Hong Kong II (12/18/2008-12/25/2008)

I was fortunate enough to have a decent amount of time in Hong Kong so it wasn’t such a frantic experience as last time. I was also quite lucky that I had friends who could house me instead of trying my luck out on Nathan Rd. again after the Ivey part of the trip was over. As a school we saw Ocean Park (the only theme park whose business increased after Disney arrived), and 2/3^rd of the class went to the Hong Kong Port Authority while the remainder (including myself) listened to a panel of Ivey alumni who have quite senior positions in the finance field discussing opportunities and trends in HK. Again the breadth of our alumni impressed me, as did the HK EMBA campus. It was really great seeing my friends in HK whom I’ve known from various places, ranging from the Toronto days to various travels, and I’m very grateful that they spent part of their precious holidays showing me around. HK’s nightlife is quite varied and lots of fun… makes it seem like a great place to live as a young person, and perhaps one day I might find myself calling the streets of Central home (although Kowloon is a higher likelihood).

Suzhou (12/17/08)

Ancient Suzhou is famous for its canals and is often referred to as the Venice of the East. What many people do not know is that it is also the host of one of China's more ambitious modernization efforts. The Singapore-Suzhou Industrial Park is going to be the nucleus of perhaps one of the most technologically modern cities in the world (at least that's how it was portrayed), essentially trying to duplicate Silicon Valley but on a larger scale. It was this part of Suzhou we saw first, and I personally was floored by what I saw. Old Suzhou, was nice too, but it was certainly no Venice.

Shanghai II (12/15/08-12/19/08)

While Beijing is certainly culturally richer and contains a lot of reminders of old China, Shanghai has its own appeal as the shining gem of progress and new wealth (and if you look really really hard you can still find rustic parts). It was incredible to think that less than two decades ago Pudong (the eastern bank of the Huangpu river, where all the skyscrapers are) was basically just rice paddies. Shanghai is wild, fast paced and ruthless - fun for some, soulless and empty for others - you be the judge. We had our first major site visits here, to Baosteel (a company so large it has its own city built around it) and the Shanghai GM plant. What was amazing was that there were very few workers and the plants were extremely efficient. The GM plant produces 1 car a minute with only 400 assembly workers on the line. We only saw perhaps 5 people in total at the Baosteel cold rolling facility. It certainly changed a few of my preconceptions.

Beijing III - Ivey China Study Trip (12/11/08-12/15/08)

Note - this and the next few posts are a bit delayed (been extremely busy with school since getting back).

This was my 3rd time in Beijing in the past 4 years with the first being in 2004 for dragon boat, and the 2nd time in summer 2007 during my trip around the world. I had expected to see a lot of changes due to the Olympics taking place last summer and I was not disappointed. The cleanliness, hygiene, and English proficiency had all markedly improved, although not to the point where it no longer felt like the China I knew.

This time in Beijing was also particularly special as it was part of our school's China Study Trip elective - instead of just seeing touristic sites, we were meeting with business leaders, Ivey alumni, and touring factories. It was an irresistible opportunity to see a side of China most people never get to see. We also had a chance to dine with the Tsinghua MBA class, considered to be the "Harvard of China", which was quite nice. I was also fortunate enough to meet an old colleague on my own time and get an update on the medical industry in China (across from the bizarre new CCTV building shown below)

Along the way, we did however, do *some* touristic things. Quite memorable was climbing the Great Wall while it was covered in snow and ice. The lack of tourists and the crisp sunny and cold weather really created an indescribable timeless atmosphere which I would like to experience again. The Olympic venue (both at day and at night) was very impressive and the scale of it doesn't hit you until you visit it when nobody is around.

All in all a great start to a month-long vacation!