Shanghai synthesis : barriers, future, rock star
I’ve been back in the USA for a few days now and I think I’ve figured out three key learnings from my experience in Shanghai:
1) Barriers, or lack thereof: A few years ago, I never would have imagined that I would travel to Shanghai for a training session. It just seemed too distant, too exotic, too difficult. Since I’ve taken the opportunity for more international travel, I’ve learned just how easy it can be. Sure, there are language issues and local customs and rules to be learned, but by and large the world has become a very small place.
Choose any large city anywhere in the world. Go there, and I’m sure you will find people who speak english, navigable public transportation, and familiar food. Globalization has run its course in many ways and we’re all citizens of a common Earth.
2) Future: Having spent just three weeks in Shanghai and reading more about China, I am confident that the future is in the East. China’s commitment to education, and specifically science and technology education, will yield huge dividends in the decades to come. (Tragically, this comes at the same moment the US has stopped investing in education). India’s position as a global leader in outsourced intellectual labor is already being challenged and they will be surpassed within 10 years. China already claims the largest population of english speakers. They will make their voices heard.
The strong central government that draws [well justified] criticism in China is also an ace up the sleeve in regards to progress and development. When the government wants to build a road, or a power plant, or a new technology development center, it simply builds it. There is no drawn out consensus gathering or lobbying. Just fast action. The rate of change is on a different scale. The future for China is coming fast.
3) Rock Star: This last one is not profound but worth a mention anyway. Simply put, living in Shanghai made me feel like a rock star! The first reason for this is the exchange rate–even with the weakness of the $USD, it was still pretty solidly in my favor. (For a point of reference, I could buy four 660ml bottles of beer for about $1.00)
Another side of the economic advantage is the healthy knock-off market. I could buy facsimiles of thousand-dollar products for a few dollars. Watches, bags, and shirts were the most common, but we also saw golf clubs, tennis rackets, and iPods. Take a strong dollar and spend it on knock-offs and you can have the outward appearance of a rock star on the cheap.
At every shop, restaurant, and hotel we visited, the level of service was amazing. I’m convinced that most businesses are intentionally over-staffed so as to provide nearly instant response to any request. Restaurants use the team approach to serving so there is no bottleneck in the process. Our hotel actually paid people to wait near the elevators in case you suffered momentary amnesia and forgot where you were or how to push the buttons. Amazing.
The thing that surprised me most was the number of times a complete stranger wanted to take their photo with me. Not of me, but with me. As though they would later show the photo to their friends and say “look at this giant American!” I don’t get that too often in Milwaukee.
Final thoughts: I have a pretty rosy view of China in my mind, but I am well aware that Shanghai is the exception and not the rule. The western provinces are currently suffering systemic poverty as they slowly shift the local economy. The Chinese government is also intolerant of dissent and is guilty of many unpleasant actions. So of course my opinions are not indicative of China as a whole, but rather of the above-middle-class Shanghai that I lived in.
That said, I think Shanghai offers a glimpse of how far China has come in just a few decades and where they will go in the future. What an experience.
Filed under Shanghai, culture : Comments (0) : Sep 4th, 2007 by tadfad
