IBSM 2007

Post trip thoughts

2007-03-23T09:38:00.000-07:00

The trip has really enriched my learning about China and the business side of it. The company visits have helped us understand some challenges they face and how the government has been of help to them. China though closed up before, they have developed so much that it's amazing. Being such a huge country, it is a challenge to develop the entire place especially when there is only one central government. I applaud China for a job well done.

Personally, i've met all the objectives i've set out to meet. One of them is being independent. It was my first time going on such a far away trip alone. And i supposed that i have learnt to take care of myself, keeping myself safe and healthy. Adapting to the way of life there, like how there is not a single toilet bowl except in the hotels. Making sure i have my things ready since we are constantly on the move and lastly keeping a look out for my friends. I was too busy enjoying myself that i never really miss home that much as i would have expected to. I guess if there is another chance like this, i would be able to handle it.

I went on the trip prepared to learn about how things work in China and i know i did. I see and experience for myself how China is growing to be a strong economic power which i do not doubt may even take over USA in the future. In the past, i used to think that China made goods are of poor quality and that it will be spoilt very easily. By going there, i see good quality being produced by advanced technology. The people there are very adaptable to any situation that may arise. Like having a generator of their own in case they will not be able to have power.

Though the labour there is cheap, the skills that the workers possess comes from training that was provided so they become skilled workers. And within China itself with such a big population, there is no lack of talent pool. You see news on TV about how Japan always comes up with high-technology items, China can overtake that. It's only a matter of time.

Lastly, China people are not all that bad as we thought they were. They were much friendlier and good with words when you are buying things from them. However, there are still some who are extremely rude. But no doubt, these people are made of hard stuffs. They stand their ground even being threaten. After this trip, i'm really happy to see the China Chinese sticking to their culture.We are both Chinese but we tend to be more westernized. It's sad to say we are losing our chinese roots. If one is to enter China, you must speak their language and have an understanding of the culture. And use the local talent pool, they will be a perk to your company.

To sum it all up, it has been a total eye opener for me in all aspects. New friendships are forged and it's a very great experience. I will definitely miss everything and all that i had been through.

IBSM 2007 End.

Day 10, 11 and 12

2007-03-21T07:24:00.000-07:00

Day 10

It is considered our last day in Zhuhai cause we are leaving the next morning back to Hong Kong.

Our last company visit for the trip is “Sanzao Science and Technology Industrial Park”. It occupies an area of 2.66 million square meters. It is a hi-tech industrial park with the development of such industries as electronics and IT, biological pharmaceutics and environmental protection as the main hub and other hi-tech industries as the complementary sets.Within the area they have a commercial bank center and 52 enterprises, out of which 22 are overseas enterprise. In order to encourage pioneers as well as overseas students to set up companies, they have a 40% rebate on the rent. There are some pieces of land reserved for future big development. 40,000 sq meters is used for recreation consisting of 2 golf courses. This park has the reputation of the most “changed” environment and I can see why. The place is really beautiful. We were told that when the researches get too stressed up, they take a walk in the park to try and get some stroke of inspiration. During our walk around, we see various reputable universities, and they tend to specialize in software development. This is why I believe that there is a vast amount of talents for the companies in the area to tap in, it even has a student area, known as the “Pioneer Undertaking Park for Chinese Students studying abroad”. This along with the advantage of the basic package of software environment makes the whole place really an attraction on its own. We were told that in Mainland China the tax rate is 15%, Pearl River Delta 20% and Zhuhai 15% (两免三剪半). If I was an investor ready to set up a enterprise based on software development, this will definitely be the place I head for. I have a ready young talent pool and the basic infrastructure for me to use. And when my family comes along with me, the management of the area will help me get settled down like housing and after 1 year of establishment I can look forward to have funds provided.

Next we went to Zhuhai Sante Cableway. Paid some money to take the cable car up Going upPretty steep but really nice view of the valleyand another way down.

At the top, we get to see the whole Zhuhai. It was a breathtaking sight.

There were some activities up there for people to play and some of us did. Evelyn getting her self portrait drawn. The guys getting a shot at winning something. Found the wishing rock which had a lot of locks around it, the lock cost a lot of money so we simply put our hands on the rock and wish. The rock has this history of making the Casino King, Mr Stanley Ho who he is today. Because he one day came to this rock and made a wish, ever since his wish has been granted he comes every year to “repay”.

On our way back to the hotel for debrief, we passed by the river side. The black parts in the middle are all the shells where you get pearls from. There is lots of them which is how Zhuhai got it’s name because of the harvest of pearls from this place.

Back at the hotel, we all went back to our rooms to grab our journal before heading down to a mahjong room to do our debriefing. The teacher sat in front and the rest simply gathered on the floor. Some of us had to stand due to lack of place while Lao Yao stand guard outside the door for? Mr Wong commented on each person’s one comment. Many of us had leg cramps after all that. Then it was free and easy for the night. More market research was done before and after dinner. We were told that the driver was leaving Zhuhai and heading back to Shenzhen/Guangzhou on that night. It was rather sad to see him go, though I have never spoken to him before but I really appreciate his service. Driving us through all those traffic while we all slept through. Cleaning up the mess we made in the bus. But before he left, he dropped us off at another place away from the underground shopping centre. The group of us, Rong Xing, Elizabeth, Stephanie, Yi Ling and I decide to head back to 拱北地下商场 to resume shopping. Was trying to figure our way out when suddenly Rong Xing commented, so this is where Xiao Deng buys his books. Turned out that Xiao Deng was buying his story books from a road stall. He was surprise to see us and asked why we were there. He offered to bring us back to the underground shopping mall. More market research and we ended going back to the hotel with Ms Ng.

Day 11
After breakfast we went off to 渔女像 and 情人路.

