MTV Spring Break Part 2 cont’d: The gravity defying edition May 13, 2009
Posted by hck1 in : Uncategorized , 4 commentsNote: This entry was posted on behalf of Alex, who cannot access his blog from China due to governmental restrictions on the internet. It has not been edited or changed in any way.
As we last saw our hero, he was traveling through Zhuhai learning about different businesses and learning about the Pearl River Delta economy (Zhuhai, Macau, Guangzhou, Hong Kong). We continue our adventure in Macau where Alex did a little bit more play than work.
We crossed the border into Macau, often considered the Las Vegas of Asia. A little bit of history about Macau: Macau is one of two special administrative regions of China along with Hong Kong which in previous years allowed for a more open economy. Macau is the first and last European colony of China, originally under Portuguese control but then relinquished back to China in 1999. Now Macau is a thriving economy with its hotel, gambling, and textile industry and is considered one of the richest cities in the world.
We first ate Panda, not exactly the animal but the Portuguese Restaurant.
After lunch, I did something I would never expect…. Bungee Jumping off the Macau Tower (the Guinness World Record for highest commercial bungee jump standing at a tall 233 meters.) I have no previous experience bungee jumping and while I always said I wanted to do it I never imagined my first bungee would be on the highest tower. The worst part of the experience was the wait, I went along with several classmates and I watched as they jumped one by one. As each person jumped, I became more and more nervous about actually jumping off. When the tied me up to the bungee cord the only thought running through my head was, are these bungee able to support my weight I should’ve lost some weight before I did this. The jump was ammmaaaaaaazzzzzzinnnnnnngggggggg. I still barely comprehend what happened but all I remember was seeing all of Macau in one glance and hanging upside down feeling the wind press down on my skin. It made me officially poor for the rest of my trip costing ($260), but it was an experience of a lifetime, I honestly can’t put into words how much adrenline you feel after the jump. After the jump, I felt invincible like I could jump over everything.
After the bungee jump, we went to our hotel situated perfectly in the middle of Macau and all of the casinos. Being 20 and still unable to gamble in the States, it was great not having to worry about people checking my ID in Macau and being able to legally gamble. We first went to the Venetian Hotel similar to the one in Vegas where I got to welcome an old favorite into my life: Fatburger (if you don’t live in the West Coast you won’t fully grasp the situation.) After stuffing myself in Fat Fries, I went gambling where I proceeded to have the worse luck. I got to watch as my friend won 900 HK dollars on the slots, 3,000 HK dollars playing poker and me with a grand loss of 100 Hong Kong dollars at the slots. Nothing makes you feel better, than spending 300 US Dollars for 10 seconds of bliss and losing 100 HK dollars playing the slot machines!
The next day we traveled to the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino for a presentation and guide of the casino. The casino is relatively new only three years old, but has already established a reputation in Macau as one of the most upscale hotels. Unfortunately, the tour didn’t include free casino chips, which would’ve been appreciated. The hotel is beautiful with a full-scale replica of a Spanish train station, which had an open roof so you can relax in the sun. I will definitely be staying here once I get a good job. After the hotel guide, it was time for part 3 of our trip: Hong Kong.
MTV Spring Break Part 2: Study Tour Edition May 7, 2009
Posted by hck1 in : Uncategorized , add a commentNote: This entry was posted on behalf of Alex, who cannot access his blog from China due to governmental restrictions on the internet. It has not been edited or changed in any way.
As part of my study abroad program, we take a week break from the repetition of Chinese classes and three-hour Chinese economic lectures to travel around southern China to gain a more hands-on interactive experience of international business. Because it is a week-long break I will break up this blog entry into three parts highlighting some of the best and worst of the trip. (Pictures included)
Saturday, we took a China Southern Airline Flight to Guangzhou, the capital of the Guangdong province and home to the Ancestral Temple of the Chen Family. The Chen Ancestral Temple was built in the 12th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu with the donations of members form the Chen family who lived in 72 different counties in the Guangdong province. What really impressed me about the ancestral temple was the attention to detail with the design of the roof. Towards the top of the roof were designs of members of the Chen Family enjoying a meal and dragons taking flight.
