A night out in downtown Shanghai

A day In our life, a good life. Have you ever had a really great day, for me today was one of those days. It started with "a day with Habitat China" and ended with this 70's cruise on the Hongpu river in Shanghai.

 As you can see from the pictures, Shanghai really comes Alive at night ! And this was the best night in Shanghai since we have been here. A Perfectly clear sky (no visible signs of pollution or clouds), and a temperature in the mid 70's with no humidity. And we were partying on the "Captain 2" with a hundred of our closest friends; actually the largest chapter of the American's women's club in the world.

We had a great time listening to the good old songs of the 70's and sipping champagne, a good recipe for a nice evening. We did meet a few really nice couples and it was interesting to discover that most of them had lived in more countries than we had. But none could say that their family had Lived on all the continents except Anartica (we will leave that one to Tommy). Well I will leave you to enjoy the pictures and hopefully plan your trip to come and see Shanghai.

A day with Habitat for Humanity China

About a month ago, Catharine came home from here Expat luncheon all excited because there was a presentation from the Habitat for Humanity China team and she was able to bring me a contact.  Needless to say I was also very excited.

So I immediately, if not before, contacted the group and said that I would be excited to help the local group in whatever way I could.  Well I guess that I should have been a little more specific. AS it turns out, the majority of work here in Shanghai is painting.  Painting is the only thing that I refused to do at Habitat Detroit as I really don’t like painting.  But that was the need here so I excitedly accepted the position of house coordinator for the painting detail at the apartment of an elderly man in one of Shanghai’s suburbs.  Come to find out, the owner of the apartment was one of those that was severely affected by the “cultural revolution”  .  His parents were both well-educated professors at the time and they were executed as they were a threat to the “party”.  He was also a college graduate and was thrown in jail and stripped of his social status.  When the revolution finally ended he was freed but he was still without social status and was an enemy of the state so he to this day is still an outcast and it is difficult for him to get any kind of meaningful work.  So we were happy to help him renovate his meager apartment.  By the time we finished we were very proud of the “new look” as was he. 

So now for the “experience”.  Well since this is not my forte, I was a bit apprehensive about leading the job but I didn’t let on.  Our task was to paint two rooms of his apartment which doesn’t sound too daunting, but as I was soon to find out, we had our hands full.

To begin I gathered the group of 5 volunteers in the main room and asked: how many of you have painted before….no hands were raised, so I asked ok, how many of you have seen someone paint something, again, no hands were raised; I knew I had my work cut out for me.  So undaunted, I proceeded to be the instructor for painting 101.  I started with things like, when you use a paintbrush and when you use a roller, then how to put paint onto a brush or a roller, and then on to the sequence of painting a room.  So after about half an hour of instruction, we proceeded to start the work.  So after I thought I had explained everything, I asked one person in the group to put paint in one of the pails so that we could start painting the corners of the room and ceiling.  (first mistake) So he proceeded to fill the pail so full that you could not lift it then he dropped the paint brush into the pail and it disappeared into the paint (so much for my full instruction), I could not believe that these people really had no practical knowledge.  On the positive side, they thought that I was all knowing and they were very appreciative of learning how to paint. 

So once we recovered from the first incident, we proceeded to painting the ceiling.  Second mistake; so after they turned their hair from black to white, I decided to take over and they went on to the walls (a good decision).  From then on out, they actually did a great job and we almost finished the job by lunch time.  After lunch we moved on to our second can of paint and discovered that it was YELLOW not WHITE!  Panic set in!  So after I admitted the mistake, we took a big breath and set about changing the color of the walls to yellow.  So I had to instruct them in one more skill; taping off the ceiling.  Actually they did a great job at this and we were ready to paint the walls in no time.  The group really stepped up to the plate and hit a home run.  We repainted the walls, the windows and the doors and cleaned up before it was time to go home.  I had a great group of hard, enthusiastic workers. 

Just as we finished, the habitat coordinator came by to take some pictures and said that this was the best job that he had ever seen (whether this was a pep talk or his real opinion we will never know but the group was very proud and they stopped just short of hoisting me up on their shoulders and parading around the block).  And the home owner said that we did a great job and that we even put a primer layer on the walls (a nice thought even if we did make the mistake).  Come to find out, the other house group did not even finish their work and so they asked me to come back next weekend and help finish it off.

So my first experience was a great and humorous one and one I hope to repeat soon.  It was really nice to be recognized for my skill and ability to teach since I never get any of this at work.  The team asked me how I learned how to paint so I related how I had learned this from my Dad; they were amazed and said that it must therefore be a tradition in America! 