Xiao Deng told us that 情人路 got it’s name because the one of the minister had to name it and it will reflect very badly if he, as a minister is unable to accomplish naming a small road. So one day, he took his wife for a walk down that road. The wife felt like how she was when she started falling in love. Walking down the road holding hands with her love by her side, she felt that this road is suitable for couples dating. So that is how this little road by the Pearl River got its name. Sounds very sweet doesn’t it? Took lots of photos with a lot of people. The figureThe guys Stephanie, Me, Yi Ling, Bao Yi, Andrea and ElizabethUs plus Xin Ni and Rong Xing Xiao Deng with all of us

We were running really late for our ferry so when we got down, we literally grab our own luggage and ran. I was the first few to enter the customs, so I didn’t have the chance to thank Xiao Deng for the past 10 days or so. He took care of us and really taught us a lot of things. One of the nicest guides I’ve met of course not excluding Lao Yao as well. The last few who went in did thank him though. Off we went into the ferry. I got motion sickness the minute I got to my seat. It was a sad departure for me because I have gotten so used to the life I’m leading and once we leave Mainland China it also means I’m really going home. I will definitely miss everything. Slept through out the entire trip back to HK. Finally arrived at Hong Kong, it was really challenging trying to get our very overload luggage off the ferry especially when it was so shaky. After lunch, we walked back to our hotel and the rest of time was ours. Off we went in different groups. I went with Yi Ling and Andrea to the 3 combined shopping centers at the harbour side. It was really fun shopping for things. Went into Zara and bought a couple of things. Met Lao Yao later at the Avenue of stars and took a photo together. Met up with Zhe Ying, Stephanie, Nicholas, Jasmine, Denise at 女人街. We travlled by tram. =D

But before that, we had “Xiu Liu Shan”, the Singapore branch has closed down. It was my first time eating it and it was really yummy!!! Would love to try something else next time round. Cabbed back with Steph, Yi Ling and Andrea back to West Hotel and arranged to meet up later for Wantan Mee, which everyone said is a must try in Hong Kong. Lao Yao who came down and wanted to use the computer, got “pulled” to join us for our meal. Had a very memorable time with Stephanie, Yi Ling, Andrea, Elizabeth, Rong Xing and Lao Yao while eating. Back at the hotel, Lao Yao asked the guy at the counter what are some night spots in HK. He suggested “Ha Ta Dou” to him and so Rong Xing, Yi Ling and I decide to go along with him. It was really a very small street. We finished walking it in like 5 mins, all we saw was pubs and a couple of clubs. Ended up walking around to another place, took a cab back to hotel and realized it’s simply behind from where we were. Lao Yao paid all the cab fares. Then Yi Ling wanted to collect her “Wife’s biscuits” from Nicholas but we didn’t know his room so we went to Lao Yao’s room to call him. No one picked up the call and so we assume he has gone to bed. Ended up talking with Lao Yao in his room and when Yi Ling mentioned she bought a small mahjong set, he suggested playing in his room. So all of us went down to collect our things and went back up while he bathe when we were away.

Lao Yao unplugged the small refrigerator and put his towel over it. And off we played, didn’t think I win any rounds. =( But we talked a lot and only head back to our room at 5 plus in the morning. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and we saw Rong Xing standing outside. Turns out that Carol, Mingli and Tiffany were on her bed. So she joined us in our room, we combined 2 beds together and slept side by side. In the morning, we received 3 calls and since I was the nearest I picked it up. The first was morning call, second was Stephanie asking us if we were going for breakfast and lastly Elizabeth asking for Rong Xing.

Day 12

We slept in so we missed breakfast. Set off at nearly noon and off we go to the airport. On our way there, we gave gifts to thank Lao Yao and the guide for accompanying us. While waiting for check in, we took photos. AndreaGuan HongNicholasChristine Edward

After some not very pleasant encounters at the check-in, we grab a bite and board the plane. Was separated into the order of name so I sat beside Stephanie and Lao Yao. Watched dreamgirls, slept and had my dinner. Finally had a very smooth touch down.

Home sweet Home.

Day 9-Cha Jia Ming, Hakka Village, Strawberry Farm, Sun Yat Sen

2007-03-20T17:16:00.000-07:00

Day 9

It's slowly counting down the days to home. But today we got to be tourist again!! Haha since we do not have too many companines to visit. Our first place was to some place where lives the Hakka clan. I'm a Hakka too but i'm guilty of not being able to speak it. haha The environment up there is really superb. It's really a moutain, hilly kind of place. See? I mean where can you see this in Singapore? The only hill not even moutain we have is Bukit Timah Hill. HahaOverlooking the tea field. Looks a bit small though but the products being produced are really of quality. The reason is?
Thata!! It's being 炒 by hand and by a very experienced gentleman. My first thought was that it must be really hot to put your hand into the huge metal wok and fry the tea. We also learnt that tea is NOT made from the leaves but a certain part of it, something like a bud. But we got a chance to try it!! I did and when it wasn't hot but warm and when i'm done, my hand is warm and smells really nice. Got the chance to see this expensive item above being grown. It's similiar to a piece of wood and we actually got to taste it. After it was cooked, it was entirely black and really looked like a charred piece of wood. Haha it was passed around but nobody bought it back to cook soup. Cause it really taste very bitter. We love sweets!! Even Mr Kam couldn't take it after ONE mouth. Our tea tasting room. The tea after it has been 炒. It was right in front of me and it was smelled really nice. This is the tools to just make tea. Reminded me of Lao Yao's purchase of a tea set the night before and he didn't manage to bargain to his desired price. Haha How can i leave without even taking a photo with the serene scenery? Ever since we step into China, all our meals consist of TEA. Only one restuarant serves coke and beer. But the rest are always tea. But still we didn't complain and even got used to it.

