What a way to end 2007… New York Times Article on Beijing’s Air Quality and Impact on the Upcoming 2008 Olympics

Over the last couple of years I have posted several times on the issues related to air quality in Beijing.  Overall, and as usual, images say a lot about the situation, but now New York Times has published another article (part of a series)  discussing the issues with the current state of air pollution in the city.  Here is a link to the article (you will need to create yourself a login/a free account to be able to see the complete articles) -

Beijing’s Olympic Quest: Turn Smoggy Sky Blue

The article is weird in some ways — it is trying to show the issues facing Beijing people as well as the Olympics, but it also big time misses on some facts:  For example, the article claims that large (diesel) trucks are forbidden from entering the city before midnight… Yes, this might be true as a policy, but anyone who has driven along JinShunLu (from the 3rd loop road towards ShunYi or in the opposite direction) knows and has seen the endless procession of huge trucks spewing smoke….Yes, sometimes the police stops the trucks, but from what I understand that happens when these trucks are very dangerously overloaded (not just overloaded mind you)

I am not going to debate if the air quality has improved or not over the last several years…but I am very curious as to where New York Times gets their facts and how they verify their articles…

Having said that, the other aspects that the article shows are pointing some of the disconnects —  eventhough the number of blue sky days has increased particulate matter is still way high.  One clue — the trucks that keep coming into Beijing — not all the way to TianAnMen but even if they go only to the 3rd loop road the impact on the city air is done…

At any rate, take a look at the article and/or just look outside of your window (if you live in Beijing).  The local government is pusing in the right direction — more green buildings, more effort on renewable energy (after all one of the fastest growing Solar Panel companies in the world is in China), and now is the time to further strengthen enforcement of good rules.

Quick Review of Beijing Shangri-La, China World, Kerry Center Hotel, Traders Hotel, and Holiday Inn Temple of Heaven

So you are planing for a trip to Beijing. Your next question is, which hotel should I stay in. Aside from Corporate requirements (if you are on a business travel) or room availability, you can consider what area of Beijing you will have to spend most of your time in. Here are some recommendations and brief reviews:

• Technology area of Beijing - Haidian District, ShangDi area:

If you are visiting the technology area of the city — i.e. Haidian Disrict or ShangDi, you will be better off staying in the Shangri-La. The hotel is located near the 3rd loop road in the Northwest part of town. The rooms are very nice and comfortable, the rates are great (probably a lot to do with the fact that the hotel is a bit out of the main downtown area of the city). The outside of the hotel does not look very impressive, but do not let that convince you not to stay there. The inside is completely renovated. In the back of the hotel there is a very nice Chinese garden (with the “mandatory” courtyard pavilions), which is a place for a nice afternoon tea or a walk. The hotel staff is very attentive, Cafe Cha has a great breakfast and dinner buffets, and if you desire you could sample the good Japanese restaurant. Overall a very comfortable hotel. One additional bonus, for those of you with business plans for visits to technology companies in Haidian district, the location of the hotel will save you the hassles of the 3rd loop road (if coming from downtown).

• Central part of Beijing (near TianAnMen, GuoMao, WangFuJing, the Forbidden City, Panjiayuan Market…)

If you are going to spend most of your time in the Central part of the city then China World, Traders Hotel, Kerry Center are all good options.

China World — probably one of the fanciest hotels in Beijing (aside from the Grand Hyatt, Peninsula, or St. Regis); Very conveniently located - a subway station is located in the underground floor of the shopping mall under the hotel; Also in the underground mall you can find a grocery store, as well as some other stores. Behind the hotel is a parking garage (if you need to meet with folks living in Beijing — they will need a place to park — believe me a good choice for those of us who live in Beijing and have had to meet people coming to visit), across the street is an extension of the shopping area with some restaurants. The South Beauty Sichuan restaurant is a good choice. The rooms of the China World hotel are very posh — and the entire hotel is very beautiful.

Traders Hotel - this is a more budget oriented (business fare wise) hotel, member of the Shangri-La chain. The rooms are definitely a bit more worn out (in comparison with China World and Kerry Center) but still a relatively god deal given that the hotel has the same location as China World.

Kerry Center Hotel - this is considered one of the most visited business hotels in downtown Beijing. Another hotel part of the Shangri-La group, so your membership card for frequent stays in properties associated with Sheraton, Westin, Starwood, etc should work. The rooms in this hotel are good. However if you consider the price and quality, you may be slightly disappointed. Now, if you are new to Beijing, you should definitely consider this business hotel. The reasons are many — airport pickup service (will get you through immigration, etc. very fast), English speaking staff — will answer your many questions and make recommendations on restaurants, places to meet, place to go shop; location in a shopping mall - near by (underground or at same ground level) shops for food, clothing, pharmacy. So, all in all, a good choice for short visit and a good place to start your experience in Beijing.