I discovered that Habitat for Humanity Shanghai really only does painting because the contractors for construction, wiring, and plumbing are so cheap that it really doesn’t pay to let volunteers make mistakes with the hardware. 

I am now on the preferred volunteer list and was recently asked to lead teams at another 8 apartments before the end of this year. Looks like I found a new hobby.

Education in China

Referring to the topic of this edition of my blog, the subject matter could go in one of two directions: our education in China or the education system in China, Let’s choose the China education system because many of my past articles have covered the essence of our education.

I have been fairly critical of the education system here as it really doesn’t preach free enterprise, reach for the stars, or be all you can be.  Instead it focuses on being a good Chinese worker which means that you listen to the boss and do what you are told.  Creativity and passion really do not play a role here. 

I remember being invited to an open house at Tommy’s school (Kalamazoo College) where they were telling us how great the school is and what a fantastic educational opportunity they have.  But I just couldn’t help but ask how they were going to stimulate creativity and passion in the students as this is what I believe sets the US apart from other countries we have lived in.  Unfortunately the response was lack luster but I was impressed when the curriculum changed the following year to encourage the students to follow their passion.  In the US people are willing to take on constructive criticism, not so here. A good example of a US company that really embraces this is 3M, they not only encourage their employees to be creative but they give them 1 day per week to do their own thing!  This is surely something that is desperately lacking here.

So what does this have to do with the education system?  Well if the government is in charge of the education system and owns the businesses, so I guess we have to expect that honoring your elders plays a big role in society.  I find it very difficult to function in this environment because I am really never asked for my opinion and discouraged from disagreeing with the bosses.  I have to stay focused on the technical input and let them run the organization.

So although outwardly the education system is quite similar to ours, it has a number of fundamental differences.  The schooling starts at the Kindergarten level and seems similar to ours in that most of the focus is on social skills but they do start requiring real school work and it is not uncommon for them to have homework.  The lower grades are similar to the US system except that they require them to learn English from the 1^st grade.  The difference comes when they reach 9^th grade; here their system better resembles the German system in that they are required to take a major exam.  This exam determines whether the student will follow the education system into high school or into a trade school, or whether their formal education will end.  About 60% of the students will continue on into high school.

High school is only three years and its primary purpose is to get the students ready for college or to weed them out. At the end of the three years, they undergo another major testing program.  From this test they will determine if they go onto to college or if they once again take the route to a trade school.  Again about 60% of the students will be eligible to go on to college.  And much like our system, the better grades you get the better school you can attend.  The major difference is that the best schools are government run and there is fierce competition to get into them.  It does matter what school you attend because all major companies will hire from only the top schools in their field.  This is true for our company as we hire only from the top business and engineering schools.  College is generally a four year program and although there are graduate schools most people enter the work force after undergraduate education.  But it is not uncommon for the students to go back to university after about 6-10 years of work experience because they then know what they want to specialize in (sounds like a good idea to me).  The cost of a year at a public university is less than $1000 so most students can afford to go if they qualify.  Of course private universities are much more expensive.  Once a graduate enters the work force the pay varies widely but if they have done well and work in Shanghai they can expect to receive between 8-12,000RMB per month ($1500- $1800).  This may not seem a lot but their chances of advancement are great and this is in sharp contrast to the factory worker just outside of Shanghai who makes between 1000RMB-3000RMB per month ($170-$500). 

So although the system is a mix between the German and the American systems, the focus of the educational process is quite different (surprising to me but not to most people).  So the culture continues to reinforce the ideals that management is all powerful and all-knowing so this makes my job very difficult as I try to stimulate their creative sides (something that the management does not fully understand or appreciate).

Remember also that this system of education is a relatively new opportunity as education was nearly wiped out during the time of the Cultural Revolution, and the people remember this vividly and are very appreciative of the educational opportunities that they now have.  Hence we really do not see people near my age in the major companies because they were not educated during the period of the Cultural Revolution and thus do not have the skills to compete with the younger generation.

History of the Bund

Why do we live in Shanghai anyway?  For sure it is not for the food because the Chinese food in the USA is much more appetizing than in China; it’s not for the work because work is not as much fun as retirement; it’s not for the weather because the weather is much too hot for my liking.  It’s for those times when we can come face to face with the real Shanghai; not the new infrastructure like in Pudong but rather for the history as shown on “THE BUND”.  So remembering why we are here, I took this past Friday off to join Catharine in a “Tour of the Bund”.  For those unfamiliar with Shanghai, the Bund refers to that portion of Shanghai which borders the Huangpu River.  It is where Shanghai really began.

