Shanghai 5.23.07

I’ve been bad about sharing the rest of my experience in China, but better late than never! Shanghai was the most impressive of the four cities we visited in terms of the development. Here’s a look at the city:


One of the many cool skyscrapers. Driving through the city I must have saw 30 skyscrapers under construction within 30 minutes. And architects come from around the world to showcase unique designs, as virtually every building looks different.


Brief economic highlights:

Shanghai is the largest city of the People's Republic of China and the seventh largest in the world. Widely regarded as the citadel of China's modern economy, the city also serves as one of the nation's most important cultural, commercial, financial, industrial and communications centers. Administratively, Shanghai is a municipality of the People's Republic of China that has province-level status. Shanghai is also one of the world's busiest ports, and became the largest cargo port in the world in 2005, handling a total of 443 million tons of cargo. In terms of container traffic, it is the third busiest port in the world, following Singapore and Hong Kong.

After the communist takeover in 1949, Shanghai languished under heavy central government taxation and cessation of foreign investment, with many of its supposedly "bourgeois" elements purged. Following the central government's authorization of market-economic redevelopment of Shanghai in 1992, Shanghai has now surpassed early-starters Shenzhen and Guangzhou, and has since led China's economic growth. Some challenges remain for Shanghai at the beginning of the 21st century, as the city struggles to cope with increased worker migration and a huge wealth gap. Despite these challenges, Shanghai's skyscrapers and modern lifestyle are often seen as representing China's recent economic development.


The Bund is the main river that runs through the city. On the right is the Pearl TV Tower, a popular tourist attraction.


The smog was pretty bad. This is a view from the Pearl Tower looking out over the heart of the city. Shanghai has the highest cancer mortality rate in China. Also, a daily flow of approximately 4 million cubic meters of untreated human waste enters the Huangpu River, creating a serious water pollution and supply problem.


One of the nights we went to Hooters for dinner (Yes Grammy, the wings were great). Little did I know that Shanghai Hooters can throw a pretty good birthday celebration. So of course my friend Mike explains to the waitress that it is my birthday (November come early). Minutes later, ten waitresses make their way over to the table cheering and instruct me to get on one of the bar stools. After being given two menus for wings, the girls all shout in unison, “It’s your birthday!” and then look at me as if I am supposed to know what to do. After some instruction I shout (softly), “It’s my birthday!” The girls shout again and all give me the same look of anticipation. So I shout again and them begin to flap my menu wings when prodded. After doing this four times over I was finally released from the birthday stool, allowing the laughter from around the restaurant to die down after a couple minutes.


We also had a chance to visit a couple companies when we were in Shanghai. First we visited the Shanghai GM plant. SGM is a 50-50 joint venture between GM and a Chinese car company by the name of SAIC. SGM has grown at a pretty steady clip, selling some 400,000 cars last year, up from 20k in 1999, its first year of operation. Several local car companies together make up the bulk of the market share. However, SGM and VW are the biggest individual players, accounting for something like 30% of Shanghai market together. The second company we visited was a bit smaller.


Silicon Valley Bank recently opened a Shanghai office to serve as a consultant to SVB clients looking to start up operations in China. Due to the current push of the Chinese government to reform the banking system, it takes $20 billion in assets among other things to get a banking license in China. Thus, the SVB office in Shanghai acts exclusively as a consultant. The branch fills an interesting niche. Since most of their clients already have a relationship in the States with SVB, the Shanghai office spends almost none of its resources on customer acquisition nor must it fret much about the consulting giants in the market.


We spent one day in Zuzhou, a town about an hour outside of Shanghai by train that is known for its beautiful gardens. It is also one of the locations where Nike and Adidas have manufacturing facilities.

This tike strayed from his parents at one of the gardens in Zuzhou.


This picture was taken on a Saturday at a sweatshop that produces wedding dresses. Apparently on weekdays the room has twice as many people. We were told that a $600 dress in the States could be made here for $200 so long as the ladies had a picture to look at and could take your measurements.


This is another one of the gardens we visited. There were not a lot of flowers, as we had expected. Instead, rock formations, trees, and water were utilized.

That’s all for Shanghai. Chengdu to come.