You are currently browsing the monthly archive for August, 2008.
The reason I update my blog comparably late is because this week was very busy. The moving to the Exhibition Center in Pudong (Shanghai) started on Monday where the Lenzing booth for the Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles was finalized. Tuesday was the start of the fair and I joined the team for the 1st day and also had some opportunities to walk around and get to know the other exhibitors. This fair was probably the hugest I’ve seen so far particularly in comparison with the Texworld in New York last summer. Nevertheless I was told that there are Exhibitions existing, which are topping the size of this one easily – especially the one in Frankfurt. The organization of this fairs are mainly provided by Messe Frankfurt Corporation.
On Wednesday I was leaving Shanghai once more for a business trip to Foshan City in the Guangdong Province. Via the Airport in Guangzhou Aurora and me reached our destination in the noon time. Foshan is especially famous for its porcelain industry and advanced to the third largest city in Guangdong Province next to the industrially driven cities Shenzhen and Guangzhou (Source).
In the afternoon there only was a visit with a local knitter on schedule therefore I had time to enjoy my first Thai massage back in the hotel in the evening. In the next morning a meeting with Li Ning was planned, which is a huge sports brand in China mainland. The TENCEL Active project was introduced in order to enhance the brand in working with the effective double-layer structure of TENCEL in combination with Polyester (PLC). The functions of these materials are demonstrated by the ODEM® Active Sports-Shirts of the local Austrian brand ODEM | natural air-conditioning wear. After arriving back in Shanghai late on Thursday I prepared for my last day (today) with the lovely and genuine people in the Lenzing Fibers Shanghai office.
This is mainly the first section of my stay in Shanghai and to sum up I experienced a lot in this month, as you can probably image by reading what’s on my blog so far. So I wish everybody good luck for the moment and want to officially thank the LFS team (especially Ernst for his generous efforts) for having me and supporting me during that month.
It was a pleasure to get to know all of you guys and join you in the office!
Friday, the 22nd August 2008 had the first KTV (Karaoke) experience in store for me. After work and celebrating Emar’s birthday (a colleague in LFS office) we collectively went to the Partyworld (Cashbox) which is a suitable location for occations like this. Most of the ladies turned out to be great singers and well educated in the “Karaoke field” as they performed their chosen songs, which weren’t too easy in most cases, nearly perfectly. I was really impressed!
After that I happend to visit a famous jazz club in Shanghai – the “Cotton Club”. The good music and the compareably tiny location created kind of a cosy atmosphere which makes me enjoy the time there very much.
我姓艾辛格， 叫麦克。| wo xing aixinge, jiao maike.
Translation: My surname is eichinger, my first name is michael.
This Sunday had another cultural program in store for me. I happened to visit the Jade Buddha Monastery, getting a glimpse on this particular religion and also the rites and celebrations which are entailing the praying/wishing to Buddha.
The Jade Buddha Monastery is famous for the Jade Buddhas in it. In the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing dynasty, the old Master Hui Gen from Putuo Mountain of Zhejiang Province traveled through China and paid visits to famous mountains and monasteries, as well as well-known people. He started from the Putuo Mountain, traveled through the Wutai Mountain, and the Emei Mountain, from Sichuan he entered into Tibet, then into India and some other countries for sightseeing of the Buddhist sites and relics. Finally he reached Burma. When he found Burma was rich in jade and Buddhas were carved in superb craft, a keen desire to carve jade Buddhas came over him. Then he begged for money everywhere and obtained donation from Mr. Chen Junpu, a Chinese settled in Burma of over 20,000 taels of silver. He also got the special permission from the Burmese king to dig and select jade in the mountains and hired excellent jade carvers to carve five jade Buddhas in big and small sizes, all decorated with treasured stones and big pearls. All the faces of the jade Buddhas were bright like the full moon, and everything was in perfection and solemnity. As soon as the Buddhas were carved, Master Hui Gen started his journey back. When he passed through Shanghai, he left two Buddhas for disciples to worship[...] (History)
After that Aurora and me went to the Jing’an District where we had a stroll to Jing’an Temple which currently is under construction, unfortunately. The Temple, also known as “Temple of Peace and Tranquility” is a Buddhist Temple which was rebuilt in Qing Dynasty. During the Cultural Revolution it even was converted into a plastics factory and in the 80′ies converted back into an active temple following some renovating process in 2003 (Source: Wikipedia).