Next was 长命村 also a Hakka Village. It got it's name because the life of the people living there are all above 85 years old. The World's oldest human was from this village at age 124, but she passed away a few months back, just one month after she received the title. And so it was believed that it's due to their drinking water which comes from a well. Xiao Deng told us that many people decide to move there after retirment is not only because of the beautiful environment but because the hope to live a longer life. This dragon head has water coming out of it. We were told to wash our hands and then touch ourselves from head to toe before finally putting them in our pockets. This signifies bringing wealth back with us. Well, being typical Singaporeans we all did it. Who will mind extra wealth? HahaWe were told that to bring bottles down to contain the water, some of us even carried two. The poor guy of course is the one who helped us to fill the bottles. Xiao Deng rocks...he had to filled like 30 over bottles since there was 38 of us and many empty bottles. Haha well it's because we are not allowed to simply dipped the water in to fill it and if we dirtied it the villages will come after us. So yea Xiao Deng is the man for the job. He said, "我带一天的团都没这么累!" HahaBut he is never too tired to take a photo. After that, we went to have a go at either riding a horse or archery. Of course we had to pay for both activities. But converting it back to Sing dollars it was worth it. Me on my small horse. It was really scary cause it was my second time on a horse. Off we go to a wishing stone and to get a view of the entire village. Wish wish wish...The villageArchery is a must try!! And the following people agrees with me. =) Andrea and i took turns playing. I closed my eyes for the first one but still managed to hit the target. Glenda

StephanieYi LingZhe YingXiao Deng teaching Benson how to hold and shoot. Guess he must have brought a lot of tour to this place. Off he goes on his own, Benson that is.Lao Yao and Mr Wong giving it a go.GeorgeWen SongVanessa Yi Ling looks sad because the bow is almost as tall as herself. After all that hard work of filling up our bottles, Xiao Deng takes a break. And some of us took turns taking photos with him.

Next is a personal favourite place of mine. Strawberry Farm!!! I can smell those yummy, juicy, delicious strawberries calling out to us. Strawberry heaven here we come!! Everyone grabbed a basket and started plucking them. Yi Ling's one was pretty empty so Xiao Deng chipped in to pluck for her. Zhe Ying helped us as well since they were wearing dark coloured shoes and the place was pretty muddy. Thanks you guys. Unglam Queen Rong Xing actually even pull the entire plant out.
Bargain King (Zhi Wen) +Unglam Queen 2 (Elizabeth) who actually pulled out the plant that Rong Xing tried to plant back.

Want a bite? Look at all the contented faces. We were queing to paid for our strawberries and it was really cheap. Paid about 15 bucks for a few kg of it cause i combinded mine with Yi Ling's. We were on our way to Zhuhai from Zhongshan when we had to stop for military checks. But we got cleared after our guides explained to them that we are of no threat.

Moving on to Zhuhai, we headed to Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park. At the entrance, we were sliently begging for Xiao Deng to speed up his purchase for our tickets because almost all of us were desperate to use the washroom. Some of the guys were checking out the map outside of the entrance to locate the toilet. Finally the gates were opened to us, Zhe Ying and Yong Wei started leading the way to the toilet. At first, we were trying to keep our image by walking quickly but in the end we just ended up running. Guan Hong who was one of those at the back told me that the ticket guards was commenting why are we in such a rush? It's not as if there's gold inside the park. Haha.

In the end, the toilet is our first visit. It's by far the best toilet in Mainland China. Though there is no sign of a toilet bowl. I guess we all have gotten use to the standard procedures of rolling up our pants before using the toilets.

We then went on to tour the park itself. First place was the house of Sun Yat Sen.

We were not supposed to take photos inside due to reasons linked to respect. But still someone got a shot of the bedroom. It was similar to something that comes out of televison drama. Books of Sun Yat Sen. Sun Yat Sen in his younger days. Sun Yat Sen in his much younger days. Towards the end, i was glad to have the chance to get to know the people better. From left: Dickson, Guan Hong, Zhi Wen, Bao Yi, Me, Stephanie, Rong Xing, Elizabeth, Jasmine, Joyce, Denise and Tzi Khee.
Finally before we left the place, we took a group photo under this sign and Xiao Deng took the liberty to explain the words to us. But i doubt we remeber any of it at all.

After dinner, we went maket researching and Bao Yi, Stephanie, Yi Ling and i were the last to alight from the bus. Ms Ng stopped us and asked if we would like to buy vcds and that the guides are gonna bring us there. We agreed and followed Xiao Deng to a "black" shop which from the outside looks innocently like they are operating those toy shops. But a hidden door reveals more treasure or should i say the "real" stuffs. On our way there, we went into alleys and pass by shops. At that point of time, i felt as though i'm really entering the China life and not simply seeing only the tourist side of China.

Lao Yao bought 700+ worth of dvds and some of them are "yellow" ones. He managed to push it down to 600 i think. For the rest of us, we benefitted from this big buyer. He simply asked if there's water to drink and very soon one of the employee appeared with cold green tea bottles. But she missed out one for Bao Yi and she went a second time to buy. I felt important but of course conditions is that we buy more. Haha...Ms Ng bargained for us. She was really sweet, really like a mother to us during the trip. No wonder she's all the guys' "Ah Bu". She took really good care of us during the nights of market research. Bringing us across the road, going for "Gui Ling Gao" and Ginger sauce with Buffalo milk. All those sweet memories.

Back at hotel, we had a strawberry party in Ms Ng's room. We threw almost 3/4 of our entire loot because they were too ripe. We washed them with mineral water before heading off to Ms Ng's room. In the lift, we met Mr Kam and i offered strawberries to two strangers in the life. Before we got out, they wanted to take some more but Mr Kam told them no more. Haha Mr Kam "saved" us man. In Ms Ng's room we met more of the girls and we started eating. Whenever we are almost finished, a new group appears with more strawberries. At that point i swore i'm staying off strawberries for awhile and i did. Haha but more because it's expensive in Singapore.

Day 8-Sunten Electric Co.; Sun Feng San Park & National Torch High-Tech Industrial Development Zone of Zhongshan

2007-03-19T17:00:00.000-07:00

Day 8

Today the first thing we did was to visit Suten Electric Company. The company produce 4 main products-dry type transformer, rector, substation (No. 3 in the world) and switch gear. With 1500 employees, their output is an whooping amount of 15 million. Not only is it the biggest in the world, their brand name is also well known. Their revenue for 2004 was 12.3 billion RMB. They share close relationships with well-known government bodies and schools like Tsinghua University and Xian Jiaotong University which are prominent in their country. Not only do they have strong sales support team of 160 people and well known for resource planning, all their employees are well educated and have training, re-training, rewards and benefits given to them.Similar to Singapore, the importance of keeping your workers up to date in their skills is one way to help them retain their job and for to have an competitive edge in the market because you have skilled labours as your valuable assets.

