Day 7 (Caroline)

Today we had our first set of meetings. After having breakfast with the group, we all went our separate ways. Gaby and I had our addresses written in peng yen for us (the Roman equivalent to Chinese) and Mandarin for our cab driver. We were also prepared to point to a map – no tour guide or translator here, only our academic advisor! With one of our research focuses being on podcasting capabilities/acceptance in China, the first meeting we had was with Chinesepod (http://www.chinesepod.com/). It was started by two Canadian guys (still looking for some more V.C. if anyone is interested). They saw an opportunity for creating pre-recorded language lessons (i.e. learn English like you would with Berlitz) by podcast; they record their own and are building new recording studios as we speak in the Shanghai office we visited. They identified a need for convenient, customized, quality in teaching -- there are many English teachers in China, but people are concerned about the quality they receive and in this manner the company can ensure the best quality for their customers since location of the teacher in relation to the student becomes inconsequential. People who use this service are very price insensitive and are part of a potential $9 B dollar market if you can believe that. Most of their customers are businesspeople and students wanting to learn another language. While there are no true revenue models in place for potential people looking to advertise on these sights (another goal to find while we research here), concerns about advertising on training materials does not seem to be a viable option (it runs the risk of diluting the brand image) – whereas working with entertainment podcasts could. When we met the two men, we did exchange business cards in a typical Chinese fashion, with two hands and about a 15 second look-over before putting it in your pocket (sign of respect). It was fascinating to be in a startup environment (literally, there was construction going on during our meeting) and seeing people abut our ages sitting in little cubicles (just like the US) typing away. After a wonderful meeting with them we sat in a park and enjoyed some tea (only 1 person took a picture with us this time, perhaps we are looking more like the locals?) and then went to lunch (trying some new things like boiled buns and eel) before heading off to our next meeting. The second meeting was with Pacific Epoch, a blogging medium and research firm (http://www.pacificepoch.com/). To show what a small world it is, it turns out he is friends with a friend of mind from E & J Gallo! A graduate of UNC’s MBA program, he came to manage this startup last year. Another small office with about 6 employees, we met for a couple hours discussing our second research topic, blogs; we were curious as to things such as loyalty, buzz marketing potential, and content of blogs in China. Gaby and I learned that blogs can aid in personal expression which has why they have become so popular… We were taught that Chinese society is like a group of concentric circles, with the family + 1 child in the center, the next ring as the 2 grandparents, the next ring as the building or block, and the last as the neighborhood, and so on… but for a marketer the only part that matters is the inside of the circles because that is where the most potent referrals in way of product recommendation will occur. Because blogs help create brand awareness, but not necessarily loyalty, tapping into that center target is most critical in getting people to and loyal to your product… this seems a bit different to the U.S. because the opportunity for impression is much more finite. We also learned about QQ, a platform much like AOL, and the impact it’s had over here. The impact is the reach it has… to give you some idea (while sparing you the details), on a Friday night it might have a total of 14-22 million people in China online chatting… that’s compared to a TOTAL subscriber base of 20 million in the U.S. for AOL. So as you can see, the possibilities for an entity wanting to advertise or reach consumers with blogs are limitless! We also learned about life for an Expat here and how tight their international communities are (with other Expats) in addition to the acculturation period. The term was ‘Having a bad China day’… that sometimes things are going great and then the culture shock just gets to you and you break down and start trying it all over again for another couple weeks, then it happens again. So even people who have spent a reasonable amount of time over here experience it… which as a first time visitor I thought was interesting… after all, we could never really become ‘Chinese’ but everyone can become ‘American’. The night was finished off by our group reconvening to share our experiences. Everyone seemed wired from having conquered the city – the cabs, the streets… we are after all ‘veterans’ now after Beijing! Looking forward to another adventurous day tomorrow!