Prior to the 1800’s Shanghai was nothing but a farming community and there was very little if any development in the city.  The first European traveler to reach the Shanghai area was Marco Polo in the mid 1200’s.  He was the first to travel the “Silk Road” from Europe to Shanghai. Marco Polo was the first outsider allowed to visit and trade with the Chinese and became a great friend of the Mongol Emperor.  Trading with Shanghai was very difficult because of its distance from Europe so it wasn’t long before the trade was done with the Mongols and Shanghai did not benefit further from the European trade.  In the mid 1700’s, and with the advent of the Shipping trade, Shanghai once again became a potential trading port but no one other than the Chinese were allow to land on Chinese soil.  So in the 1830 the British traders from India made the first real impact into the Chinese market.  They did this by starting the “Opium Wars”.

The area got its name at the time of the “Opium Wars” from the early British East Indian traders. The name “Bund” is an Indian word meaning Muddy Waters, and that was a great description for the area at the time.   In 1756 the Chinese government enacted a law which restricted trade to one port and did not allow foreigners entrance to China, the British East India Company wanted to improve their trade with China and therefore invested heavily in opium production. At this time the Chinese people were heavily addicted to Opium. British and United States merchants brought opium from the British East India Company's factories to the coast of China, where they sold it to Chinese smugglers who distributed the drug in defiance of Chinese laws. In 1838, the Emperor demanded that foreign firms turn over their stocks. When they refused, the Emperor stopped trade altogether and declared war on the British.  This was a foolish move because the British had a strong navy and China had none. The British easily defeated the Chinese and demanded retribution for the loss of their Opium Stocks.  But the Chinese were broke and decided instead to give them land.  This land became known as the Bund. ^[Before the 1840s, the Bund was a muddy narrow lane with tall reeds. After Shanghai was established as the trading port in 1846, a street was paved there and the riversides were reinforced. Then, rows of commercial buildings were constructed. As the UK Concession, a building boom at the end of 19th century and beginning of 20th century led to the Bund becoming a major financial hub of East Asia. It was the center of Shanghai's politics, economy and culture more than a hundred years ago, consulates of most countries and many banks, businesses and newspaper offices were settled there, and that's why we have these spectacular buildings representing the Art Deco, the Neo Classical and Queen Victorian eras of architecture.

During the time of the “Cultural Revolution” these buildings became part of the government and were used as barracks for the sailors. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, with the change of economic policy in the People's Republic of China, buildings on the Bund were gradually returned to their former uses. Government institutions were moved out in favor of financial institutions, and hotels resumed trading.

In the 1990s the Shanghai government attempted to promote tourism and started to plan the restoration of the waterfront. From 2008, a major reconfiguration of traffic flow along the Bund was carried out. After 33-months of tunnel construction, Shanghai's Bund was reopened to visitors on March 28, 2010. The new tunnel allowed for a much more pedestrian friendly downtown area.  One of the most interesting aspects of the Bund area is that there is no “bed-rock”. After drilling footings as deep as 2000 meters, the idea of footings had to be abandoned.  They borrowed the construction techniques from Venice to create the foundations for the waterfront buildings.  The historic buildings were built on huge floating “logs.  The Logs, when placed into the muddy waters, become petrified and last approximately 300 years before gradually succumbing to the mud. You can see cracks starting to form in some of the historic buildings, especially those near to where the tunnel was constructed.  The newer buildings use a form of “concrete logs” to float the buildings that are constructed on them.  What happens after 30 years only time will tell.

The Bund has been called a 'museum of international architecture' and indeed it was and still is. But it was also much more. Here were located the banks, hotels, exclusive clubs, press organizations and headquarters of international concerns. The twenty-six major structures, of various heights along approximately 1.5 kilometers of Zhongshan Lu and the Huangpu River, have changed little externally since the 1930s. All were constructed in western-inspired styles.  Many of these building are now open to the public and have been exquisitely restored to their former glory. 

The tour was delightful 2 hours of architecture and history, and is a must see on the visitor list.  We hope many of you will take the opportunity to check out this and many other sights in the Shanghai area. 

