The following is a story of some of my recent adventures in China told in three un-related chapters. Think of it as three independent short tales.

Chapter 1:
I recently wrote about the fact that there are many people living here on less than $8/day. In reality, it is probably less than $3/day, but I have no official stats to support this. While this is interesting, you might be asking yourself, how can someone live on only $3/day in an up and coming metropolis such as Shanghai? I can’t even buy three Tim Horton’s coffees for that price! The answer of course lies in street food vendors. In Shanghai (and throughout China), you can buy many scrumptious delights from tiny carts/shops on the street. These treats will cost anywhere from $0.10 to $0.14.

Great, now tell me what I can get for 10 cents! Well, you could buy a Shaobing, which is a flat filled pastry either baked or fried, containing either a sweet filling or some sort of meat. Or maybe you are in the mood for a Jianbing, which is a pancake like treat with an egg, spices, and other tidbits cooked on a hot plate. If you really want an egg, you can find tea eggs, which are hard boiled eggs that have been soaking in tea brine for three days (I have no plans to try one of these). Maybe you want some Baozi, which are steamed buns, coming in either a meat version, a vegetarian version, or a sweet version (usually red bean). There are also meat filled dumplings, known as Jiaozi. Of course there are many other foods to be had, such as “Chinese pizza”, and other baked/fried foods, but I have yet to learn the names of all the different treats. Rest assured, as I learn more about the foods here, so will you!

The following picture is of two meat filled Baozi - total cost: 20 cents CDN.

This hot-plate fried delite contains mushrooms and hot peppers - total cost: 10 cents CDN.

Chapter 2:
You know the saying imitation is the sincerest form of flattery? Well someone must have told the Chinese that saying, but it was taken too literally. Starbucks, which has over 30 locations in Shanghai, sued a Chinese-Starbucks look-alike several months ago and won. The Starbucks look-alike used a logo that was almost identical to the original Starbucks logo, except in the place of the words Starbucks, there were Chinese characters. You can no longer find the Chinese-Starbucks copycat in Shanghai.

Starbucks has not been the only logo to be “imitated”. One of the major problems here is that as a brand becomes successful in China, it is imitated. KFC is very successful, and so of course it is imitated. I was walking down a street here and saw the following restaurant.

Even though the outside looks like the Kernel’s hangout, it is by no means a KFC.

Chapter 3:
Sarah came into Shanghai this weekend, and we walked around town, checking out different areas. The weather was insanely hot, with temperatures reaching 40 degrees. In fact, this article says that on the elevated road in Shanghai, the temperature was over 50 degrees Celsius, and the city had to dump a ton of water onto the road to reduce the heat.

During our walking excursion, in the 40 degree heat, we stumbled upon The Chinoise Story, an amazing restaurant in Shanghai. The food was out of this world, the design was outstanding. We ended our meal with a dish called almond tofu and coconut sorbet. The dish was exactly what the title says, almond flavoured tofu cubes with a scoop of coconut sorbet. The dish came out on a bed of water and dry ice, so it was literally smoking! Not only was the dessert delicious, it was very pleasing on the eyes. Every cold dessert should be served with dry ice; it makes the experience so much better!

Earlier in the week, before Sarah arrived, I saw the following man on the street. There was nothing special about him, except for the fact that his white shirt was covered in dirt and filth. This is fairly common in Shanghai, to see locals covered in dirt – a treat for all.

Once again, I’ll leave you with some pictures – the theme is “destruction construction“.

One of the great things about relationships is the learning aspect - you can learn about yourself, others, and the world around you from interactions with other people. Before I met my girlfriend, I would never have considered spending more than $15 CDN for a haircut. I had been going to the same barber for almost my entire life, and saw no reason to change barbers anytime soon (let alone consider going to a “hair stylist”). It was in March 2006, that I was introduced to my first hair stylist, and since that time, I have never looked back. A haircut now costs somewhere between $30 - $40. All very neat and exciting, but let’s fast forward to this past weekend, where I went to go find a new “hair stylist” in Shanghai.