Day 6 (Caroline)

Today was the last day in leaving for Shanghai… it’s with mixed emotions. Paige and I had a ‘traditional’ Chinese breakfast (some eggs and rice and noodles and soup) at the hotel before spending an hour or so meandering the streets of Beijing one last time. While I am excited to see a new city and start a new chapter of our trip I can’t help but feel that nothing will ever compare to the experiences we had here; how prideful the people are, the flow of the city (truly, there is no rhyme or reason apparent to a visitor, but an energy that keeps with people in their everyday actions) – the personality it possessed. Upon arriving to the Beijing airport, we had to find our way through the domestic ticket area – unlike the U.S. it’s basically a free-for-all with 40 lines feeding into different counters. Now experienced, we (like the others) pushed our way to the front of the line (yet still had people literally inches away from us and staring, as usual, asking if we were sisters because we looked so much the ‘same’ – we are both tall and white, but that’s about it!) to get our seat assignments. When we boarded the plane (with 5 other Owen students on our flight) I couldn’t help but notice the cabin where we were seated housed the foreigners, with locals receiving the cabin in front of us. Our flight to Shanghai, while only 90 minutes in duration had us traveling on a 777, but I guess in a country with 1.2 billion people, even daily transit between its two largest cities needs something like that (they need to move a lot of people!). After landing and getting our baggage, the 7 of us boarded a cab (really someone’s minivan – origin unknown) and rode to our hotel – a 4 star Howard Johnson in the heart of Shanghai. While Beijing was sprawling, Shanghai (sprawling, too) is so built up. Around every corner there is another 80 story building with neon signs, flat screen TV’s as big as 2 busses, and electric billboards everywhere. Bikes have been replaced by mopeds, alleyways have been replaced by pedestrian shopping streets, and little noodle shops have been replaced by International cuisine bistros. Shanghai does not feel as ‘Chinese’ to me as Beijing, the people look and sound much different (the Shanghainese dialect contrasts sharply for me to that up north and I find is harder to understand), and the pace of the city is quickened – it feels like Vegas meets New York (except all the neon lights shut off at 11 p.m. sharp, no 24-hours here!). An hour late because of the flight, we met the other 13 people in our entourage for dinner with some local alums. It was great to see everyone, there was so much energy as people talked about their travels and experiences… you can see many have taken to the food, etiquette, and look somewhat experienced in using their chopsticks now. Shanghai seems to have many more Europeans here as well; it almost feels like being at Epcot at Disneyworld with all the different stores and restaurants from other countries and the variety of peoples’ looks. After dinner, most of the group roamed the streets to start soaking things in and preparing for our week ahead full of meetings (the reason we’re here, I almost forgot) and exploring a new area. Most of us do not know when our meetings are, whom they are with, and even how to get there… but we’ll enjoy our last night of freedom and worry about that tomorrow!

Day 5 (Caroline)

Today was a great rest day for Paige and me. We slept in and spent the day – shopping! Our hotel is located in the Dongcheng area around a ton of great stores. It was our first day without Chao and it was time to put our recent learnings to test; our first mission? To order lunch! We managed to do well and find a restaurant without any Westerners so we ‘think’ we picked a good one. We ordered pork dumplings, cabbage with crab, oolong tea and steamed rice with beef. We managed to eat without too many people staring and only one random waitress asking us how to say ‘sesame’ – so all in all, we think we did pretty well blending in. When we left the restaurant and were talking about where we wanted to start our purchases, we were asked by a woman if we were American to which we replied yes… we came to know she was a calligraphy teacher, here in Beijing, and was traveling to Chicago in April for an exhibit of her school’s work. She directed us to her nearby studio where we spent about an hour looking at pieces and learning about two of the most prominent art types here: painting on rice paper and paper cutting. She also painted us our Chinese names and gave them to us as gifts in exchange for our ‘good conversation’ (and maybe all the money we spent on purchasing a couple paintings of hers, but we did manage to bargain the prices down!). After leaving we wandered the main and side streets bargain hunting for the likes of chopsticks, silk, jade, and my favorite, the terracotta warriors (in honor of the tomb of the first emperor of the Qin dynasty, Shi, who was buried with 8,000 clay soldiers near Xi’an). I think the most enjoyable part of the day was going into a food market. They had 50 kinds of mushrooms, 100 kinds of greens, nuts, and candies, dried meats in barrels, confections behind counters 100 deep, ‘(whole) duck in a bag’ and the most interesting of all? Everyone was dressed in what looked like nurse uniforms!? There are lots of uniforms here… blue ones for municipal workers, green for the military, white for grocery stores and medical clinics, orange for construction, grey for crossing guards… lots and lots of uniforms, everyone appears very ‘professional’ and ‘important’. We ended the day by dining in and ordering pizza (I know, we’re in China but it tasted SO good) and a bottle of our favorite Great Wall red and are busy packing before leaving for Shanghai tomorrow. Mixed feelings about having to leave Beijing, I really have developed an affinity for this city and its people; they are so open and cheerful and curious and helpful. I am very excited for them to be hosting the Olympics in 2008 and for the world to see how truly special this place is!