Sunten faces 3 main problems. The first one being the constantly increasing price of raw materials such as copper and steel accelerating from 3 million to 7 million dollars and 1 million to 3.5 million respectively. The flucuation in prices adversely affects the profits that were agreed on.

That leads on to the second problem which every company faces, competition. In order to keep that competive edge, prices need to be kept low and quality guaranteed. Their 5 close competitor compete with Sunten by pushing their prices low and use lower quality materials.

Finally, the problem of lack of capital and cash flows. This shows how important cash management is to every successful company. In order to be able to set up a company overseas successfully, enough cash and capital is not the way. It is important to know the culture, build relationship, understand basic rules (hire the locals) and regulations and lastly "mianzhi".

Yi Ling wasn't feeling well on that day so she missed out all the visits. Since we were on the move from Shunde to Zhongshan, the only way she could rest was in the bus. I think she got a cold and Xiao Deng insisted that she take his jacket. It is a authentic Armani Exchange jacket. And the size is like 50!! So when Yi Ling put it on, she really looked quite puffed up. HahaBut she looks warm and happy. =D

In the afternoon, we went to Sun Feng San Park. It simply means more photos shots with the lovely environment around us.

Look at the grand entrance! I felt really small when i was approaching it.The red gang- (from left) Stephanie, Andrea, Zhi Wen, Bao Yi and me.The dark/grey gang-Bao Yi, Rong Xing and me. The cutest little boy i've seen so far. His dad was really nice allowing us to take photos with him and carrying him. He didn't even cry or run away when we all took out our cameras and started snapping photos of/with him. A closer shot of him. Isn't he adorable? A last photo before we go-(from left) Guan Hong, Andrea, Dickson, Elizabeth, Bao Yi, Xin Ni, Me and Zhi Wen.

Our last visit of the day was to Zhongshan Torch International Trade Development Area. At first on the bus, Yi Ling told me we were visiting a place that manufactures torch i was confused. But after realizing it was a Trade Developement area, we had a good laugh at it.

Our welcome message. *shy*

Zhongshan city has won a series of honours including:

-National hygiene city

-National gardening city

-United Nations Human Settlements City

-Demonstration city of National environmental protection

-China excellent tourism city

-National two-support model city

-Nation Technology model city

-Nation civilization city (2005)

The zone is loacted in the east of Zhongshan city, 12 kilometers away from city center. Facing the estuary of the PRD on the east, it is adjacent to Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Also close to Zhuhai and Macao on the south, Panyu district of Guangzhou and Shunde on the north, Jiangmen and Foshan on the west. The favourable geographic location is a strong guarantee for the zone to make a rapid advancement.

The development zone constitutes administrative organizations based on high-standards of State-level, dedicatiung itself to provide domestic and international businessman effective, efficient, professional and international high-standard services. Moreover, the zone focuses on human services through providing one-stop service from negotiation to registration, from factory construction to manufacture and to export. There are also special bonded warehouses in the zone in order to facilitate the import and export of raw materials and products.

As a state-level development zone, Zhongshan Torch Development Zone enjoys not only the natioanl beneficial policies, but also the Municipal Economic Management Rights as a prefecture-level granted by Zhongshan municipal governement, and also, the city government set up first grade financial system and favourable supporting policies to the zone.

In that area, they are further divided into more zones and each focusing on different areas. I feel that it is a good idea that there is existence of seperation between zones because it allow the area to have that "specialized" and unique environment that boosts the attractiveness to foreign investors because basic infrastructure is already in place.

Day 7-CIFF 2007 Home Furniture Convention & Shunde Longjiang Yong Xiang

2007-03-18T04:59:00.000-07:00

Day 7

Our last day in Guangzhou before we move off to Shunde, we went to the 19th China International Furniture held at Chinese Export Commodities Fair Pazhou Complex (CECF), which is located in the southeast part of Guangzhou. The functions of meeting, exhibition and commercial negotiation are united in this exhibition centre. It is a modern architecture with perfect combination of efficiency, intelligence, humanization and ecology.I was responsible for writing the article for this visit and i was really worried as the guidelines given to me was on companies whereas mine is an exhibition. But thank goodness for Mr Wong's guidance and the information available to the public. While waiting for both Lao Yao and Xiao Deng to get our passes to enter we were literally freezing out there in the cold. It didn't help matters that it was open area. The wind was really blowing at us. Judging from Yi Ling, Elizabeth and Rong Xing's expression and how they cuddle so close together tells a lot about the cold. Our Passes... we are "Overseas Buyer" hahaha Finally we were in and the place was really HUGE. The total land area of the complex is 700000m². Sixteen exhibition halls are built, among which the land area of indoor exhibition halls is 160000m², and that of outdoor exhibition sites is 22000m². It is by now the largest exhibition centre in Asia.
Some shots of the exhibits.

China International Furniture Fair (CIFF) well known as “Asia’s Furniture Sourcing Center” has grown to be the most prominent and first-visited furniture trade show in Asia. The biannual event is consolidated to be the ideal stage for international trade players to witness the latest home furnishing trends and styles. It has been driving vigorous exports worldwide since the 1st edition in 1998.

During the exhibitions, information pack was given out freely. Within contains the vendor’s catalog as well as their contact cards. It is no surprise that the promoters are able to speak English fluently as the show attracts many overseas buyers. Certain exhibitors only allow exclusive entrance, most commonly after exchanging of name cards. This fair has not only serve its’ sole purpose of marketing the products but also allow networking of businessmen. With it’s diversity of style, there is something for everyone.

From what i observed, ready buyers walk around with calculators or briefcases in their hands. I think it was rather clear to the promoters that we are not buyers because went we do enter into some shops, they do not even acknowledge us. Bao Yi tried to grab an information pack from one of the counters but the person requested to have her name card. Special thanks to Yi Ling who took photos for me while i took notes. Bao Yi for helping me take information booklets for my article and lastly to Stephanie who helped me in every way.

Off we go after some missing people found their way back to the group. It was lunch and then a 1hr ride to Shunde where we will be staying for one night. Shunde Longjiang Yongxiang was our next stop. We got a tour of the factory and get to witness how wood pieces start from this to this-The wooden parts are rubber wood imported from Hainan. There are 2 factories with 200 workers. The reason for 2 factories is due to bad pollution that the one combined factory will produce. The cloth was from ZheJiang. Since the wood is imported, there will be some wetness in them so before they are used they are being heated.