My first thought was to go to Xiniandi (the popular western area) to visit the Vidal Sassoon Salon & Academy Shanghai. A haircut here starts at $60 CDN, and can easily go into the high high high hundreds. I was in desperate need of a haircut, but unfortunately for me, the Salon & Academy requires bookings several days in advance. I then ventured into the Hong Kong Plaza (a ten minute walk down the street) where I found a Chinese hair salon called Maxim. I went and asked for a haircut, and was told in English “no problem”. The hair stylist then proceeded to lead me to a couch and motioned for me to sit down. So far so good. Then to my shock, the hair stylist brought over several hair magazines, with 10 hair styles per page, including detailed instructions on how to cut a person’s hair to achieve the desired style. I know my hair isn’t long and it grows back relatively fast, but I stood up and walked out, never to return.

At this point I was determined to find a hair salon, and luckily my girlfriend had mentioned Toni & Guy to me several times. I found the closest location to me (there are three locations in Shanghai), and much to my disappointment, the salon was closed due to renovations. I then went on to the next location, where I was happily greeted by an attendant at the front door. I was told that the only stylist available was a senior level stylist (the 3rd most expensive stylist). Fifteen minutes later I was in a stylist chair. Each Toni & Guy location is heavily decorated in a modern motif, with lights in the floor, LCD screens on the wall, and electronic music in the background - a very hip place. After the stylist came over to see what I wanted, I was off to get a hair wash and massage. I was then brought back to see the stylist, where she proceeded to cut my hair. In the past, every time I have received a haircut, the stylist/barber has used an electric razor, this new stylist refused to use one, and the improvement in quality definitely shows. I was then sent off for a hair rinse and promptly brought back to see the stylist once more for a style. The whole adventure lasted about 75 minutes and cost $47 CDN. I am told that a similar haircut in any other country would easily be over $80 CDN.

One of the many neat things about this haircut was the fact that two people were attending to me at all times. The stylist was cutting my hair, and she had an assistant who brushed the cut hair off of me every five seconds - definitely a pampering experience.

I also went to see my first movie in China this weekend, Superman. The movie experience in China is a little different than North America, in that when you go to buy your ticket, you have to pick what seat you want to sit in. Also theatre doors only open five minutes before the show starts, which is possible because of the assigned seating. The movie was in English with Chinese subtitles, although after a while you forget the subtitles are there. The cost of the ticket was $11.50 CDN. I would definitely see another movie here.

I don’t think movie theatres are doing amazing here, mainly because you can buy a DVD on the street (usually before it is out in theatres) for $1.00 CDN. The movie companies have been struggling with this issue for sometime, and they have come up with a solution - offer legitimate DVD’s in store for a fraction of the North American price. You can buy a legitimate DVD in Shanghai for $4.23 CDN, usually within two weeks of the movie premiering in North America. You might ask yourself, why am I paying so much in North America? The answer is simple, in North America, the movie companies can enforce piracy laws, in China, well, there is a DVD stand on every block selling $1 DVD’s.

Now for some stats (I have various resources for these, but I can not guarantee the accuracy of anything below).

• Approximately 49% of the workforce in Shanghai goes out more than once a week.
• There are 5 million bloggers in China.
• 160,000 people watched the 2006 World Cup on their cell phone in China.
• 111 million people are using the internet in China.
• By 2010, there will be an estimate 68 million users of mobile broadcast TV in the Asia-Pacific region.
• Shanghai will install 100,000 solar electric roof systems by 2015 (with an installed capacity of 300 MW).
• Solar energy will power 90% of the hot water supply and 80 - 90% of the street lamps near the venues for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
• China plans to have 30 GW of wind power installed by 2020, 20 times the amount of 2005.
• Wind power is estimated to supply 20% of the power needed for the 2008 Olympics.
• It is estimated that by 2025, the entire city of Shanghai will have internet access.

Today marks my one month anniversary in China, and so far it has been a very eye-opening experience (and there have been some fun times too!). I was recently thinking back to my life two years ago, which was before I started my MBA at the Schulich School of Business (shameless plug). At that time I would never have thought I would be living outside of Toronto, much less outside of Canada. But here I am, living in China, and I couldn’t be happier with my decision to move abroad.

