前幾個文章都分享到9月到上海和蘇州的心得和照片，一部分的人應該會以為我是去旅行的，但是其實是為了工事而過去的。
什么工事呢？就是我們公司（悅智全球）創了分公司（悅智亞洲），并在大陸設了辦事處！
公司之前主要还是服务位于台湾的廠商，但是最近有幾個案子都包含協助廠商開拓大陸市場，或協助他們在大陸的經營。此外，在大陸和台湾關系暖和之下，兩岸的廠商對開拓彼此市場以及與對方合作的興趣也提高了。這也形成向我們這種顧問公司能提供價值服務的機會。
這次很幸運能加入公司的大陸團隊，參與一切的準備。雖然自己對大陸市場還是很陌生，對這種“創業”的過程也很不熟悉，但就因為如此而讓我吸取寶貴的學習經驗！
在這裡就順便跟大家分享我們小小開幕儀式的照片：
悅智亞洲在台北的籌備處開幕
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=328111&id=576355703&l=25e46bfd3f
悅智亞洲上海辦事處的開幕
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=316334&id=576355703&l=cd1e5e3aa8
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Adventures in China (Shanghai and Suzhou)
Long overdue photos from China trip (featuring Shanghai and Suzhou)
Adventures in Shanghai - Part 1 (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=310790&id=576355703&l=fc4c0d5696)
Adventures in Shanghai - Part 2 (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=312415&id=576355703&l=bda8454789)
Adventures in Suzhou (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=313501&id=576355703&l=1170a98472)
Some highlights :)
東方明珠、上海灘
上海美食
蘇州之美
Adventures in Shanghai - Part 1 (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=310790&id=576355703&l=fc4c0d5696)
Adventures in Shanghai - Part 2 (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=312415&id=576355703&l=bda8454789)
Adventures in Suzhou (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=313501&id=576355703&l=1170a98472)
Some highlights :)
東方明珠、上海灘
上海美食
蘇州之美Thoughts on Shanghai - written 27 Aug 09
This is my first time in Shanghai, and actually only my 2nd time in China.. the 1st time was in Guang Zhou in May 2008 and I spent about a week and a half there…
But somehow the impressions of Shanghai are really quite different from that of Guang Zhou… as a matter of fact, the main things I remember about Guang Zhou now are 1. lots of traffic 2. lots of good desserts and food 3. lots of promotions about the Olympics… (but I suppose this is normal considering how short a time I spent there actually walking around in the streets and seeing the place)
Anyway… the first impression from Shanghai is how HUGE everything is… it suddenly made me realize I’m truly from a very small country… my Taiwanese friends used to say all the time that Taiwan is so small and of course I would bring up how much smaller Singapore is… but even then, as much as certain aspects of Taiwan (and Taipei) reflect how much bigger and larger they are than that of Singapore, it was nothing compared to what I felt in Shanghai…
From airport and immigration, lots of people, long queues, huge halls and corridors that seem to go on forever… from MRT stations to expressways to condominiums, housing apartments and office towers… from the size and width of the roads, staircases at MRT stations to the size of shopping centres… everything is big… some people will probably think this is what everyone knows about China in general and it’s probably true… but all I can say is, seeing it for myself definitely has a much stronger impact…
The second impression I had of Shanghai is that of disparity… it’s a strange kind of feeling, one I can’t quite place or describe properly... it comes from knowing and fully experiencing how fast development is and will continue to be in Shanghai… from the construction going on everywhere, to the grandiose of the buildings and towers constructed, to its global reputation as THE economic centre to be today… yet not too far from our office building, you’ll find tiny shophouses that look extremely local… from the 6th floor and above of a 4 star hotel, you’ll find yourself looking out at an expanse of two-storey flats occupied by locals who hang laundry and cook meals on their rooftops… you’ll find a housewife walking around in the Xin Tian Di area (kind of like the central business district where the expensive offices and condominiums are) in her night gown at 10am in the morning… when you’re in a taxi heading to work, you’ll see 5-storey apartments where people hang their laundry facing the main road (so yes it’s quite a colorful display… plus I wonder if that doesn’t just makes their clothes dusty again)… in buildings that are hundreds of years old, you’ll find restaurants and cafes selling anything from Brazilian to Mexican to American and Japanese cuisine…
I think this feeling about the disparity is somewhat similar to what I felt in Vietnam, though if you think about it, Shanghai and Vietnam are worlds apart in terms of development… yet both places seem to reflect societies that are growing so rapidly despite the poor infrastructure and seemingly disregarding (note the use of “seemingly”) the presence of its very local culture… it’s like trying to answer the question “how do you create your own unique culture when you are opening so fast to the world, when your people within the state itself are so easily divided into classes (natural considering the size of Shanghai), and when certain aspects of your society don’t seem able to keep up with the pace of development?” Is it really possible to create such scale and magnitude of wealth, and let everyone, if not the majority, enjoy a share of that pie?
