"But on the bullet train back to Shanghai from Hangzhou late that afternoon, the ride through the countryside was different. Interesting became challenging. Visibility outside was basically nothing -- just farmers were burning off their fields. You could smell it even inside the train. It felt for all the world like a space age trip backward through the Industrial Revolution."
"It was all in all kind of an interesting day, traipsing around a medium-sized Chinese city visiting dot-com companies. There is a late 1990s Silicon Valley vibe going on here in the Chinese start up, with the ping pong tables and 20-somethings in shorts and flip flops."
"The traditional Chinese "Hey, how are ya?" greeting on the street is kind of interesting. Chi fan le ma? Have you eaten yet? It's about how central food is to Chinese culture -- but business, as well. And it helps explain why we spent an afternoon last month eating spicy Sichuanese hot pot in Chongqing with a guy named Wang Renqing. Hot pot is the specialty in this part of Sichuan province. It's oily and delicious and uses a tongue-numbing Sichuanese peppercorn that's about as addictive as anything I've ever had."
No comments:
Post a Comment