. It is interesting that most small to medium sized businesses are owned by families. In many cases, cousins and uncles will be partial owners. It was a nice meal and was noticeably different from the cuisine in Shenzhen. As you can see from the pic below, food can also be an art. This item is a famous Shanghai shrimp dish.
We spent the rest of the afternoon touring the factory and meeting with company managers. The weather is much better in Shanghai. It is rainy, but much cooler at about 80 degrees. After leaving the factory, Jerry to us to a district called New World. It is a collection of high-end restaurants and shops. The buildings are replicas 1880's buildings. We ate a French restaurant/cabaret and the staff offered poor service to the Westerners and Chinese equally. The cabaret offered tunes from shows like Chicago and Milan Rouge. I sang along throughout the show (not really).
We are staying at the Jin Jiang Tower. It has 43 floors and a rotating restaurant at the top. It has hosted dignitaries from around the world, including George Bush sr. Unfortunately, that was “back in the day” and it is now 20 years older. I got stuck in a smoking room, but I don’t notice any smell. From the 30th floor, I also have a nice veiw of the city.
DISCLAIMER: DAY 18-20 ARE “RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT” DAYS. IN CHINA, IT IS CRITICAL TO DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS AS A PREREQUSITE TO DOING BUSINESS. I AM BOUND BY MY RESPONSIBILITY TO DEVELOP SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS PARTNERS AND THEREFORE HAVE NO CHOICE IN THE ACTIVITIES IN WHICH I MUST PARTICIPATE TO MEET THIS OBJECTIVE.
When we arrived in Shanghai, our supplier wanted to have a meal to introduce us to some of his key employees. As you can see from the pic, they like to eat in style. Jerry (the guy to my right) is the manager of the company, which is owned by his uncle. It is interesting that most small to medium sized businesses are owned by families. In many cases, cousins and uncles will be partial owners. It was a nice meal and was noticeably different from the cuisine in Shenzhen. As you can see from the pic below, food can also be an art. This item is a famous Shanghai shrimp dish.
We spent the rest of the afternoon touring the factory and meeting with company managers. The weather is much better in Shanghai. It is rainy, but much cooler at about 80 degrees. After leaving the factory, Jerry to us to a district called New World. It is a collection of high-end restaurants and shops. The buildings are replicas 1880's buildings. We ate a French restaurant/cabaret and the staff offered poor service to the Westerners and Chinese equally. The cabaret offered tunes from shows like Chicago and Milan Rouge. I sang along throughout the show (not really).
We are staying at the Jin Jiang Tower. It has 43 floors and a rotating restaurant at the top. It has hosted dignitaries from around the world, including George Bush sr. Unfortunately, that was “back in the day” and it is now 20 years older. I got stuck in a smoking room, but I don’t notice any smell. From the 30th floor, I also have a nice veiw of the city.
posted by Big E at 5:52 AM
1 Comments:
Hang in there!
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