We of course also had a walk through the Jing’an Park, which is just across the street. Following that we enjoyed a typical Shanghainese dinner at a classy restaurant.
So, this was mainly my update for the eventful last week. I hope you’re all fine and everthings well in hometown and Austria in general.
All the best,
Mike
…After asking Ernst to take me to Nanjing one time (if possible) enabling me to see the Viscose plant of the Lenzing Group (with high recommendations of my dad), precisely Lenzing Nanjing Fibers Co., Ldt. (LNF). He therefore called me on Tuesday evening that we’ll have a trip there from Wednesday till Friday. Actually this plant started its production last year and is a joint-venture with Nanjing Chemical Fibre Co., Ldt. in which the Lenzing holds 70%. The chinese government has set up several regulations for Foreign Direct Investments (only Joint-Ventures are allowed as a market entry mode for non-chinese companies, in which the concerned chinese company has to the hold majority of the shares, usually at least 51%) in some fields. The Viscose field, the Lenzing Group is operating in, originally wasn’t constrained by such regulations. A Joint Venture nevertheless was considered, as market knowledge and governmental application schedules were already given by the experience of the chinese JV-partner.
So we left Shanghai Wednesday afternoon, after getting our work done, with the new company car (Audi Q7 – very comfortable ;)) and of course Ernst’s personal driver, Mr. Zhao, who safely brought us to the Sofitel Hotel which is located quite in the middle of the way to Nanjing and the Viscose plant. I have to admit that I was fairly impressed by the luxurious lodging style because I haven’t had the opportunity to live that big so far.
The next day I was introduced to the staff here in Nanjing. After getting home, Ernst invited me on a golf course (9 holes) which is next to the hotel and can be played at during evening-time thanks to the floodlights (I don’t know whether I have previously mentionend that it gets dark at about 7 p.m. in this geographical area – pretty weird to me in the first days, but you get used to it. What’s next is, that the day/night-times approximately stay the same the whole year, as a result time-switches can be avoided). This created a great atmosphere as you probably can tell by the taken pictures.
Following that we went to Nanjing for having dinner at a bar called “Blue Marlin” (Source on Nanjing Now). This bar is situated at a place called 1912, which is quite similiar to the xintiandi of Shanghai – Chinese archithecture but mainly Western entertainment. Fortunately there was a live-band playing and I have to admit respectfully that these philippino-guys delivered an astonishing performance.
So the evening was mainly dedicated to white Erdinger beer, steaks, great music and getting to know the hostess of this bar. Her name’s Dia, also from the Philippines, and she happend to speak German a few words. Her official job description was “Customer Relation Manager”. With her looks and Jägermeister deliveries for us its admittedely easy to “relate” to customers ;).
On Friday we checked out of the Sofitel and went to the plant one more time. Being there I was shown around to get to know the production process. Due to knowing the plants in Austria (Lenzing, Heiligenkreuz) I’m quite familiar with that topic and not too “green” anymore.
‘Yuyuan Garden is an excellent model of classical Chinese gardening architecture under state preservation. It was built during the reign of Ming Emperor Jiajing (1559) as the private garden of Pan Yunduan, administration commissioner of Sichuan Province. With an area over two hectares the Garden is famous for a number of architectural marvels, including the Big Rockery, the Naturally – Hollowed – Jade Boulder, the Hall of an Emerald Touch of Spring, the Ancient Opera Stage and the Innter Garden. Also well-protected in the garden are precious cultural relicts showing the best of China’s tradition of art.’
Through the ‘Old City’ of Shanghai which is apparently very close to my current place you can find your way to renowned Yuyuan Garden. The weather left much to be deserved on Sunday as a result there weren’t that many people as usually and I could have a rather comfortable stroll through the idles and gardens.
[My mother addressed me recently to show some ‘faces’ of the LFS staff. For the reason of being (at least trying to be) a good son I added some of them…]
Being home again I watched the Olympic basketball opener USA vs. CHN on TV. Looks like this year nothing would cross the path of the Dream Team to its more than deserved gold medal.
This mainly was my weekend-update. All the best to you guys!