Well why is that you ask? Why was moving abroad a good decision? It’s really quite simple, it’s an amazing learning experience. One of the great things about moving to a country where North Americans are a minority is that you get to meet all sorts of different people from different places. Each one of these people has a different lifestyle, thought process, and outlook on life than a typical North American does. I’m constantly learning about the world through the eyes of fellow travelers/ex-patriots. For example, the world as seen through the eyes of a local Chinese person is very different than the world I see. One of my first conversations here was with a local who spoke English. The topic was weather, in that it gets very hot in Shanghai, and it rains during the hot season. In grade school I learned that the heat causes rain, but the local Chinese person had no idea about this. There is obviously some difference in the education system, although I suspect that this individual was from rural China, where schools are not as common.

One of the other great things about living in a foreign country is that you get to see a lot of different things, things which might not be common knowledge in other parts of the world. As an expat living in Shaghai, there are a ton of things to do at night. You can go out for dinner to a variety of restaurants, serving any type of food you could imagine. You can go out for drinks, go out for many drinks, and party until 5PM the next day. When one club closes down for the evening, another one is just opening. The night life here is open seven days a week. You can find your way into a club where 100 RMB will buy you unlimited drinks for the night, or you might stumble onto a bar (much like I did this week) where the drinks are free to help promote the club.

In terms of restaurants, all of the expat targeted restaurants are easily found by going to a few websites. Chinese style restaurants are easy to find as well, as they are everywhere. There are many types of Chinese cuisine coming from the different areas in China. Just this week I went for Hunan food, which is very spicy Chinese food; it was probably one of the best tasting foods I have ever had! I’ve also experienced XinJiang food, a Muslim style food from the northwest – very tasty.

A whole world of fun and entertainment awaits you in Shanghai. But what if you are a native Chinese – will you have the same lifestyle? Shanghai is home to over 17 million people, but only a reported 5 million of these people are middle class or above (I think the number is actually much lower). Middle class and above can be defined (in China) as earning $3000 USD/year or more. So what about the people who are earning less than $8 USD (64 RMB)/day? They obviously can’t afford to go to a 100 RMB club. I suspect that most of these people are living on 20 RMB/day, and their nighttime activities represent this. If you walk through the streets of Shanghai, and stay away from the westernized areas, you’ll find yourself walking through streets lined with local Chinese people, who can barely afford to have clean clothes. These people spend their evenings much different than the situations I described above. Usually these people will have dinner outside (because it is too hot inside, and they can not afford air conditioning). The meal will probably cost 3 to 6 RMB, usually some sort of noodle dish. Afterwards, it is not uncommon to go and talk to other locals, or play some sort of game. Card games seem to occur very frequently, and a game of four people will usually draw between ten to twenty spectators. I also saw something unique a week ago; it was a very rudimentary version of pool, played on a two foot by two foot table, with checker-style pieces instead of balls. I’m not too sure how long this game has been in China, but I would not be surprised to find out that it has been here longer than pool has been in the West.

A lot of people will also sleep on the street, not because they are homeless, but because it is too hot inside. The daytime temperature here is easily over 40 degrees Celsius, and without air conditioning, houses and apartments can get much hotter.

I’m sure I’ll have more observations and thoughts as my time here goes on, but for now here are some things I miss about home.

• A home cooked meal – It is easier (sometimes cheaper) to eat out in Shanghai than it is to cook.
• Bounce and a dryer – Dryer’s are very uncommon in China, and my clothes are in desperate need of a fabric softner!!!!
• Not getting overcharged because I am a foreigner – I’ve run into a few instances where I am charged higher prices because I am a foreigner.
• A Tim Hortons coffee – I have never wanted a medium double double so bad in my life.

Since moving to China, I’ve been using Skype quite a bit, as it is generally cheaper and easier than buying international calling cards. I just load up my Skype client, connect to the Skype service, buy more talk time (if needed), and away I go, calling people all over the world! For the most part, it sounds just like an ordinary phone, but of course it has the added benefit of video calling as well. It really is a great service for someone like me, allowing me to stay in touch with friends and family all across the globe. Recently, a Chinese company figured out a way to use the Skype network without using the Skype client, and while in the short-run this might seem like a big thing, Skype (owned by eBay) will end up coming out on top, as the added publicity about this issue will definately work to the advantage of Skype.