More pictures on Picasa

As the companies struggle the employees win

With company seniority numbers in the single digits, most companies here is China are desperate to attract and keep their highly trained and skilled employees.  To this end, at our recent management offsite, the company had everyone break into functional groups and come up with ideas on how to lower the turnover rate.  Although there were many novel ideas, the real problem is that there just aren’t enough skilled people available to support the astronomical growth rates, especially in the major cities. 

So my company has focused on trying to make the employees more of a family than of a collection of colleagues.  They encourage company team dinners (for most any reason (we have already been to 5)), as well as team sports and teambuilding activities.  So it is on this topic that I will spend the rest of this article.

This past weekend, Catharine and I were invited to join 49 other members of our work team and their families on a teambuilding outing.  So early this past Saturday morning we all boarded a bus and headed for the nearby seaside town of Ningbo.  This is a popular place with the Shanghai people as the drive is a pretty one and can easily be accomplished in less than three hours.  The route took us across what must be one of the longest bridges in the world; it spanned more than 40 kilometers.  For us our destination was what we thought would be a water park but in fact was an amusement park (small Cedar Point).  As we struggled with the local language we missed out on many things but managed to have a great time in the park and rendezvous with our colleagues at the appointed time.  As you can see from the picture below, I finally completed my list of participation in all the daring sports I care to participate in.  This one being bungee jumping.  The location was not as picturesque as Tommy’s bridge over Victoria Falls in southern Africa, but it was a thrill jumping off a platform from a height of 400 meters.  The real part of the thrill was actually the first 5 feet,  after that the anxiety lapsed and the free fall thrill began; I guess once you know you are going to die, you can relax a bit!!

The rest of the amusement park was fun but soon it got too hot and we spent the last hours lying in the pool at the waterpark portion of the park.  The temperature was in the upper 90s all weekend and the water felt great.  From here we went back to our 5 star hotel in Ningbo and dressed for our “teambuilding” dinner. The dinner was a great variety of Chinese dishes followed by way too much wine which is typical of these events; thus ended the first day. 

The following day we headed for the mountains (we were unaware that the east coast even had mountains) which were in the middle of the national forest.  The views were spectacular and we were all very glad that we were not driving a car no less a bus.  Unfortunately the winding roads got the best of those of us that might have had a bit too much to drink the previous night, but we still enjoyed the scenery.    During the trip we were surprised to see the biggest Bronze Buddha on the east coast.  It must have stood over 300feet high on top of one of the mountains.  Very impressive.

Our destination was the “drifting park”.  What we might call a white water rapids park.  So our group of 50 and what must have been about 300 other Chinese, boarded our rafts and headed down the river.  The river had quite a large natural drop which was enhanced by the “Chinese Builders” .  They diverted the river and added a huge concrete “slipway” where our rafts literally plunged down the rapids while taking on a full boatload of water; a refreshing feeling on a hot day. Our rafts continued down the natural river for some time until we encountered another man-made waterfall where we found that our bailing skills were once again put to the test.  After another series of sharp turns and more waterfalls we finally reached the main part of the river and rejoined my colleagues for a float through town.  We all had a great time and it was nice getting to know some of my colleagues and their families.  From here we headed back through the winding stretches in the mountains and back to Shanghai.  Most of the employees see these kinds of events (which are a bi-annual occurrence) as a reward and also believe it is a real sign that the company values their contributions and skills.  For us it was a great weekend away and a good time to get to know my colleagues.  I hope this will translate into more communication at work and more friends in the long term.

A worrying Imbalance

Here in Shanghai more than any other place that we have lived previously, we find the government continuing to try to control societal balance. The issues that the government fears more than any other is the uprising of the people and the people’s choices changing the balance of the fragile economic order.

I remember a story my dad once told me about the government trying to fix the inflation problem in Brazil.  It seemed that the government’s response to the rising inflation was to enact laws to force producers to stabilize their prices.  The ultimate extent of this “control” was when the government tried to control the cost of beer so the government enacted a law which controlled he price of a can of beer.  So, as you can imagine, the size of the can kept getting smaller.

I mention this here because it seems that every time there is an imbalance here, the government enacts some sort of control.  Case in point this time is the imbalance in the population, that is, in the ratio of boy babies to girls.  The ratio is actually improving from its worst level in 2008 of 114 boys to 100 girls, this year in Shanghai the ratio is 106 to 100 girls and 111 to 100 overall.  What this means is that by 2020, millions of Chinese men of marriageable age will be bachelors.  The worst imbalance occurs amongst the migrant farmers where the ratio is 121 boys’ to100 girls.  