And keep commenting…
Michael
On Friday evening I found my way to Bund 18, precisely to ‘Bar Rouge’ (Source on Smart Shanghai). I fortunately happened to meet some French guys in front of the elevator just before going up to the club, who invited me to have a sit at their place which was perfectly situated on the terrace viewing to the (old) Bund (Wai Tan). This night was pretty funny as I wasn’t on my own and got to know some nice people from France who departured to Hongkong after that. Finally I went home at 4 a.m. not to be too wasted on the next day, because Ernst invited me on a golf course with Peter and the General Manager of Berry Textile, Simon Sung, who showed quite proficient golf skills to us even-starters.
I have to admit that I was playing horrible, I guess due to the lack of practice in the last time. But there happened to be at least one illuminated moment, as I put the ball one meter next to hole on a Par 3 (138 meters long) and therefore achieved my first Birdie in my dusky golf carrier. This of course was topped by a direct chip-in from Simon also achieving a Birdie. Congratulations in this place ;)
In conclusion I experienced a funny day with nice weather and some lovely people at a very inviting and luxurious golf course.
On Thursday Aurora, Andy and me had a trip to Wuxi which is about 150 kilometers away from Shanghai and lies close to the Tai Hu Lake. The trip’s purpose was to present TENCEL Active (the project I’m involved in) to a customer named Handa who has following in-house departments: fabric manufacturing, sewing (also dyeing and finishing) and branding. Unfortunately the meeting took us too long not to have a glimpse at the very specific Buddhist sights there. Wuxi is also called ‘little Shanghai’ because of its rather industrial appearance. I hopefully will make my way there again to catch some cultural input. Arriving back in Shanghai I probably had my first Teppan Yaki. It was really delicious and the cook seemed to handle the food very skillful as you can see on the picture.
In the evening I went to the so-called Barbarossa with Laurent, a German guy who also was on an internship at a company in Shanghai (he left to Beijing again yesterday). We happened to meet at the gym of the Tian Ci Apartment, so he showed me this elegant place on Thursday evening.
‘Barbarossa is one of the finer, if not the finest, upscale nightlife venue in Shanghai for its beautiful location in People’s Park and its three floors of lush interiors. Classy drinks and hip DJs keep Barbarossa on the nightlife map, and they also host a popular ladies night. Great for a relaxing night on a date or with friends, or dinner and drinks before something more serious.’
Source (see location and some more pictures on SmartShanghai)
Led by a balanced offensive effort that saw Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat) pump in 22 points and three other U.S. team members score in double digits, the USA Basketball Men’s Senior National Team (5-0) fought off a determined Australian squad 87-76 Tuesday night in Shanghai in the team’s final warm-up game before opening Olympic play Aug. 10 in Beijing against host China.
Also aiding the USA cause were LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers), 16 points; Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers), 13 points; Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets) recorded a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds; Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors) added nine points and Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic) scored eight. (Source on Aug. 6th 2008)
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This was as you probably can imagine an amazing night for me. The Roster of the USA Men’s National Team constisted of highly potential NBA All-Stars and Go-To Guys. Concerning the recap (please find above) I won’t go into further detail, as the Americans already did, so I decided just to source the official report from the USA Basketball Page.
Same night, different story – getting to the Qi Zhong Arena of Shanghai where the preparation games of the USA Men’s National Team mainly took place. Leaving work earlier as an exception (don’t tell Ernst, my boss^^) I got on the subway line 1 leading to the West from People’s Square. At the final station of line 1 I changed to line 5 going for three further stations. Arriving there some shuttle buses were supposed to take the visitors to the Arena. This wasn’t as easy as expected in the first place because they didn’t let me enter the bus… Why? because I didn’t posess a final ticket at that time due to an internet order. I only had the paper with me to proof the purchase over net. So, any alternatives? Fortunately at least someone was able to speak English there (on the internet there were English speaking guides promoted, who apparently managed to hide well there because I couldn’t find any of them) who showed me the way to a public bus where I didn’t need this final tickets. So somehow I managed to get there and locally changed the paper into a ticket.
Seems like such kind of sporting events enhance the business spirits and innovative skills of the vendors in the streets. I could have bought plenty of tickets, Kobe Bryant Posters, spyglasses, food, drinks even in the streets in front of the Arena, if I had wanted to.