Intellectual property (IP) protection is a huge issue for business in China. Any foreign company wishing to come to China will have to figure out a strategy to protect its IP. As can be noted in the article mentioned above, IP law is not effectively enforced in China, and it takes both millions of dollars and countless hours of time to protect your IP in a Chinese court of law. I was recently talking to a company who is thinking of expanding to China, when the topic of IP arose. The company believed that it could effectively protect any IP that was brought into China, but unfortunately this is rarely the case (just look at the Huawei-Cisco lawsuit). I advised the company that the only way to protect its IP is to enter the market, create strategic partnerships with businesses here, and offer its product to Chinese consumers and business in a way that compliments current Chinese products (more sales of this product result in more sales of Chinese products). While this solution may not be foolproof, it is one of the most popular solutions to protecting IP in China. By showing that your product adds value to Chinese companies by either reducing costs or increasing sales, and demonstrating that this value would be costly to duplicate when the Chinese can get it for a low cost from you, you diminish the desire to copy a product. I was recently reading an article on IP rights in China, where the author makes a statement saying that IP rights have to be dealt “with on a strategic level and not on a legal level”, which is something I totally endorse. Any attempt to enforce IP protection through legal means will result in three things for your company. You will have spent a ton of money, you will have wasted a lot of time, and most importantly, the Chinese company will be five steps ahead of you in product development.

On a side note, I’ve enabled comments on this site, so you can now leave a comment to any post by clicking on the comment link at the end of the post.

How do you know when you’ve officially arrived in China? Is it when you find an apartment? Is it when you find a job? Is it when you make your first Chinese friend? While all of these tasks are important, they do not make your status official.

Sometime last week, I ate some food that did not agree with me. I thought I had stumbled onto a case of food poisoning, but after four days it had not passed, and I was starting to think it was something more serious. I wanted to go to the hospital, but I’ve been told Chinese hospitals are not the greatest. Luckily I purchased a comprehensive health insurance package before leaving Canada, so I called up a private hospital for expats called WorldLink (famous world wide). What distinguishes this hospital from other hospitals in Shanghai you ask? All of the doctors are from the USA. So on Friday night at 1:30 AM I called the hospital and made an appointment for the next day at 11 AM, talk about service.

I have to admit, this was my first exposure to private healthcare, and I love it! I arrived at the hospital at 10:55 AM, filled out the appropriate paperwork, and within five minutes of waiting I was talking to a doctor in his office! You can imagine my surprise as to how fast the service was, as usual waiting times to see a doctor in Toronto are anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours.

The doctor was very nice, and actually seemed to care about my wellbeing (another change from Toronto). He spent about 20 minutes with me, and concluded that I had a gastro-infection. It was at this point that I was officially told “Welcome to China”. A sure fire way to know that you have arrived is by getting some sort of gastro-infection, which definately speaks for the lack of sanitary conditions in China. Anyways, the doctor walked me out to the pharmacy, where I picked up my prescription, paid, and left. I have to say, it was probably the most fun I’ve ever had at the doctor, mainly because of the high level of service. If you can afford it, private healthcare is the ONLY way to go. It should be noted, that if I didn’t have health insurance, this visit, plus my follow up on Monday (where I was given a clean bill of health) would have cost me $175 CDN.

Pricing in China is very different from that in North America. For example, internet access costs at most 150 RMB/month (or $21/CDN). A taxi ride costs 11 RMB ($1.50 CND) for the first 3 KM, then 2.1 RMB ($0.30 CDN) for each additional KM. Yes it is true that the RMB is probably undervalued (The Economist says the RMB is undervalued by 58%), but even if it wasn’t, local goods and services would still be cheaper than North America, that is unless you wanted to buy property, which is about $450/square foot.

One final tidbit (not a Timbit which I am craving) about China is the success of KFC. KFC is everywhere! The restaurant locations aren’t small either, which each location generally being two stories and seating easily over 150 people. KFC also seems to be busy all the time! I’m not sure why the Chinese love KFC, but it is the fastest growing brand in China, with over 200 locations opening each year.