So this week, the government started a new campaign of awareness and has banned “sex-selective” abortions.  It is also banning non-medical sex checks.  I must say I agree with bringing critical information to the masses and even showing the issue a little more critically than necessary,  but I stop short of enacting laws to “control” the population.  In the end the real change needs to happen in the societal views and cultural behaviors which focuses on the equality of the sexes.   They have a come a long way in having equal opportunities for men and women but the “son” stigma still exists.

Beijing the Royal City

One thing we have always found to be true in all our travels is that although the country or the language may change, the work remains the same.  Then enter China, it certainly breaks the mold. The most obvious difference is that all work and meetings occur in Chinese!  This may not come as a surprise to most of you but in all my other experiences, the working language has been English (even in Germany and the Czech Republic). 

This may seem a bit disjointed from the title of this blog entry but the reason I found myself in Beijing was a Yanfeng management meeting.  These meeting occur twice a year and always in a different location.  I think the purpose is really more team building and as a reward for hard work than it is to report out the status of the company and motivate the management.

Although it sounds great, I was really lamenting the fact that I would have to work on yet another weekend, and this weekend was to be near 100 degrees with high humidity.   So what was our first event, a plant tour and not just one, but four of them and needless to say none of them were air conditioned!  Although getting through the day was tough, it was more than made up for by the dinner and the great teambuilding (or should I say drinking) events that followed.  I had a great time and got the chance to make many new friends (or should I say drinking buddies).  It is very hard for me to meet people at work because I really do not interact with many of them as I am in the advanced group dreaming up solutions to problems you didn’t know you had.  So it is great that I can now strike up conversations with my “new friends”. 

Fortunately the next day was more team building, so with head in hand (because of the throbbing), we headed out to the Great Wall Of China.  I had been to the great wall some 25 years ago and although the wall didn’t change, the environment and the crowds sure have.  It was a logistically nightmare trying to get 350 people all going in the same direction at the same time but the staff did a great job and we really enjoyed the often strenuous climb on the great wall.

In 221BC the Emperor Qin unified the six states and set up the first unified kingdom.  In order to strengthen his authority and defend himself from the Huns in the north, he ordered that the wall of the six states be connected and then added more sections of his own.  This was the start of the great wall which was already some 5000 kilometers long.

During the second dynasty, the Han dynasty, the Hun became a stronger threat and Emperor Han Wu ordered the extension of the wall, it was now 10,000 kilometers long.  But the wall that we see today was built during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. 

Although the wall was built principally for defense, it never housed an army, rather it was patrolled by guards who would signal their counterparts with smoke signals which were passed along the wall until they finally reached the garrisons which were then deployed to cast down the attack. 

It was a great experience to see what dedication and hard work can accomplish, and I am sure this is the message that the planners of the trip were hoping to convey.   

So the next day it was back to propaganda and more group discussions, but once again the dinner was a fantastic experience with a Chinese show and great food. Then of course more team building, this time with some great wine and even the CEO got into it. 

So for our final day we toured the Temple of Heaven complex.  Now what was normally a beautiful location turned into a real steam bath!  Even the Chinese people thought it was unbearable, 102 degrees with 95% humidity.  But not to be beaten by the weather we soldiered on.  Actually the tour was great and the grounds were very beautiful, I especially enjoyed the “echo wall”. 

The Temple of Heaven or the “Altar of Heaven” is a large complex of Taoist buildings situated in the southern part of Beijing.  The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties (the builders of the new wall).  Here they would hold annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for a good harvest.  It is regarded as a Taoist temple although Chinese Heaven Worship pre-dates Taoism.

The temple complex was constructed by Emperor Yongle in 1420; he also built the Forbidden City.  The complex was expanded to its present size in the 16^th century by Emperor Jiajing.  The complex was inscribed as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1998 when it was described as a masterpiece of architecture and landscape. 

In ancient China, the emperor was regarded as the “Son of Heaven” and he represented heavenly authority.  Twice a year the Emperor would come here to pray for good harvests.  The largest of the ceremonies takes place at the winter solstice when the Emperor would make sacrifices to the god of the heavens.  The complex is comprised of many buildings for worship all with blue ceilings and roofs. The blue and gold colors were reserved for Royalty and no ordinary people were allowed to use these colors. 

The trip was a great experience, a great cultural learning opportunity and a great time to enjoy friends and colleagues. 

More pictures on Picasa:  https://picasaweb.google.com/116382736159542073538/Beijing#