Final products are exported to Middle East, European countries and even America. Though it started out in the 1980s, it was until August 2004 that a distribution factory was set up. They have their own personal design team and they do their own research to come up with new designs. 2-3k sofas are sold per year and 80% goes to Middle East, Europe and US. Can you believe that even after adding utilities and rent, operating cost per month is simply RMB200,000. One way of getting their customers was entering Canton Fair. To remain competitive, they even allow customizing of their customers' sofa designs. Another way was through their own personal website and trade companies to help push the products to foreign investors. They do not use distributor and simply sell to any trader who buy low and sell at a much higher price.

Since they produce and sell based on sales order, they face challenges of keeping up during the quiet seasons. Wholesale wise 1 set of sofa costs 3k and the market value would be 5k. Of course since the sofas are sold to overseas, there will be high transportation costs involve. This company really thinks of ways to overcome the problem when they are not allowed to use electricity for 2-3 days. And a sofa set requires 10 days to complete. Therefore, the solution is to have their own generator even though it brings more costs to the company. Like so many companies, quality is the key to cope with competition, YongXiang Furniture provides a quality guarantee of 1-2 years and even provide materials for you to repair the sofas yourself if need be. With such good benefits attached to the sofas, it is no wonder customers are willing to pay 30% downpayment. Lastly, when a customer terminates their trade with them, they will try to connect with the customers and find out the reason so as to imrpove themselves.

Afterwards was dinner, at the entrance of it we saw these

SNAKES!! Evelyn was really terrified as she kept screaming. The food that day was really good. We had something like Fried Milk.

That night, we gathered at the lobby but was later chased away by Dickson whom loudly declared that people are taking photos of us yet we don't know. Quickly, we left to a shopping centre nearby to do market research. Bao Yi, Stephanie, Yi Ling and i went on to search for a birthday cake for a certain someone. At one point Ms Ng joined us in our search. We met Lao Yao twice and later we found out he is also looking for a bakery shop to buy a cake for the same person. Our group met up with him at a dessert shop which he was having Ginger sauce on Buffalo Milk (姜汁撞奶). We were all very excited and started ordering desserts. Some of us have the Buffalo Milk since we had in the afternoon and really fell for it. It is something like the soya beancurd we have in Singapore. When Xiao Deng told us about it, we had our doubts. But after the 1st taste, we were hungry for more. And in such cold weather it really kept us warm.

A few of us decided to try something else 双皮奶. Either Lao Yao's memory was really bad or he was trying to be funny as he kept asking the waitress what he had at first. Can tell the waitress was losing her patience with him. Ms Ng was sharp to notice a couple carrying a cake box, so we enquire the location of the bakery from them. At the bakery, Lao Yao was flirting with the girl behind the counter but we finally bought a cake, courtersy of Chan Brother.

The cake itself.

It was back to the hotel. On our way back, Lao Yao did an experiment that when he walked alone, girls started approaching him for offer of services. It was something like what we would expect. The original plan was to celebrate the next day in the bus when it's also Andrea's actual birthday. But we figured it would be too messy so Ms Ng suggested we go to her room to celebrate on that very night. Back in our room, Andrea called us to talk and said that she's gonna sleep soon. I started panicking because it would mean we won't be able to celebrate for her at our orignal timeslot. Finally we decide to lie to her that Ms Ng wants us to gather in her room at 11 plus for a meeting. Since beth was her room mate, we couldn't let her in our plan as well. Zhe Ying went around to other rooms to let them know about the celebration. Soon everyone entered the room and we all started talking until Andrea arrives. Lao Yao was the man of the night. He managed to crap so much until it was nearly 12. And then it was celebration time!!Everyone squeesing in the room and singing Happy Birthday song.
See she's so touched until she cried. I won't put up her photo with the cake as her eyes were rather swollen in it. Hahah.

The cake was shared among most of us as some of them already brushed their teeth. Then some of the girls from another level told the teachers that those men who took photos of us back in the lobby went around their floor and started knocking on the doors of the girls. Luckily they looked through the peep hole and did not open the door. Arrangements were made for some guys from our floor to move up and the girls to move down. Lao Yao promised to settle the case with the hotel management.

Yi Ling, Stephanie, Bao Yi and i were worried because we found out that those men were living in the rooms directly opposite us. But we were less worried with Ms Ng next to us. Our doors were locked tight that night. Still think it's the fatigue and for Yi Ling who is not feeling well, we had a good night sleep. Not sure when we took this, but Ms Ng's feet was also involved. Guess we were all really very high.

Day 6-Tourist

2007-03-17T10:41:00.000-07:00

Day 6

After breakfast, Xiao Deng told us that it had rained the night before and it is still raining. He advised us to bring our jackets along, saying that it has dropped to 10 degrees. We were literally freezing as we chattered and shivered our way from the hotel lobby to the bus. Edward didn't come along with us due to food poisoning. He was the first one who fell sick. Our first stop is to the bee farm. There got to taste different type of honey. I didn't buy any because my mother had specifically told me not to get honey. Some of the guys even went to try to wine/beer and commented it was made them feel warm instantly.

The commentor and on the tables are the different types of honey.A honey comb with all the bees still intact on it. It was really scary when they bring it around for everyone to see. Only Mingli was brave enough to hold it for a photo shot. You go girl!

Next off we head to the Site of Weiyuan Battery. A really big and old cannon overlooking the sea.The remains(?) of a shelter...i think

As tourists how can we miss out photos? Above from left-Andrea, Stephanie, Zhi Wen, Bao Yi and Me. Bao Yi, Stephie and me standing in front of a busy bridge.Andrea and I.From left-Bao Yi, I, Yi Ling, Andrea and Stephanie.

After that we went to Yuxiang Ceramic Tile Industry. There we saw the workers whom are all female working on different pieces of their own. Since all of it are done by hand, you would expect some difference. But honestly, i can't even spot any difference from one similar piece to another. Guess only an expert would be able to tell. We were not the only group touring that place. I wonder how these people were able to concentrate so well on their work with so much buzz going on around them. For that i really salute them. Lastly, we went to Foshan Ancestor Temple and Wang Feihong's Memorial Park which happens to be beside and linked to the temple itself. The entrance of the temple.This lady guide brought us for a tour around both places.