• Area near the Temple of Heaven and HongQiao market

And finally if you want to be still near major sites like the Temple of Heaven, but in more low key hotel, then the Holiday Inn Temple of Heaven is a good choice. The hotel is new, the staff is very pleasant, and actually a good choice for stay in Beijing for someone familiar with the city and at least rudimentary knowledge of Chinese language. You will need those skills to navigate around (get a cab, ask for a place to be taken to, etc) — but the hotel is a good value. My wife and daughter stayed there in March of 2007 as we had moved from our Beijing house — and had an executive floor room with breakfast (in the business club lounge) for about RMB800 per night. An excellent deal!

And here is my daughter’s opinion on these hotels: (I am not kidding — these are her viewpoints — so take it from a 8 year old):

Holiday Inn Temple of Heaven — her rating is “Awesome!” Why? If you visit out of season, you will be one of the few guests and that means you get great service from the staff, and plenty of attention.

China World — a really fancy hotel, with a shopping center underground, very beautiful, with wonderful music being played in the lobby by a string orchestra + a piano

Here is an album with photos from hotels worldwide:

Hotel_Views

I will keep updating the set with images from multiple cities and regions. Keep checking back for more

Traveling from Shenzhen to Taipei — avoid travel via Macao

If you need to travel from Shenzhen to Taipei, you may want to avoid air travel via Macao.  During a recent trip I discovered the inconveniences of traveling via Macao (on Macao Airlines).  First of all, when you leave Shenzhen you are departing on an international flight.  So once you pass the passport control you are in this small departure hall which has no services to speak of.  Just a small restaurant with limited selection for food and a vending machine.  Second of all, you wait for one hour to get on a plane for a flight that takes about 15-20 minutes….and then you need to change planes for the flight from Macao to Taipei.  A major hassle…..!

So, what can you do instead?  Easy — just take a ferry from Shenzhen to Hong Kong International airport.  The ferry leaves from Shekou, the ticket price is about 240RMB and the ferry takes about 30 minutes to reach the airport, then a 10 minute bus ride to the airport terminal / gate.

China Polution takes center stage in various news/media publications

All of a sudden articles about China’s pollution problem are sprouting in multiple publications.  Here is the latest one — this time in Wired magazine (although they are also quoting Los Angeles Times)  …

Interesting to watch how all this is bubbling to the surface now — when China is starting to gather more noticeable economic strength.  Those who have lived in China over the past 10 years know that China’s environmental problem is no news — on the contrary — it has been a big issue for residents of that country.  (See also earlier postings in this blog)
However we also recognize that the issue is very closely linked with the rapid pace of modernization and manufacturing — at the end of the day it is all about the $$$ — or how to make those.  Usage of low capital investment - i.e. read not advanced and environmentally clean technologies has generated huge profits but also strained the environment in China.

The question now is “What will the Chinese Government do about it”??????

Polution in Beijing and the approaching 2008 Olympics

For those of you who have spent any considerable amount of time in Beijing, it is probably very apparent the issue that is facing the upcoming Olympics — the issue of air pollution. It used to be that the air was filled with smoke in the winter as the farmers around Beijing would burn the fields in preparation for the planting season.

I remember vividly the day my family and I arrived in Beijing (a couple of years back) on my third stint in China. It was a dark winter evening and the Beijing airport was covered in slightly blue smoke — there was so much of it that it even permeated the plane as we were waiting to disembark from it…..Then as we entered the airport terminal it was felt as well….At the time we thought “No big deal, this is a temporary issue…” And it was (sort of) — in the Spring things improved. Then last year the weather and pollution were quite a bit heavier — there were days when the sun was just a silver disk in the sky (behind the haze)….

And now that the Olympics are approaching the local government is concerned and acting. I am sure there will be a drastic reduction in manufacturing and construction activity several months prior to the August 2008 date. This should allow the construction dust to settle. Factories are being relocated (this has been going on for a couple of years now), and car traffic will be heavily restricted…..

I have no doubt that all these measures will help and make the Olympics successful. But there is a need (a drastic one) to make changes. One example of that is the adoption of alternative energy sources and engines…. Here is an example of some really new and interesting one and I also try to cover developments in new / hybrid vehicles in my automotive related blog.