On a slightly related note, Lee Kuan Yew came up in a few conversations these days… it was brought up about how his brilliance helped bring Singapore through a remarkable phase of development from 3rd world to 1st world country… yet I have been wondering… I have always felt that LKY should be given due credit for the accomplishments and foresights he brought to Singapore… I have also felt that while he achieved his end means, I wonder if perhaps his approaches are really the best and only way for us to move forward… I also feel that his accomplishments might not have been so fantastic if not for the fact that Singapore is a small country, geographically and in terms of population, and that the government relished rather strict and tight governance over its people…
Given that, I wonder how he would fare if he were to govern Shanghai… lots of economic potential and prosperity, a government style that is openly controlling, lots of “migrant communities” (people from out of state, with different backgrounds, mother tongues, cultures etc), but on a scale 5 times that of Singapore…I really wonder…
Anyway… I realize my original intentions to pen my thoughts about Shanghai and the places here have gone somewhat awry… in any case, it feels good to finally get these thoughts out of my head… the photos and travelogue will come for sure… at least for now, it’s these slightly deeper issues flying around in my head…
But somehow the impressions of Shanghai are really quite different from that of Guang Zhou… as a matter of fact, the main things I remember about Guang Zhou now are 1. lots of traffic 2. lots of good desserts and food 3. lots of promotions about the Olympics… (but I suppose this is normal considering how short a time I spent there actually walking around in the streets and seeing the place)
Anyway… the first impression from Shanghai is how HUGE everything is… it suddenly made me realize I’m truly from a very small country… my Taiwanese friends used to say all the time that Taiwan is so small and of course I would bring up how much smaller Singapore is… but even then, as much as certain aspects of Taiwan (and Taipei) reflect how much bigger and larger they are than that of Singapore, it was nothing compared to what I felt in Shanghai…
From airport and immigration, lots of people, long queues, huge halls and corridors that seem to go on forever… from MRT stations to expressways to condominiums, housing apartments and office towers… from the size and width of the roads, staircases at MRT stations to the size of shopping centres… everything is big… some people will probably think this is what everyone knows about China in general and it’s probably true… but all I can say is, seeing it for myself definitely has a much stronger impact…
The second impression I had of Shanghai is that of disparity… it’s a strange kind of feeling, one I can’t quite place or describe properly... it comes from knowing and fully experiencing how fast development is and will continue to be in Shanghai… from the construction going on everywhere, to the grandiose of the buildings and towers constructed, to its global reputation as THE economic centre to be today… yet not too far from our office building, you’ll find tiny shophouses that look extremely local… from the 6th floor and above of a 4 star hotel, you’ll find yourself looking out at an expanse of two-storey flats occupied by locals who hang laundry and cook meals on their rooftops… you’ll find a housewife walking around in the Xin Tian Di area (kind of like the central business district where the expensive offices and condominiums are) in her night gown at 10am in the morning… when you’re in a taxi heading to work, you’ll see 5-storey apartments where people hang their laundry facing the main road (so yes it’s quite a colorful display… plus I wonder if that doesn’t just makes their clothes dusty again)… in buildings that are hundreds of years old, you’ll find restaurants and cafes selling anything from Brazilian to Mexican to American and Japanese cuisine…
I think this feeling about the disparity is somewhat similar to what I felt in Vietnam, though if you think about it, Shanghai and Vietnam are worlds apart in terms of development… yet both places seem to reflect societies that are growing so rapidly despite the poor infrastructure and seemingly disregarding (note the use of “seemingly”) the presence of its very local culture… it’s like trying to answer the question “how do you create your own unique culture when you are opening so fast to the world, when your people within the state itself are so easily divided into classes (natural considering the size of Shanghai), and when certain aspects of your society don’t seem able to keep up with the pace of development?” Is it really possible to create such scale and magnitude of wealth, and let everyone, if not the majority, enjoy a share of that pie?
On a slightly related note, Lee Kuan Yew came up in a few conversations these days… it was brought up about how his brilliance helped bring Singapore through a remarkable phase of development from 3rd world to 1st world country… yet I have been wondering… I have always felt that LKY should be given due credit for the accomplishments and foresights he brought to Singapore… I have also felt that while he achieved his end means, I wonder if perhaps his approaches are really the best and only way for us to move forward… I also feel that his accomplishments might not have been so fantastic if not for the fact that Singapore is a small country, geographically and in terms of population, and that the government relished rather strict and tight governance over its people…
Given that, I wonder how he would fare if he were to govern Shanghai… lots of economic potential and prosperity, a government style that is openly controlling, lots of “migrant communities” (people from out of state, with different backgrounds, mother tongues, cultures etc), but on a scale 5 times that of Singapore…I really wonder…
Anyway… I realize my original intentions to pen my thoughts about Shanghai and the places here have gone somewhat awry… in any case, it feels good to finally get these thoughts out of my head… the photos and travelogue will come for sure… at least for now, it’s these slightly deeper issues flying around in my head…
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