This symbol of a snake on a turtle is supposed to bring good things to people. That explains why there were alot of coins because many people treat it like a wishing well and tried to aim for their coins to hit the turtle and snake. On Sundays, there will still be performance on this really old stage. Below is where people get to sit and watch. I wonder if you are at the front, won't you have to cranked you neck? Hmmm... Entrance to the Wang Feihong's Memorial Park This is the man! Wang Fei Hong. He is so unlike all those TV character we've seen on tv. We got to see a lot of his belongings. His weapons and learn about all his history. We were told that 13th Aunt is a ficticious character. I was rather disappointed about it when i found out. That marks the end of our visits and it was back to Guangzhou for dinner and more market research. =D

Day 5-Pearl River Piano Factory & Guangdong Polytechnic Normal University

2007-03-16T09:01:00.000-07:00

Day 5

Early in the morning we head off to Pearl River Piano Factory. It was my first time going there and i was really excited. I love those white grand piano and i'm so glad that i would have this chance to go and see how one of those beauty is assembled. They do have alot of type of products. From the normal black to those pink and yellow ones.

I get to see the piano begins from this All the way to this!! Isn't it beautiful? Too bad i can't play it. But 3 of us got a shot at touching this manificent display of masterpiece. I'm still very amazed at how this is all hand assembled. The workers were trained to be musically inclined before they start out on the job. I think this is a great idea after all you are working in the music industry. This is also one company who makes use of foreign talents to come and train their workers as to how they should tune the keys and much more. One should make use of both foreign and local talents.

Another thing that this company leaves me is how they make use of a foreign name for one of their product to enter overseas market. One major problem is how they had to get people to believe that China piano can be trusted. Usually when we saw something labelled with "Made in China" we often think of them as inferior goods but this trip has definitely wiped that out of me.

Other than pianos they also produce other products.
Trumpets

Violins
Erm...not too sure what these are called.
Guitars

After that we had some time before our next "appointment" so we headed off to Chen Jia Si Park. We entered this "house" where you often seen in TV dramas that try to depict olden days. Inside was something like a museum and when Xiao Deng was explaining to us and introducing about that place and certain pieces, there were two women who joined us to enjoy that free briefing. Hahah

This is not something that is fitted into the wall. This cravings are done when the wall has been put up. It's literally wall cravings and every single one of them tells a different story. This thing is the thing olden days people use to "mo" the ink out. It is really big, valuable and weighs a ton. Make that a lot of tons. It was so priceless because of the good quality of ink it can produce. Can you guess what this fan's made of? Ivory of the elephants' trunks. Though i still think it's very cruel to cut off the tasks of an elephant, but i cannot deny how skillful the workers are to be able to create something as beautiful as this ivory fan.

After lunch we went off to Guangdong Polytechnic Normal University. I was expecting a tour and so i was not prepared that we need to sit there for a few hours listening to the professor telling us about the Guangdong province's development over the years. From economics to infrastructure. All his information were presented using powerpoint slides. This was how the lecture was conducted. Never mind that it was all in Chinese and small fonts. The professor read every single word off the slides. At first all of us were paying very close attention as we thought this will not last too long. But by the 10 odd plus slides, we realized that this is not going to end anytime soon. Most of us got a bit distracted and started doing other things. I know there were people playing "bingo", sweets were even passed around. However, i will say that Professor Le Che definitely has his stuffs. I do catch somethings that are going to be helpful for our project.
Professor Le Che is the man with the vest.

That night Yi Ling, Andrea and I did not head for market research. Instead we took a walk along the river and stopped at some point to chat. Not far from us i noticed a begger who was wearing black sunglasses and had a cupboard with words written on them. Since we were warned by Mr Wong as not to be a nice guy, i didn't take too much notice of him. However, as we kept chatting i started seeing his hands which at first had not been there. I thought perhapes he was cold so he kept his hands in his shirt. He took off his sunglasses and wiped them. I realized he could see! I started having some doubts about that man and continued to observe him. Slowly i caught him putting out his legs which he had kept hidden as well. It finally dawned on me that this guy is a fake begger. How can he make use of people's kindness towards the unfortunate. He can see, has a well formed body yet he's begging in the streets. I was truly disgusted at how horrid people can be.

Since we were spared from 8 dishes and 1 soup for that night, we decide to head for something western. MacDonald's is where we went. I wanted Fillet-O-Fish and we had to like read the board to order in Chinese. It was a new experience. When eating, i was missing the Garlic Chilli that we have back in Singapore which China do not have. We figured that fastfood to the Chinese people are high end food since it was really expensive by their standards. And their service was seriously slow. In Singapore, there is no way we would wait so long for fast food. But back there we had to wait patiently while they assembled our burgers. Another obvious difference of the fast food restuarants will be the music being played. There we heard chinese radio stations and in Singapore we hear english radio channels. However, i think MacDonald has indeed helped me appease some of my home sickness.

Day 4-Guangzhou; Zhujiang Beer

2007-03-15T02:30:00.000-07:00

Day 4

Our first visit in Guangzhou was to "Guangzhou Zhu Jiang Brewery Group" They have 9 cans line, 4 wholly-owned subsidiaries, 6 Share-controlled subsidiaries, 3 Minor share subsidiaries and 1 others. This will show what a big corprate group they are. We were brought on a tour of the factory+production line. At the lobby we got a view of the model of the whole factory and judging from the scale it is indeed big enough to accomodate 9 cans line. The first stop was the security room which overlooks every section of the production plant. Look at the number of CCTVs; this is necessary for such a BIG factory. There we saw our next stop. The brewery itself was really clean and big. The 4 main ingredients of their beer are:Malt Premium Hop from XiuJiangBarley from Canada and AustraliaRice

One thing i really feel for is how the factory cares for the environment by selling the residue from beer production to farmers to be use as ferterlizer. This is so much better than dumping the residues some where else and pollute the environment. Next we procced to the next level where from the viewing gallery we get to see the beer bottles get filled up all the way to transporting out of the crates and boxes.
The speed of the machines are amazing!!!filling 48,000 bottles of beer per hour or to put it simply, 13 bottles per second. How fast is that? I supposed that their sales are also some off the roof figures. Some more they have 180 types of beer to cater to the variety of customer's taste and preference which are sold to supermarkets, high class restaurant and clubs. Also, they send off their goods to big wholesale markets to push the products to small wholesale. They are also very concern about the quality of the beers so a smaller quantity is send to other provinces as it may cause the unfreshness in beers.
Lastly, a group photo before we leave.