Day 4 (Caroline)

Today was a great day of learning for us… we began the day by meeting Chao and taking a taxi to the Forbidden City. I have been to places like Stonehenge, Lans Aux Meadows, and the Grand Canyon, and nothing, NOTHING compares to the sheer size of this. Probably the coldest day we had experienced in Beijing, the red, green, gold and white colors of the painted palace sharply contrasted with the cloudless blue sky. Encompassing 200 acres in the Northern Capital, 24 emperors lived there over the course of 500 years. At the latest point in construction (during the Ming dynasty) over 200,00o workers sought its completion. Most impressive was the never-ending feel of the series of doors, passageways and courtyards. You’d walk up a 20 step incline, through a hall (more or less a tunnel through a wall 100 meters deeps), only to go down a series of 20 steps and into another courtyard and garden to walk up a 20 step incline, through a hall, only to go down a series of 20 steps… and on and on. The sheer size is incomprehensible; there is no way to describe it. If I tried it would be like saying that the Grand Canyon is “big and colorful”. Next, Paige and I had our biggest feat yet; we rode a public bus to the Business District to grab lunch. Only two days ago we were marveling at how many people could cram onto the busses with people pressed up against the windows with barely breathing room (like a clown car!) and here we were, well rather here Chao was with us in tow… appearing to have mastered public transportation in the city – granted we could never have read which was the RIGHT bus to get on because it was all in Chinese characters. After lunch we (took the subway! and) went to Tiananmen Square and the National Museum of Chinese History. It was quite a contrast to view the history of the different dynasties, their contributions to literature, crafts music in the museum (including a wax museum that housed the likenesses of Marx, Lenin and Mao) to viewing the square that in the late 1960’s had 600,000 Soviet militaries waving Mao’s little red book – it was truly an overwhelming and sobering experience. After returning to our hotel and relaxing for a bit, the three of us met up with 10 other classmates at Da Dong Kao for Peking duck to celebrate a friend’s birthday. We ate Chinese style -- ordering and sharing about 20 dishes. The Chinese traditionally eat their birthday cake before dinner, but we decided to celebrate western style and waited until the end of the meal, after singing “zhu ni sheng ri kuai le (happy birthday to you)”. It was wonderful to hear of everyone’s experiences traveling (they all seemed to have a story similar to ours from Simatai with having to buy books and t-shirts which made us feel a little better) and about their plans for the upcoming week in Shanghai; it felt odd to realize we were seeing each other half way across the world, but also it was very comforting. While seeing most of the same places, we all had such unique impressions. After dinner we hit some local bars and were happy to share and celebrate our time with Chao. It was heart wrenching to say goodbye, he truly MADE the experience that we have had here in Beijing an authentic one to which we say “peng you (friend)”, Chao, and best wishes for coming to Nashville next year to begin your time at Owen -- we would be lucky to have you!

Day 3 (Caroline)

