stlplaceI’m not talking about the credit card use (I’ve talked a bit in my previous posts).
It appears to me Chinese are using more and more plastic bags for packaging: from the morning “Bao Zi” to “Ma La Tang” (Chong Qing hot pot) on the street.
Harrah’s is a large gaming (a better word for gambling) company in the US. It has presence in St. Louis and many US cities. Note gambling is still illegal in China. For ordinary Chinese citizens, since they can not fly to the famous southern town starts with “M”, they go for the cheaper options. The lottery and (dare I say) the stocks. Here is a picture taken at a stock broker house (Zheng Quan Gong Si) during lunch break. Unlike US market, the Chinese stock market has a “one hour and a half” lunch break. Good for the seniors who could get exhausted by the ups and downs of stocks. I am not in day trading or tape reading but I know this is not an easy task 🙂
I wrote about GMail a while ago. In that post I complained GMail is not reliable in China. One reason I can think of is that Google has not moved its servers to China. It has no plan to do so in the near future according to CnAnalyst. In this Chinese post Keso says the China’s contribution to Google’s revenue is not material at this time. This could partly explains why they have not moved the servers. Google is still building traffic (not monetizing) in China because they have plenty of cash now. Another reason is they want to protect their IP (intellectual property).
There are two ways to reserve a room in Home Inns (Rujia) Or other China Economy Hotels: by phone (400 820 3333 or 800 820 3333) or use the web (or ask your friend as a 3rd way). For Home Inns, my experience is reserve 2 weeks in advance for some of the “hot” locations such as Xu Jia Hui or Century Park in Shanghai. Unfortunately the reservation page is only in Chinese, but I think they have English speaking representatives on the phone. Alternatively you can use Ctrip and search for Home Inns. I used to get RMB 10 off this way.
It seems all these China stock bloggers are taking vacations 🙂
Click on the date it will bring you to the “events” page of the stock; you can add the event to your “Yahoo Calendar” if you like.
Baidu: Nov 1 (Oct 31 evening US time)
Ctrip: Nov 8
Netease: Nov 6
Sina: Nov 2
Sohu (done): Oct 26
China Medical: Nov 13
Mindray Medical: Nov 16
Home Inns: ???
Saw this from haiguinet, I thought it’s a good one. The original article is here.
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深圳美企诚聘
找人真难,急煞老总!!!深圳美企诚聘品质工程师, 制造工程师,ERP / JD Edward 实施顾问
各位大侠有好人选可以推荐给我们吗?
我们公司不差,条件不低.可几个engineering level 的职位找了一年了,不知为何就是找不到人.
看来,制造业已经不是一将难求了,好兵帅克都难找啊!难道所有的人都跟着安校长去做了投行?
全球最大的消毒类一次性医疗仪器和耗材的供应商，现诚邀有潜质之精英加盟本公司：
1、Quality Engineer（品质工程师）
理工科本科以上学历；3年以上医疗器械行业, 或电子,五金, 注塑行业QA工作经验，了解医疗器械行业质量体系标准ISO13485及其它相关法规者优先考虑；良好的团队合作精神与沟通协调能力；英文读写良好，电脑操作熟练。
2、Manufacturing Engineer（制造工程师）
理工科本科以上学历；有三年以上注塑、五金方面的工作经验；曾从事过工装夹具的设计，会熟练使用Auto CAD；有医疗器械行业工作经验，熟悉医疗器械行业者优先考虑；良好的团队合作精神与沟通协调能力；英文良好，电脑操作熟练
3、ERP / JD Edward Implementation Consultant (ERP / JD Edward 实施顾问)
两年以上JDE Enterprise one系统实施经验，熟悉JDE ERP系统设计及数据库，能独立设计实施方案并带领实施完成，英语熟练，能用英语与美国同事沟通，有在JDE公司工作背景者优先考虑。财务、制造模块实施顾问要求有良好的财务、制造流程知识及工作经验
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It appears to me good engineers (mechanical, electrical, etc.) are badly needed in China these days. Besides designing and manufacturing, procurement is also a big one. I heard a guy took a procurement job in Shanghai and went back recently.
AA is doing a promotion of flight from US to Shanghai (PVG). A ticket from St. Louis to Shanghai is just $688 (before tax); the full ticket will be about $850 including tax. There are some restriction such as (from AA.com):
But I think it’s still a good deal. This offer is good for most Midwest and Eastern US cities (transfer at Chicago).
I remember when I took the China Eastern from Shanghai to St. Louis, the one-way ticket was about $700. Note at that time gas price was about 80 cents per gallon. Now with gas price at $2.00 (after the recent pull back), the air ticket to China is going at the other direction. No wonder the airline companies are not making money. One reason is the competition. Nine years ago there is no direct flight from Chicago to Shanghai. Now we have two daily flights. Anyway as a consumer I won’t complain. I just can not understand the airline stocks went up so much lately. I guess they are still making money 🙂
1) If you decide to stay at home inn (Rujia), book early (2 to 3 weeks in advance), here is the web site and their phone No. 800-820-3333. I booked through their web site. Note their web site is designed slightly different from some of the US travel web sites. Couple times I thought I already booked but the system did not think so. Make sure you get a confirmation email.
2) Get the money (RMB): the best way for me is bring the USD (or other hard currency). You can exchange it at the Pudong Development Bank at the Pudong airport (they waive the fee if you exchange more than $500). You can also exchange any amount at Bank of China without any fees. I also tried my Citibank ATM card at the ATM machine outside Citibank Branch at Marine Tower in Pudong, it still treated me as non-citi customer and charged 1% transaction fee. Later I found out I can do it at the Super Mall (Zheng Da Plaza) itself: I walked 15 minutes from the Marine Tower to Super Mall.
Don’t bring money order, or travellers check, as they can not be cashed immediately.
3) Maps: I found the dingding map to be handy. You can search places (e.g., 中国银行 bank of China), or get the bus transmit toute from point A to point B. It seems could not understand English very well, for instance, when I typed “bank of China”, I only got one 中国银行, the rest is all coffee places (maybe it thinks China and coffee are close?).
BTW, there are many web based maps in China, Wang Jianshuo has a short review at his blog. He also suggested there is no good maps in English language.
Thought it might be helpful for people new to Shanghai or have been away for a while.
Get the money: exchange your USD for RMB at Pudong Development Bank in PVG airport. There is no transaction fee if you exchange more than $500. You can use the US debit card to withdraw cash (RMB only) although I have not done so.
Where to stay: I suggest Ru Jia (Home Inn) or Jin Jiang. I stayed at both places in past few years. Both are clean and inexpensive.
Get around: there are a few options get from Airport (PVG) to downtown including the Maglev. But the best one is probablly the Airport Bus (to save the transfer). There are 6 routes and they covers pretty much the whole city. Metro (subway) is the best way to get around, there are 5 routes running around the city now. In the rainy days or certain rush hours (Friday night), it will be difficult to get a taxi. In that case, knowing some bus routes will be helpful.