Finally passing the security check I entered this impressive Stadium and got to my sector. It was amazing to see the NBA Stars altogether live for the first time. The chinese audience seems to be very loyal to both sides and showed plenty of sportsmanship as they cheered for both sides to pay tribute to the efforts even of the Australian Basketball National Team.
As far as I know nearly 13.000 seats are in the Arena, which means – traffic jam, confusion, chaos after the game. I fortunately managed to ask my way through somehow to get back to subway station by bus. I experienced that the chinese way of bus driving is quite a challenge. After passing liang kuai (= 2 RMB) to the conductor we made our way back somehow to the closest subway station. It nearly was 11 p.m. so the subway wasn’t operated anymore – bad luck. So I waved for a taxi, which of course was everybody’s intention at this time and therefore not too easy to get one. Actually I had a little conversation with the taxi driver in Chinese who apparently was a nice guy. In the traffic jam I showed him some videos of the game taken by my digital camera and he quite seemed to be delighted by that fact.
To conclude: Another exiting day in Shanghai passed by and I’m further getting familiar with the way of life here.
All the best, I’m pretty much looking forward to receiving comments of you guys!
再见，小麦
After leaving the office on Friday afternoon I had a walk at GuangChang Park which is also very close to People’s Square. Good to see some green area even in a crowded place like this.
On Saturday the first meeting with my generous host and head of the LFS office Ernst Sandrieser and his lovely wife Lai Ping took place. The showed me 新天地 (xintiandi), which is a Western influenced shopping, eating and entertainment area famous of its outstanding architecture. It was restored in the traditional ‘shikumen’ style consisting of stone gate houses infused with narrow alleys.
Following that I explored the nightlife on HengShang Rd. by myself a little bit and happened to stumble across some appealing pubs and clubs.
On Sunday I asked out my personal tourist guide Aurora (just kidding) to show me one of the most renowned shopping areas – the NanJing Rd. This is especially convincing of the pedestrian area where you don’t have to fear to get knocked over by the sometimes very chaotic and confusing traffic. Entering the subway at People’s Square to cross HuangPu River accordingly, I happened to enjoy my first supper Sichuan–style which proofed to be extraordinary spicy. Later on we ended up on the riverside of HuangPu River again just like at my arrival’s day.
Finally I have to admit that I was experiencing some troubles by opening my blog outside of the office. I already heard that some pages are blocked by the Chinese government, especially blogs to avoid critical voices during the games. A pity but I will have to accept that fact. Therefore during August it will only be possible to update my virtual diary in the office, of course only if workload allows it ;).
So this might be basically all for today. Tomorrow I’ll have the chance to watch the basketball preparation game Australia vs. USA (Men’s National Team) for Beijing 2008 at Shanghai Qizhong Sports City Arena.
All the best in the meantime!
小麦
As I already alluded to my internship at Lenzing Fibers Shanghai in recent posts I would like to go into further detail concerning job-related tasks by this post.
My presentation in .pdf f.y.r.: michael-eichinger-in-shanghai
After I gave the staff at LFS a short ppt presentation about myself, family, friends, hobbies, Austria and its geographical core position in Europe (respectively to emerging markets in CEE), my studies and the little trading company (ODEM | www.odem.eu) my mother set up in Austria, I immediately received my Chinese nickname 小麦 (xiaomai: little Mike). That’s tradition in China to address the daughter or son with the prefix 小 (xiao: little). Similarly the parent generation receives the prefix 老 (lao: old (respectfully speaking)). To give an example my father would be called “laodi” (Dieter Eichinger).
The nickname mainly originated from Peter Gao who is responsible for the Sales at LFS.
He introduced me to the Business Plan and vision of the office and we also discussed differences between the ways of doing business in China and Europe. As it is a short time for me joining LFS he integrated me into an existing project which is all about customer acquisition to be precise developer acquisition. So my tasks will consist of supporting Aurora (responsible for Marketing) in customer visits and the following reporting. This is quite interesting especially for me as it enables the opportunity of seeing different places even outside of Shanghai and getting a glimpse of doing business in China.
This topic, precisely the comparison of the two different management styles of course needs deeper research and further elaboration. If workload allows it I will manifest my observations and go into more detail.
View from the office building (23rd floor) not far away from the People’s Square.