We had a slight change in plans today because we had an unexpected visitor – Wa (or as we named him, William). William is Chao’s brother-in-law by way of his younger sister; he was in town for business and was able to spend the morning touring with us as it was also his first time to Beijing. So today we went to the Heaven Temple followed by the Summer Palace. Twenty minutes from our hotel, we found our way to the Heaven Temple; double the size of the Forbidden City and designed according to feng shui and numerology principles it was used twice a year for sacrifices by the emperors in hopes for blessings for their peoples’ crops. Most likely, the highlight of this visit was not so much the temple itself, but the people in the park surrounding it. All around the temple there were people practicing Tai Chi, singing national anthems in chorus groups, playing cards and dominoes, playing hackysak (the Chinese LOVE to exercise), playing badmitten, walking backwards along the walls, or stretching against park benches. Some women were also dancing while others swirled ribbons, looking like flashes of color across the clear blue sky while keeping time to tunes of Celine Dion (did I mention the Chinese LOVE to exercise?). This was followed by lunch… Chao has quickly learned that Paige and I love to eat. We went to a local restaurant and dined on turnip soup, pork, pickled turnip, spicy tofu, cucumbers and beef. When lunch was served William exclaimed “Welcome to China!” to which we all shouted “Gumbai!” or Cheers! before drinking our beers. Lunch involved small talk such as life at U.S. universities and career histories and goals, followed by deeper discussions of feelings towards Mao and religion of today’s generation. This latter discussion was cut short and met with “We can discuss further in the car. Let’s go.” signaling to us that even as open as we view their country in this day, there are still things that are considered taboo to talk about in public venues. After lunch, we next dropped William off at the Beijing train station as he had to return home. It was a scene of utter chaos, with cars driving in and out of a one lane road hoping to find parking; Chao had to have a ’discussion’ (which sounded more like a shouting match – I don’t care what people’s explanation of cultural ‘intonation’ is) about where he could park with local officials. Yes, local officials, everywhere people in green coast, cigarettes in hand, and... sneakers on their feet (it just doesn't look very official!)? The Summer Palace was our next stop. Built during the Jin dynasty, the buildings date back to 1153. Engineers created a man-made lake that encompasses about 75% of the total property; it is adorned with bridges, pavilions, palaces, and covered passageways. Brought into its glory by the Qing dynasty, encompassing a 15 year construction period, the Anglo French forces pillaged it in 1860. Since then it’s been under constant renovation, including today when we went to visit. Many of the buildings were closed, but the walk along the lake with Beijings skyline was bordered by surrounding temple buildings was breathtaking as we saw the “Old Meets New” world. After the palace, we toured Chao’s university (which ironically was built with American dollars and modeled after UVA’s Jeffersonian architecture) and finished the day with dinner. Again, deciding to be conservative on what we ordered, we stayed away from the chicken artery, rooster kidneys, and duck webs (feet), settling for lamb and fish balls paired with a bottle of Great Wall Cabernet (always on the look out for new imports for my new job at E&J Gallo!). The wine helped Paige and me get through having to boil our own (live) shrimp for part of the main course (talk about fresh) at our table. Most importantly, today was the day I decided I fell in love with Beijing and would love to live here if ever given the opportunity! We hope to get pictures up soon, but the Internet connection has been slow, thanks for your patience!

Day 2 (Caroline)

Today, Paige, Chao and I visited the Great Wall. Chao had a special treat for us and took us to the Great Wall section at Simatai. In this remote area located over a 2 hour drive from Beijing, we climbed several miles into the hillside, over trails and ruins over 600 years old. Before climbing, we ate at a local restaurant (a hut whose door was a sleeping bag and contained only two tables, the other hosting 2 students), its walls covered with posters of Mao and children playing with dragons. Deciding to pass on the options of ordering fried mutton, fried locusts, fried scorpions, and boiled intestines, our lunch was served: fresh vegetable dumplings, lily tea, sweet and [sore] soup and pork. After lunch we began our climb to the 12th tower; the climb was a steep upgrade of about 45 degrees in most parts and having to make it through sections that required even basic rock climbing skills to scale. At some points we found ourselves in areas only a foot wide with steep drops hundreds of yards down. There were unparalleled views at every tower, each getting better than the last as our ascent continued. We were met and traveling with two locals who served as our tour guides (despite telling them ‘politely’ that we were not interested, and having to ‘willingly’ purchase several souvenirs at the end of our journey – including a t-shirt that reads: I Climbed the Great Wall of China), the ladies' ages were about 20 and 45, but they looked more 45 and 90. Winded and exhausted, we made it to the top of the 12th tower having the opportunity to stare across a country both beautiful and unforgiving, its rocky mountain ranges bordered by the Wall until it met the horizon. As Paige said, "It's not so much that I'm awed about being here and climbing the Wall, but the fact that it was built, the entire thing, by people."

Day 1 (Caroline)

After a 24-hour journey and 14 meals, Paige and I arrived at the Beijing airport. After arriving through customs 20 minutes late, we were met by Liu Chao, having to explain why it took us so long. NOTE: It took us 20 minutes to figure out how to use the ATM machine (there are no letters for passcodes here, only numbers -- thank goodness Caroline had her cell phone and Paige the smarts to decode it!). Chao is a friend of ours through an Owen classmate, Bing Tang. After driving us to our hotel, Chao outlined our itinerary for the week. Day 1 would be the Great Wall!

Gaby and Caroline right before the trip -- exhausted from finals, we have no idea what to expect... but are excited!