Just touched down two hours ago, back from my impromptu business trip to Shenzhen. In the face of my impending departure from the armed forces, in which I have been housed for 5 good years, (and since everyone up to big boss already knows what I do outside), I shall not bother with overt discretion, as long as it does not infringe on the interest of the organisation.
The last time I was there, it was december last year and hell have things changed. Not to mention the new architectural additions, the local competition in various industries have taken such a leap one would literally freak out when standing in full view of an arena of mobile dealers.
One thing I like and hate about the place; they have specific areas selling specific things. The three main districts - Futian, Hua Qiang and Dong Men deals in Industrial Goods, Tech Stuff and Fashion Wear respectively. To bring the Perfect Com Situation to the next level, they house all dealers on a single commodity in one building.
And the layout of the buildings are quite standard:
Level 1 - Branded Stuff, Classy Layout, everyone looking, no one buying
Level 2, 3 ... - Chiong stuff, local brands, export sets, crappy retailers, the serpents beneath the rose.
Top few floors - Wholesalers, retail shelves with less than 20 items, lots of foreigners, nobody looking, everyone bargaining.
In summary, the contract between level 1 and the rest of the levels is so great the escalator seems to be the dividing line between the likes of Takashimaya and Chinatown. Great fun, but the visual density of the same damn commodity does give you a headache.
Next, The People...
They are still, one hungry population. Terribly hungry, and their hunger will only grow by the day, as they inch to transform themselves to fit the global economic scene. Some syptoms of hunger:
1) 50% of the China Chinese on the streets will target you as a customer for their product / service, and trail you for at least 30 metres before giving up in realisation that their product / service holds no relevance to you whatsoever.
2) When making a purchase (not for business, but personal use), let them quote, return a quote (don't bother how ridiculously low it might seem to you). They will refuse, walk 3 steps away and they will heartly call you back (faking a slightly pathetic face), and give you your price. They will also try to make a second sales pitch for something irrelevant.
3) Their lower level household income (and I mean the income of the whole family), does not exceed 1000 RMB, which means it is actually less than 200 SGD. To them, we are either cash cows or suckers. (And most of the time we end up as both).
4) They are wholly practical, giving the best service to a potential customer, but brushing you off once they sense your declining interest. (A vendor at an MP3 retail booth even served me drinks!, for having to wait 3 mins to test the item).
It was a cool trip, as the average Singaporean like myself gets pampered with huge meals I cannot finish and a 2 hour shopping spree where money was spent like redemption vouchers (I couldn't afford more time, cos it was all we could squeeze out of the busy business schedule).
No to mention the good advancements made on the business aspect, I literally changed my entire wardrobe, plus some additional footwear and accessories. I access baggage cost me 100 SGD (just imagine)...
