24 Feb 2011 THU - Arriving Beijing – 1st Impressions

24Feb Thu - Today I flew from Dubai to Beijing and formed my 1st Impressions of China; much has changed since I visited Hong Kong and a short one day trip into the mainland China in 1993.

On the Plane to Beijing
On the plane there was more than on Attendant who spoke English and the pilot spoke English. All of the announcements were made in Chinese and then repeated in English. I slept most of the way. The flight departed at 1am Dubai time and arrived 12:30 PM Beijing time with a 4 hour time difference so the flight was about 7 ½ hours - nearly 6,000 Kilometers from Dubai to Beijing and 12,000 miles from USA.


The airplane was equipped with a video camera located about at the nose of the plane. The video image was broadcast back to the passengers so we could essentially see the same view of the takeoff and landing as the pilot.

Arriving Beijing International Airport, China
Arriving Beijing airport was like arriving at any other modern international airport - Chicago, Atlanta, Dubai, Amsterdam. It was modern, new, clean, and shiny. All the signs are in English and Chinese. There were only 2 or 3 other Americans on the plane from Dubai with about 400 Chinese. The Beijing International Airport was not as crowded at I thought it would be; not as crowded as an American airport. I saw more Americans/Westerners at the airport.


My tour guide, Weihua Chen, met me at the airport. We took a bus for about an hour to the subway. Then we took a subway train to what I would call "Chinatown" in Beijing, China. This is an older section of Beijing near Tiananmen Square.

Bus from Airport – Looks similar to large American City
On the bus ride I saw few differences between Beijing and any other large city. I saw many United States franchises and US/European brands. The magazine ads and billboards showed American models. The roads and highways were spacious and included automobile brands from Japan, Germany, and a few from US. It appears that the US car manufactures haves missed their opportunity to exploit the China market while many US Franchise restaurants, hotels, and retail shops are numerous. The marketing influences of the west are strong in Beijing.


After just a couple of hours in China and only from the perspective of riding a bus, I see the only difference between Beijing and a large American City is:


- All the people on the bus expect me are Chinese
- All the signs are written in Chinese and English
- There are parking lots filled with bicycles and small motorcycles but they are not allowed on the highway like streets where the bus is driving.


I could be riding a bus in Chicago or New York but the traffic is not as heavy and the number of people on the street is not as many. Once we arrived in the midst of downtown at the Subway station there were many, many people but again the density of people is similar to downtown of Chicago or Manhattan, New York.

The motel is a Super Eight (American Chain) in the midst of a older section of downtown with many restaurants and shops - like Midtown Atlanta, Old Town Wichita, Old Market Omaha. In this part of town, all the signs are Chinese and no one speaks English. I know there is a newer section of town that caters to Americans with 5-star hotels and restaurants but I do not plan to visit this part of town.


CCP


I think the Chinese government should change the name of the CCP from the Central Communist Party to the Central Capitalist Party. I see evidence of business growth, entrepreneurialism, capitalism, free markets, and prosperity everywhere. Mainline china began experimenting with free markets near the border with Hong Kong in preparation for taking over Hong Kong in 1999. I believe the communists saw the prosperity of Hong Kong and decided to adopt a more Capitalist approach to business and allow private business ownership. The Chinese government has been selling off many of the state owed business while keep some of the more lucrative business under state control. I am reading a book entitled, Super trends of Future China, Billion Dollar Business Opportunities for China’s Olympic Decade. The Gross National Product (GDP) in China has been and is expected to continue growth in double digits at 10% or more per year. This compares to the fast growth of India at only 8% - 9% and the US at less than 4% per year.

Cooking Food in Restaurant

The season in Beijing is late winter; we walked around the shops in the area. There are many small restaurants and retail shops. We ate in a restaurant where we cooked the food ourselves at the table The waitress brought a large copper container with coals burning in the bottom for heat; a smoke stack in the middle and water all around. We placed thin slices of beef, noodles, and vegetables in the water for a short time. When the food was cooked we lifted it out with our chop sticks and transfer the food to our plates. On the table was a sauce for each individual plus hot sauce and soy sauce to mix with your sauce.