And the best part is that all of us got a complimentary can of beer each but i manged to get an extra one from Benson who somehow ended up being in charge of the beer. Thanks Benson. After that we head off to visit tourist spots. The first place was the "72 Stones Memorial" which got it's name because of the 72 Martyrs who died during the Chinese Revolutionary War. Though it was more like a park than a cemetry, i was plesantly surprise how parents would bring their children there to have fun and elderly would go there for their exercises. Xiao Deng was telling us that there is this bridge which thanks to the steepness of the slope, one is forced to look down to watch their step thus "bowing" to the 72 War Heros. Xiao Deng demo-ing for us but not very clear since he was like walking it backwards. Hahah

Children are very precious in China since they can only have one child per couple. I wonder if this may cause them to be pampered as they grow up. But i really find the haircut of the little boy in blue cute. It's very tradtional China hairstyle that we used to see on TV.

People doing some exercises in the park and Elizabeth decided to give it a try while George and Wen Song looked on.
My favourite picture was this. First row: Elizabeth, Yi Ling, Stephanie and the back row has Rong Xing, Bao Yi and Me.

Next stop was "Wu Yang Park" where we had to climb a flight of steps to look at this:Since we are already up there we might as well take some group photos. First we have the boys and our logistics team

The we have the girls

Then we went for lunch with Mr Nee, Regional Director of International Enterprise Singapore. Their job was to help needy and successful Singapore companies to come out of Singapore to look for bigger markets outside.

They have 7 offices in different parts of China.

-Northern China:Beijing;Heilong;Jiling;Liao Ming

-Eastern China:Shanghai

-West China:Chendu

-Southern China:Guangdong,Guanxi,Hebei,Macau,HK

Basically they work as a link between Singapore companies and local government. They help open doors and provide help for the companies. We learnt that last year China was the biggest investing destination and one of the biggest trade partner of Singapore. And Guandong alone account for 1/4 of China's foreign investment;1/3 of trade.

One interesting fact is China's law which are less refine and most of the time it's up to the lcoal government to decide how to interpret them. Some fine advice from Mr Nee is that one should know the chinese culture but learning along the way and having positive attitude to adapt to local culture more important than simply learning about it. And i totally agree with him.

Our last stop before market research at shopping districts, was a memorable visit to "Guangzhou Leather Wholesale Market". We walked around looking forward to some good bargaining but we ended up empty handed. However, we did receive a lot of looks from the shop owners because we were wearing our blazer we look like we were from some company and they were checking us out as though assessing our worth. It was unpleasant and most shops don't do retail so it was tough for us since we only get a couple of things. However, we did enter two shops and one of them i blew up our chances so we moved to another. That shop owner was not too pleasant with us and she was overcharging us by a lot. We decided to give it a miss and just spend the rest of the time walking around. At some point we realized that a security guard was tailing us. But he stopped after realizing we are just walking around.

I noticed that some shops have curtains and they close their doors though there are people inside. Lao Yao told us later that they were doing business behind close doors literally. It was surprising what depth a small shop lies. When we were outside some shop, suddenly Edward and his group came out and told us to run. We did and later we realized that they have picked up stuffs ready to purchase them when they changed their mind. So they were afraid that she will come chasing us and scolding. The place closes at some time and that time is also when there is a traffic jam. We were foretold that Guangzhou's jams are a serious matter. We indeed experienced it by waiting for a seriously long time outside the wholesale market. The best part is that the bus are not allowed to stop for too long as it will hold up the jam so we had to really rush to the bus.

While travelling for dinner and hotel we do what we always do-

Day 3-Aztech

2007-03-14T01:30:00.000-07:00

Day 3
Before we left Shenzhen, we stopped by "Windows of the world". It's a pity we do not have the time nor chance to enter that place. But still we managed to take some photos.
After that we head off to a Museum. We entered into the exbition of wildlife and underwater. Was surprise and a bit affected by the animals who went through certain process and are now on display.

The previous 3 photos are model of Shenzhen. We got to see the whole infarstructure and was amazed that there is one road that travel from one end of Shenzhen to the other. Other than those exibits, we also caught some chinese calligraphy drawings. Finally we left that place after doing some lychee tea tasting. 1.5 hour trip to Dongguan to visit Aztech factory. I think we lost our way a few times that we ended up reaching the factory around 4pm.

We had a little briefing by Mr Jeremy Mun, he is the director and a Singaporean. During the briefing, we were introduced to the products and the company. We then proceed to tour around the factory plus the living quarters of the employees of the firm.

The workers working in the factory are colour coded by their uniforms. I was amazed at how everything that goes into a box is all put together manually. From the folding of the boxes to putting in the different components are all done by hand. I feel so guilty how i will simply ripped everything apart when it is put together with care and so much effort. =S

Next we move on to the warehouse, i can only say that it was HUGE. And to differentiate the goods, they are all tagged with colour codes.

Colour code chart

This is a company who understand the importance of retaining their employees by taking good care of their welfare. Being situated in a village, there is simply not much one can do in the place therefore Aztech has simply moved the recreation all to one place.

A sheltered walkway which deeply reminds me of Singapore.

China style of "HDB" flats-living quarters

Basket ball court

Badminton court

Table-tennis

Caring for the employees do not simply stop at them having places like KTV room, library, computer labs. But it is important that their health is also taken into consideration. Thus, they have a clinic in the premises itself with doctors and even a dentist.