Living and driving in China you get to see how congested roads are and you start to appreciate how important impact hybrids and alternative fuel could have on China….both on emissions, greenhouse gases, and also on cost of driving (alternative fuels could reduce the strain on resources and the resulting run up on prices)….

For those of you who are not sure if you have seen the Beijing haze, here is a look…:

China Quickly Coming to Virtual Reality World - “Second Life” with China Twist

Have you checked out “Second Life” - the virtual community developed by Linden Labs in the US? If you have not you can read first about it on the Business Week web site

This virtual community web site has gathered tons of netizens who are leading an active literally “second life” on the web.  Now China has its own answer to the virtual world experience — the creators of the Chinese version are Hipihi.com

Despite the interesting Businessweek.com article on Linden Labs, I am not sure how successful has Second Life really been.  I keep hearing about it in multiple references but at the end of the day, I believe the US consumer is less likely to embrace the concept wholesale.  Now, the Chinese consumer is a different story.  China has long had the success of multiplayer on-line video games.  If you go by a Chinese on-line cafe you will see hundreds of teenagers and 20 something year olds spending hours in on-line virtual game worlds. I have talked with many Chinese parents who are REALLY concerned about the health of their kids who are fully absorbed by on-line video games.

Then in early 2006 some of the Chinese on-line video game companies like Shanda and Netease, decided to make many of their games “Free to play”.  What that means is that you can actually play the games without any hourly or monthly fee.  However you use virtual cash for buying accessories, tools, clothing, etc. for your game characters…Also in order to win higher and higher levels you most likely need to spend cash to acquire tools, strength, powers… That cash comes via prepaid cash cards, smart cards, etc.  So it is linked to real money.

Given that well established trend, I can see how Hipihi.com could be very successful in China.  This new virtual world could become even more successful than on-line video games as it offers (based on quick scan through the beta version of the site) all sort of experiences….i.e. a whole lot more variety and challenges than a video game….

So, lets see what happens.  In the mean time enjoy the real world…Or is it

China Development — Deng Xiao Ping’s Legacy

Couple of decades ago the then Chinese Leader, Mr. Deng Xiao Ping apparently made the famous statement “It is glorious to be rich…” which opened the floodgates of development in China. Many Chinese enterpreneurs jumped into developing variour business ventures, the results of which are visible in the most recent ranking published by Forbes magazine (Nov. 2006 issue) on the richest people in China.

The list is long, so for this blog entry I decided to list and comment only on the people who are above the $1B net worth:
Rank     Name                     Net Worth ($mil)      Age         Company
1         Wong Kwong Yu             2,300                 37         Gome Appliances
2         Xu Rongmao                  2,100                 56         Shimao Group
3         Larry Rong Zhijian          2,000                 64         CITIC Pacific Group
4         Zhu Mengyi                   1,900                 47         Hopson Development
5         Yan Cheung                   1,500                 49         Nine Dragons
6         Zhang Li                       1,450                 52         R & F Properties Group
7         Shi Zhengrong              1,430                 43         Suntech Power
8         Liu Yongxing                 1,160                 58         East Hope Group
9         Guo Guangchang           1,150                 39         Fosun High-Tech Group
10       Lu Guanqiu                   1,140                 61         Wanxiang Group
11       Liu Yonghao                  1,120                 55         New Hope Group
12       William Ding Lei            1,100                 35         NetEase.com
13       Chu Lam Yiu                 1,090                 37         Huabao International
14       Zhong Sheng Jian          1,080                48         Yanlord Land Group
15       Xu Ming                        1,000                35         Shide Group
Obviously this is a great achievement for the Chinese economy as a whole (as these wealthy people have created enterprises that are creating strong economic activity), but I cannot ignore some of the other aspects that need to be pointed out at the same time wealth is pointed out. The other (very disturbing) aspects that needs to be discussed is the huge and growing disparity between the rich and poor in China. All it takes is a trip to the suburbs of Beijing or to some of the surrounding villages and you can see what I mean by the notion of gap…

That issue is being recognized by the Chinese Gov’t and is now being talked about more and more frequently — the notion of “harmonious society” is what the focus is on,but my assessment is achieving it will require a huge effort and lots of pain.

Doing business in China - a good book to read

I wanted to give my readers a quick summary of a very good book that was published awhile back in 2004, but is still very relevant to doing business in China. The book, Doing Business in the new China, is a very useful reading for anyone who interacts with business partners and customers in China. No matter whether you do that infrequently during the occasional business trip or you are actually working in the country, this book will give you good foundation on markets, product segments, incomes etc. among the Chinese consumers and markets.