Today was a really packed, informative day.  We started out with a presentation by Francis Zhang and Johnson Chen of F5 Networks, a company that has found significant success in the Chinese market by entering relatively early (2001) and being patient and consistent.  We then hopped on our bus with our guide Elaine and visited the new U.S. Embassy in Beijing, a large and impressive compound designed by a world-reknowned architect and filled with incredible works of art.  We spoke with press officers, commercial officers, and economic officers; the sheer complexity of the environment in which they are operating was eye-opening.  As we toured around the lobby area to see the art collection, we passed by Jon Huntsman, the new U.S. ambassador to China, who just came to Beijing in August.

After an enormous lunch at a Belgian restaurant called Morel’s, we visited Microsoft’s new offices just northeast of the city center.   Mr. Fengming Liu, a UW Law alum, gave us an illuminating presentation on their intellectual property challenges since entering China in 1992.  For example, Windows 7 is set to launch in late October of this year, and they have already found versions of the software online, as well as the security key (removed now, so no need to go looking for it, you pirate).  The sheer size of the Chinese market is difficult to imagine, but we’re definitely getting a better idea after hearing from these companies and organizations.  (An additional special guest at the meeting was Felix Liu, just about to start his senior year at the Foster School of Business; it seems like everywhere we go, more Huskies appear).

After the MS visit, Elaine took us to the lovely Houhai Lake area, which is surrounded with “hutongs,” narrow traditional alleyways with low multi-family houses surrounding small courtyards.  We took a rickshaw tour of the area, and had the opportunity to visit a hutong compound that is currently occupied by 26 members of the same family, five brothers and their wives and children (one per family). 

After all this activity, we were hungry and ready to explore the Wangfujing area and try some Beijing street food.  We struck out on foot only to find that, due to the rehearsal for the 60th Anniversary celebrations, all the streets were closed off and filled with military equipment and buses full of children in matching dance costumes.  Huge military vehicles rumbled by with what appeared to be large missiles draped in canvas, and a nearly endless line of buses headed towards  Tian’anmen Square.  Every store and restaurant on the street was closed and will remain so all night.  After a bit of exploring, we found a restaurant (all on our own, without Elaine or Ming, who speaks Mandarin), and enjoyed a wonderful meal for about $5 each.

The working portion of the trip has come to an end.  We’ve learned a lot, and we’ll surely be processing it for some time to come.  Tomorrow, we will visit the Great Wall, and since I scheduled nearly no time at all for shopping, hit some markets in the afternoon.  It’s supposed to be rainy, but hey, we’re from Seattle.  After a farewell dinner together, we’ll be off on our various flights home on Sunday, after what I believe to be a successful pilot faculty study trip.

Posted by Krista Peterson, Associate Director, Global Business Center

Yesterday, we walked across a Tian’anmen Square that was bustling with preparations for New China’s 60th anniversary celebration, just over a week away.  On October 1, the Square will fill with military, government, and citizenry to recognize this auspicious occasion, complete with an address by President Hu.  Huge video screens are being erected, bleachers established for VIP viewing of the celebrations, and huge red painted columns installed on both the east and west sides.  As Beijing pulled out all the stops for the 2008 Summer Olympics, the mood in the Square suggests a similar energy is being given to celebrate China’s progress since 1949.  Now that we’ve seen what’s being done to prepare, we’ll have to tune in on TV or online on September 30 to see the result of all this effort.

Posted by Krista Peterson, Associate Director, Global Business Center

Given the short duration of our visit, we have not been able to follow Anthony Bourdain’s footsteps down any back alleys or deep into a market to try what is surely delectable street food.  However, we have had the good fortune of excellent guides Jennifer (Shanghai) and Elaine (Beijing), who have directed us to an assortment of very satisfying restaurants, as well as an outstanding banquet I mentioned before that was hosted by our partners at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

It was not a requirement to join the study trip, but everyone in the group is a pretty adventurous eater.  Sitting at a large round table over lunch or dinner, chopsticks in hand, curious questions pepper the conversation:  Is it a kind of potato? What is in that sauce? Is that fish?  Things are familiar in texture or taste, but we can’t quite identify them.  Ming and our guide taste, discuss, and don’t have an English equivalent for this vegetable or that seasoning.  Though there is always too much food, everyone tries just about everything on the table, passing one another the dishes identified as favorites:  “try this, it might be jicama or a yam”, “no, that’s not beef, I think it’s eggplant,” “these shrimp are so tender, who’s going to eat the last one?” 

We have an opportunity to strike out on our own for dinner tonight.  I’m not sure what we’ll find, but I’m sure it will be delicious!

Side note:  the faculty members on this trip are more than willing to submit blog entries, but we didn’t allow for a lot of free time in our daily schedules, and most of us are nearly asleep in our soup at the end of our long days.  I hope they will be able to contribute their thoughts once we get back to Seattle. 

Posted by Krista Peterson, Associate Director, Global Business Center

With the hustle and bustle of Shanghai’s preparation for next year’s World Expo, the pace of building and improvement here is even more extreme than we thought.  Driving around the city, which we crossed twice yesterday in almost its full width, we saw the spectrum of massive construction projects, from the Expo Center partly finished, to former housing complexes flattened and awaiting their high-rises.

Our visit to Shanghai was short.  We met with the US Commercial Service and Weyerhaeuser on Monday, Tektronix and Ingersoll-Rand on Tuesday.  In many cases, the message was there that the economic slowdown has affected business in China overall, but that companies are still doing well and anticipating improvement over the next few quarters.  All three major companies gave us insight into their operations as well as their intentions, which Foster MBAs will appreciate are “green” and concerned with environmental impact on all fronts.  Innovation is another common  area and it was exciting to see the new ideas and thought processes coming out of these different types of organizations.

For lunch on Tuesday, we were hosted to a lavish banquet by the School of Management at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.  For each of our faculty, they brought one in the same or similar discipline, and lively conversation ensued over the 18-course meal.  Photos to follow.

Postscript:  The three of us delayed in travel by over a day still do not have our luggage.  We’re leaving in three hours for Beijing.  This is getting more interesting every day, and I will admit a bit frustrating as we each had one change of clothes with us, but it does encapsulate the other side of international travel:  language barrier, cultural expectations, adapting in a new environment, and managing without a lot of the comforts of home.  “That which does not kill you makes you stronger,” I believe the sentiment goes, and despite my umptieth day in this pink hoodie, I’m looking forward to what awaits us in Beijing.

Posted by Krista Peterson, Associate Director, Global Business Center