version without pictures printable pdf single page March 10 • March 12
I was asleep when we landed in Shanghai though Phil said he heard the anchor go down. We had to be checked by immigration between 7:30 -8:30 am. We had a quick breakfast first and then stood in the line which moved very fast. Had breakfast with a father-daughter combo (the McFaddens) that Phil had already met but I had not. The daughter had both attended school here and taught here and was trying to figure out if they could jump ship and go to the city where she taught tomorrow. She was very interesting and I would like to talk with her again. She was able to travel a lot while here by hitch hiking, train and bus. Sort of a free spirit that was glad we were liberals. Said she hadn’t found many! Amy sort of reminded me of Sandy.
We had a panel discussion at 9 am on “Doing Business in China featuring Chinese CEO’s. Henry Chen from Goldman Sachs; WT Tan from Intel China; David Wang from Boeing China; and Annie Scrivener-Young from PepsiCo China. They offered insights and perspectives on what it was like to do business in China. Phil said he had a difficult time taking notes.
A few interesting tidbits. Many farmers from the countryside can now afford to fly and travel around China. Boeing has a higher safety record than the US. China is 0.03, US is 0.05 and Europe is 0.07. Intel has been in China for 23 years and has 7,000 employees. They have trained one million teachers in technology and have become the China educational standard. They are working on their second million now. Talk about staff development. Hard to begin to reach that many at home! Pepsi Co has diversified into other products and are now the largest potato farmers in China. They have a line of potatoes chips with unusual flavors- cool for summer such as cucumber and warm for winter such as mango. They are coming out with a new flavor for the Olympics-Peking Duck! The talent pool is relatively low and all companies have to recruit carefully and train well and hope to keep their employees.
China is engaged in a lot more change than we might imagine. They will try new and fresh approaches rather than the traditional way. You have to be successful. China loves winners and your business agenda has to match that of China’s. One question was if we have college age children or grandchildren who are interested in business in China how should they prepare? One answer was to study Mandarin but others thought it was even more important to be culturally sensitive about China and its ways. A very interesting hour and a half.
We tried lunch in the dining room and had a relaxed and quiet lunch for six including Tom and Joan who we are scheduled to have dinner with. Off to our tours. Ours was “the people” tour and it turned out to be phenomenal!!
We had about a 40-minute drive and went back by the bund and the Peace Hotel where Steve and I stayed in 1986. I’ve thought a lot about my dear son and the good times we had together here. May he rest in peace! First stop was the community center of the first retirement complex in Shanghai started in 1951. Now there are many centers but this was the very first! In this area live 95,000 with 24,000 retired. There are about 400 living in 3 retirement homes where they need full time care. We had a lovely welcome at the center. A vigorous woman described the complex to us. We also were able to buy things at this center made by the seniors. The oldest senior is 102 and the youngest 71! We bought a scroll with two simple fish-one black and one red. It turns out the lady describing the place was also the artist. She told us the red fish symbolized longevity and the black fish stood for prosperity for us and all our children every year! That sounds quite good! I also bought a beautiful small embroidered picture of children playing in the fields.
We then drove to one living complex where we divided up into five groups to visit apartments. We had bought a present of a book to give to this family about South Pasadena. Unfortunately we left it in the room but may be able to send it tomorrow with the tour.
We were assigned to the Wang family. They had a very nice apartment bought by their son on the 23rd floor. The floors were highly polished and we had to put on covers for our shoes. We chatted in the living room and asked lots of questions Five live here including the Wings and their son and wife and 12 year old grandson. They seemed to have all the creature comforts with television, computer etc. We passed a dining room table as we came in from the entry hall. They made no effort to show us around. I took a fast picture of a small kitchen. Have no idea how many bedrooms they had. She was a kindergarten teacher and he worked for the government, perhaps as an accountant. They were able to travel in the country and were planning a trip out of the country soon.
Next stop was a wonderful school where there were nine classes from 2 year olds through 5 year olds. The kindergarten children met us at the front gate and escorted us in. One rather stout boy insisted on trying to wheel my wheelchair. The children performed for us first singing and then two boys took turns playing the piano. They were quite accomplished for their ages. Next they invited us to dance with them. I got some cute pictures of Phil. The teacher gave us a delightful little book that featured pictures of children and their drawings probably from an earlier class. The children accompanied us to the gate to say goodbye. Phil was getting ready to take a picture when all of a sudden the two boys pushing me put on a burst of steam and I was about to careen into the street so that had to be stopped!
The final stop on the tour was a fruit, vegetable and fish market with lots of indoor stalls. Some of the guides wheeled me so Phil could be independent and take his own pictures. It was a terrific ending to a wonderful tour. We got home after five o’clock in the afternoon. Phil walked while I took a pain pill and crawled into bed to get my legs up.
We put our bottle of champagne on ice and invited Joan Brennan ( a retired Federal Judge) from Palo Alto and her husband Tom Passel to share it with us. We made reservations in the Italian Restaurant where we usually have breakfast and lunch. It was lovely by candlelight and we had a wonderful visit with them. They were on the last trip with us and we both enjoyed each other’s company. This restaurant features Italian food each night from different parts of the country. On the menu are chef’s suggestions and complimentary wines. Turns out she found Russian Jewish relatives that had settled in South Africa in Cape Town. He isn’t Jewish. Between them with previous marriages they have 11 children and I forget how many grands. A wonderful time together.
There was a wonderful program at 10 p.m. by local children entertainers. There were acrobats and one bicyclist who did amazing feats in contortions and spinning plates. They didn’t look very old either. They had amazing flexibility! Most amazing!
I have filled up the first 2 gigabytes chip with 738 pictures so started my second chip. The entertainment was terrific. Phil sat up higher while I sat in the front row. I simply couldn’t believe when he told me he didn’t have his camera with him. The program went on for an hour and the room was only 2-3 minutes away. I shot up pictures like a storm. Undressing in our walk in closet, I lost track of my camera. It’s hard for us old folk to keep up with these very busy days! And so to bed at almost one o’clock. Another wonderful day!