The meals are also provided to the employees. Those who worked in the office and in the factory seats at different places even though the food being served are the same. Doesn't the canteen reminds you of hawker centres back in Singapore? They are almost the same. Lastly, they have a convinent store which sells everything. You name it, they most probably have it.

Finally we went back into the conference room and continue with our QnA session. My group was supposed to be the first group to ask questions. Boy, am i so glad that we can ask in English. Mr Mun was really helpful and he really tried answering all our questions to the best of his ability. I would say it is the best company we visited. I supposed since we are all from Singapore, it makes a difference. It was getting late so we had to get moving on to Guangzhou which is another 2 hours journey.

Going along the road, we see this:

Roadside seller selling fruits, this is almost non-existence in Singapore. Another thing which brings me closer to home was this style of hanging the clothes out. Our "marikita" haha... and the last photo will show China's style of hanging out clothes to dry.

Day 2- Shenzhen, Materials City

2007-03-13T10:45:00.000-07:00

Day 2

After breakfast, we transfer to Shenzhen. First we need to "check" out of Hong Kong and then "check" into mainland China. The two customs were seriously worlds apart from their design to the efficiency of the custom officers. The time we took at the HK customs was much lesser compared to the other customs. In the bus, Lao Yao was asking us to fill in both arrival and departure cards. I was one of those who didn't have the arrival card into Mainland China and i was a tiny bit worried that i may hold the group back later. It made me realized how fortunate i was when travelling with family since all these would be taken care of. Upon arrival, we were told that our other local guide, Xiao Deng has took the liberty and filled up the form for all 30+ of us.

Clearing the customs took a while, and some of us were in need of the toilets. Xiao Deng showed us the way to it. But when we saw the state of the toilet from outside, none of us wanted to go in. It was seriously dirty, some what of a shock but still i harbour the hope that other toilets will be in a better state.

Moving on, our first stop was China South International Industrial Materials City or World's Industrial Materials Purchasing Centre.

I felt really weird when i saw this:

It was like we were from some really BIG company. But still very touched by their effort.

We toured the place while sitting on this type of tram. It travelled across the road which had huge vehicles whizzing past us. It was definitely a scary ride especially when i'm at the side. Accompanying us was a tour guide from the place, they briefed us about what the place like and answered our questions to their best.

The Materials South City is split into 5 main materials centres:

1. Textile and Clothing Materials

2. Leather and Accessories

3. Metals, Chemicals and Plastic Materials

4. Printing, Paper Products and Packaging Materials

5. Electronic Accessories

I can understand how the place is known as the World's Industrial Materials Purchasing Centre. What ever you need, they have it. As a buyer or supplier, i would definitely approach this place for my business needs. That place conducts two way business and that greatly benefits two parties plus the materials are quality ensured. Quality is the only thing that can sets you apart from others also selling the similar materials. Afterall in the Material City, competition is ever present.

They even have hotel, recreation, banking and finance buildings+services near the material city. These are to cater to the foreign buyers when they come forth to purchase materials. They can choose to stay in the hotel and have everything they need nearby so they are comfortable. I will have to agree that it is a very fantastic business strategy. We got to understand that for the government to grant them so much land, they need to set aside 70% of them for the locals. The position plays a key role, because the Material City is very accessible and it's near developed provinces.

Finally before we go, a group photo.

One interesting thing i noticed while travelling on the road was that there is a sign that shows a trumpet/horn and has a "No" sign. Too bad i didn't managed to get a photo of it. But i suppose that if without it, there will be major noise pollution on the road. So the saying is true,"the more developed you are, the more pollution you create"

Day 1-HK

2007-03-12T07:06:00.000-07:00

The first stop of the trip was Hong Kong. I admit i was pretty excited about the entire trip. Afterall it's not everyday that you get to go on a school trip and what's more to China.

Bird's eye view of HK airport.

Stepping in to the cold wind, i was thrilled that i was really here. Hong Kong was pretty much how it looks on television dramas. I did not feel too out of place when i cannot understand Cantonese as the people was able to speak English. Thank goodness for that, i suppose it lessen the culture shock. After which, we headed off to Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

The visit has been an eye-opener. Unlike Singapore where our government branches out into Ministry of Trade, SPRING Singapore, IE Singapore and a couple of other organizations. The TDC is a government related organization. They provide help in many various ways to go about their mission of helping HK to promote trade and helping SMEs that may have insufficient resources in marketing, finance and manpower. They seperate them into 2 groups: Manufacturing and Non-manufacturing. I'm guessing the seperate general classification is to help TDC better allocate their help. Since different industries require different assistance.

TDC provides help in many ways, like an online website that contains quality international market intelligence that is unrivalled China business information. Through this, companies are able to source for suitable partners, suppliers or even customers. Other than the website, there are Outreach programs, Incoming Missi0ons and Trade fairs. Lucheons were organized for the purpose of networking of the businessmen to use this platform to create more business opportunity. All these were done to promote HK as a base to locate business and assist overseas enterprise to establish in China.

I believe working with TDC is a good choice as you can get more information from their ready database and utilize their expertise (knowledge about local law and order and market trend). All that plus the continual support from TDC attracts foreign investors to come invest not just in HK but in the PRD region as well since HK boosts the attractiveness of the PRD region.

The Business Infocentre has something like a resource library. The place contains worldwide telephone directories, free of charge borrowing of the Internet, database CD-Roms, trade fair catalog and directories for all over the world companies and contacts. For assistance of establishing an enterprise in China/HK there are books on statistics, journal, report available. For SMEs there are books on management, international trade, business writing skills. TDC's product magazines and research publications are also available for sale. The support from HK and TDC plays a big role in promoting trade to the Pearl River Delta region because the whole process becomes easier.

On the whole, i would think that HK though a very hot tourist spot is losing their edge as a business place. It's neighbour like Shenzhen and the places in the PRD region are not only gaining from HK's prosperous environment, they are even overtaking HK as a business hub. But still from the structure of the building in HK as compared to other places, it looks more modern.

Later in the night we head off to "Avenue of stars" there we spent an unforgettable night of fun and joy.
From the left we have: Andrea, Yong Wei, Zhe Ying, Yi Ling, Me, Stephanie and Bao Yi

I love the scenery by the bay and everyone who were there with me on that night at the place.