After the Ancestral Temple, we travel to the Sun Yat-sen Memorial which was more like a huge amphiteatre for the departed architect. The Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, situated on the southern slope of Yuexiu Hill, was constructed between 1929 and 1931, a monument to Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the forerunner of Chinese democratic revolution by the people of Guangzhou and overseas Chinese. Inside the memorial was the famous concert hall, which was only reserved for classical Chinese acts for Chinese government officials and elite. After dinner and a much needed nap, we traveled to Shamian Island, a small island in Guangzhou with many restaurants. When I first heard about Shamian Island, being a Californian I imagined more of a tropical beach, however, it was more of a small island with restaurants surrounded by a river with restaurants and tourists shops. Saturday night we got to experience nightlife in Guangzhou where we went to a club called the Cave. The surprising part about this club was that they only played reggaeton and salsa music with a native Puerto Rican DJ. You don’t see many clubs like that in China!
Sunday and Monday, we went to the nearby city of Zhuhai to visit the Canton Trade Fair and a Traditional Chinese Medicine Factory. The Chen Li Ji Medicine Factory was established in Guangzhou in the year 1600 and has received “A Most Richly Historied Firm” award from the Domestic Trade Department of PRC. Within China there are special incentives for Chinese who use traditional medicine, the Chinese government will match 100% any of the medicinal expenses if Chinese nationals use compared to about 40-50% for those who use westernized medicine. Chinese nationals often prefer Chinese traditional medicine, because some can have the same positive attributes as Western medicine without the harmful side effects. We walked around the factory and got to see how the factory first began using a large bucket to create their medicine to today where they use large manufacturing machines to produce their product.
After the medicine factory, we went to the largest import/export fair in China. The Canton Fair hosts hundreds of Chinese exhibitors who are trying to lure in foreigners interested in mass producing products in China. We got to experience talking to the exhibitors and hearing how they would sell their business to possible foreign buyers. The biggest trait from hearing the Chinese exhibitors is their emphasis on price. While they struggled to answer questions about what makes their company for others, one question they answered quickly was how much their products were and asking how many we wanted. I guess they figured we didn’t care about anything else except price. Also, there were a few weird items for sale at the fair. One was basically a weapons outlet, which sold ninja stars for about 75 cents each and other sharp knives, and another was a stuffed animal outlet selling stuffed peacocks for about 1,000 US Dollars each. Nothing like a stuffed peacock to sophisticate an office! Our hotel in Zhuhai was a hotel right next to hot springs where I went to a sauna to sweat away all of the toxins and grease I have been eating so far in China.
The next day, we did two company visits learning more about Zhuhai and Macau. Zhuhai and Macau are different than most other cities in China because they are deemed Special Economic Zones. During the 1980’s when China was opening up these cities were the main cities open to foreign investment. Now with China’s open economy the titles are more of a title of the past. We first traveled to Zhuhai Daily where we had a seminar on Zhuhai and Macau another economic zone nearby. As a local professor explained, Zhuhai was a very successful city in China, because it stood as the goal for China’s development: Zhuhai had a Medicare system, Social Security system, environmentally friendly, and wasn’t too dependent on foreign investment for revenue. There was also mention of Shanghai, which is now dubbed as China’s international finance center replacing Hong Kong. As he described, Zhuhai is situated in a great location within a few hours from Macau, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong, which makes it a very attractive city for many companies. The second part was to an Italian Chemcial Company that expanded production in Zhuhai. Zhuhai has also been a place for many manufacturing companies so it was interesting to hear from a transnational company. We learned more about the company and hear about the opportunities China’s market offers to foreign companies. As one representative described, “20% of revenue is from the Chinese market and we are looking to expand.”
Whew, I am exhausted just typing this and so far it’s only been 3 days wait until part 2 to hear more about my adventures!