I’ll leave you with some more pictures, and yes there is one of KFC.

Those of you who know me understand what it means when I say I’m hungry. You’ll also understand when I say I like food and I really like great food. One of my passions in life is definitely food (if the economics of opening a restaurant were in the least bit positive, you’d already be talking to a restaurant owner). My move to China has had its lifestyle changes, and one of them has been to food.

While I can still go to the local North American/European type grocery store, buy my cereal and Rice Dream (a poor substitute for milk, but I still drink it by the carton), I have had to make some changes to my diet. There is a ton of local Chinese food available from vendors on almost every street. Usually it is some sort of fried bun, grilled meat on a stick, or noodle dish - I’ve only been adventurous enough to try the buns, although I’m told the stick meat is really quite good (sanitary conditions aside).

In the past four days, I’ve eaten pretty well, although I have been avoiding local Chinese cuisine, mostly from the lack of English translation. I’ve had cold noodles (I think it was a Korean place), a half chicken with mashed potatoes, lots of Chinese dumplings and buns, a chimichanga, a pulled pork sandwich, a buffet lunch, and 3 garden salads. Somewhere along the way I ate something that did not agree with me, as I’ve been having stomach problems for the past 2 days.

I had a craving for pizza today, so I decided to lookup an italian place on smartshanghai.com. I came across one that looked amazing, and the two customer reviews the restaurant had received were very positive. I was off to sample my first pizza in China. Upon entering the restaurant, I was taken back because it was so beautifully decorated and designed.

I ordered a pizza, and having never experienced a bad pizza in 26 years of life, I was hoping for the best. As I was soon to discover, you can make a bad pizza. It was horrible! The crust, the cheese, the toppings, everything, it was just wrong. After drowning my sorrows with the large bottle of Pellegrino I had ordered (for $3 CDN dollars), I decided to salvage the dinner with a trip to Starbucks.

Shanghai is a city which is a walker’s dream. You can walk everywhere, and a subway stop is just a few steps away. I decided to walk along Huaihai Road, from Shanxi station towards Huangpi subway station, hoping to find a Starbucks on this journey. This section of Huaihai has a ton of stores, most of them high end luxury stores. I walked by Lacoste, Rolex, Geox, Armani Exchange, Calvin Klein, Lab!, and New Yorker. All of them had one thing in comon, they were empty! I’ve walked past this stretch of road a couple times in the past two weeks, and every time, these stores have been empty! The only stores that seem to be busy are ones with huge sales on, or ones which are cheaper versions of Old Navy. Now I understand that the luxury brands (or higher end brands) have higher margins, but don’t you still need sales to stay in business? It makes me wonder if these companies are just throwing money at the market until it picks up.

This is what happened with the fitness industry here. Gold’s gym, Bally’s, and a variety of other gyms entered the market in 2000-2002. They threw a ton of money into the market to build new facilities and promote them, hoping that the market would pick up. Sure enough, a lot of these gyms had to pull out because they couldn’t attract enough customers, and did not have the funds or patience to develop the market.

Walking down various streets in Shanghai, I’ve had the chance to see local merchants selling clothing and goods. The one thing in common about these is that they all sell the same merchandise! It obviously costs money to start a store, you need capital to buy your merchandise, you need money to pay your staff/bills, and you need money for rent. I’m pretty convinced that these local merchants work on a different system. I would not be surprised to find out that all of the merchandise is on loan, from a factory. When a piece of clothing is sold, the owner pays the “factory” a fee, and keeps whatever else for themselves. But you ask, how do they pay for rent? Local Chinese can get storefront space for practically free, mostly due to laws and regulations passed by the central government to make the playing field fair. Since the only staff is the owners, there are no staff salaries, and the bills are practically non-existent thanks to the government regulations mentioned before.

This short story ends with a Starbucks in hand, and pictures of a Starbucks cup in China!

Today I went on a walking tour of Shanghai, showing some of the great architecture this town has. I took a few pictures, and they are here.