Shenzhen Mass Transit: For the People

During the Spring Festival break, I was able to spend time and talk with my extended family at the different dinners and tennis outings we had. At one of the outings, I had to chance to discuss the Shenzhen public transportation with my aunt's colleague - an official who is in charge of government municipal projects. Currently Shenzhen is going through a massive expansion of its metro system. 

When discussing the effects of the economic crisis and the current government investment in infrastructure, our family friend mentioned that currently, the Shenzhen metro system had an operating loss of 500 million (五亿) RMB in the past year. That's a lot of money. 

I was first stunned at this number and was interested in why this is the case. The Shenzhen metro system is already the most expensive in the country with a graduated ticket price based on distance. Also with increasing traffic congestion, more and more people are choosing to ride the metro everyday in their commute. Even with these factors, the operating cost of the metro is still much higher than the revenue. 

As the official explained:

The metro runs as a regular company, but with the Shenzhen government as the controling party, we set the ticket prices. Our goal is to provide affordable transportation for Shenzhen citizens.  We make sure that the bus system and the metro system are not profit driven so that we can give the citizens a great service at a reduced price. This is also why all people over the age of 65 ride free of charge as well. 

As the expanded network comes online, we believe that even more people will ride the metro based on its convenience. Shenzhen will be a much different city. We believe the 500 million loss we incur every year will be reduced but in reality, that isnt too important. Cheap, reliable service to the people are.

When comparing the Shenzhen metro system with the NYC subway, there is a huge difference in thinking. Because the NYC system is profit based, price fares are constantly rising with subsequent lower service and convenience. I remember a few years ago, the MTA wanted to increase the fare price because of a loss while trying to hide millions of dollars worth of revenue from the public. 

The government promoting public transportation in China not only helps the citizens, it helps reduce the use of private cars and improves the enviorment. Currently China is building more than 10 different subway lines across the country with more planned. This is on top of the increased investment on railroads and other mass transit systems. 

Chinese 海归 (Turtles) Returning Home

I was in Beijing a few weeks ago, talking to some expat friends when we started discussing the changing dynamic of English speakers in China. 

As one of my friends noticed, there were noticably more Chinese people who graduated from overseas universities in the Beijing social circle. These include those who have grown up in the foreign country and those who went there to exculsively study. 

Talking to a family friend a few days later, he estimated that more than 250,000 海归 have come back from different countries abroad in the past year. This friend, who is involved in many academic and business circles, explained that the recent financial turmoil has drastically increased the rate of return of both recent college graduates and experienced professionals. "The world economy is helping to bring the best and brightest home."

For years there have been a brain drain on China. After President Nixon's visit to China, many promising Chinese have traveled to and studied at American universities. These were often the best and most promising students in China. While some came back, most remained abroad to make their new home. My family is an example of this process. Those who did return to China have done quite well. These people are influencial in business, academica and politics. (Many friends of my parents are CEOs, university presidents and influencal policy makers after returning in the mid-90s.

In recent years as the Chinese economy has boomed, many people who otherwise would have stayed abroad are returning to China. I am one of these people. The China story was too strong for me to not come back to China and experience it first hand. Although I plan to go back to the USA (who knows when), I definitely know China will be a big part of my future. 

It seems now with the economic crisis in full swing, this desire to return to China has caught on with more and more 海归. Just as there are record layoffs in the US in just about every industry, China is still experiencing a high growth rate and a bright future. Why wouldn't people come back. Jim Rogers even moved to Asia so that his daughters can learn Chinese.

The current return of 海归 creates some interesting issues for the future:

1. As fast as China is changing now, more Chinese with experience in other countries will increase the momentum. Armed with new thinking and new ideas of the west, they will make a lasting impact on Chinese society. This includes lifestyle, culture and day-to-day life things. 

2. Chinese competitiveness in the global market will increase dramatically. An increase of western thinking combined with current practices gives large Chinese companies a boost. 

3. More successful small businesses will be created in the long term. With practical experience in western corporations, returning Chinese will take advantage of low labor costs and set up more and more SMEs. 

4. There will be more competition in every field - from jobs to bank lending and resources.

5. The government will have to find a way to best utilize the skills, talents and influences of these 海归.

6. There will be a change of social dynamics between locals and 海归 as well as the relative relationship and negotiation of idenity and diaspora with the changing China.

Ultimately, the return of soo many foreign Chinese will only change China faster and improve its place in the world. This currently hidden phenomenon will have a big impact in the future development and modernization of China.

Cheerleading in China. Yay!

One of the newest developments in the realm of Chinese sport has been the interest in cheerleading and cheers competitions. Since before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, there has been a drastic increase in mainstream fascination, participation and expansion of the "sport". Although this seems like less of a blog-worthy development, it is still an interesting aspect of Chinese culture that is changing.

When I first arrived in China, there were very few, if any cheerleaders of any kind. Although there were forms of dance in traditional Chinese culture, there was definitely a lack of a performance art that combined athletic maneuvers, performance and peppiness. One can even make the argument that traditional Chinese culture frowned on this type of performance for it wardrobe and style.

Earliest forms of cheerleading in China were glorified jumping around of cute girls in relatively skimpy outfits during timeouts at Chinese Basketball Association (CBA - the Chinese national basketball league) games. These performances were often elementary and actually quite embarrassing to watch.

However, as the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears influence on pop dancing (as well as Korean and Japanese pop) changed somewhat Chinese pop singers, this influence has also translated into the increased recognition and better accented moves in cheer circles. In the past months, there has been a noticeable improvement in everything cheerleading related.

During the preparations for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, cheerleading professionals from the US were invited to come to China to help mentor, train and develop girls who were going to perform at the games. In total, China trained 200,000 people to cheer in preparation for the Olympics. This national initiative really helped improve Chinese aspiring cheerleaders.

Without knowing how many Chinese schools have cheer programs, it is notable that many TV programs include cheer performances and competitions of many Chinese schools. There has been definitely an increase in peppiness.

While these programs are becoming more frequent, coverage of international competitions have also been broadcasted. As I am writing this post, I am watching the 2008 World Aerobics competitions on the main Chinese sports channel (CCTV5). Other events, including the US cheer championships usually held in Disneyworld, have also been given prime exposure to Chinese audiences.

Although this type of performance dance/sport is still in its infancy in China, it has been marked by notable investment and development (just as in every other industry in China).

Counterfitting the RMB

One of the most notable and influencial topics discussed by all of my family during CNY this year has been the availability of new high-quality counterfeit bills. China has great skill in duplicating things of all types - including electronics, dvds, shoes, bags, ect. Now it seems that someone has helped improve on counterfits that they have been passed into banks and atms. Anyone living in China deals with this issue everyday. There are fake 1 RMB coins all the way up to 50s being passed around in the population, but never at this rate and quality.

When talking to my Chinese uncle and his friends a couple of days ago, they hypothesised that the fake bills orginiated from Taiwan. They described it as a relentless competition between the mainland and taiwan. The goal is to access the others' financies and undermine the currency. They suggested that China has also done the same in Taiwan.

No matter what the origions are, it is still very intimidating to know that fake bills are so prevelent among the population. Friends in the banking industry who handle and count money everyday have also discussed the current situation and the different countermeasures the banks are trying to implement. However, when people depsoit the fake currency in the ATM, it is automatically recycled when others retreve money.

Here's a recent CNN report on the situation:

Shenzhen: The Posterchild of China's Economic Development

Yesterday while riding back to my apartment on the bus after Thursday night basketball with team 老外 (Lao Wai）, I saw a new report about China's government meeting to commemorate the 30 year anniversary of the opening up policies of Deng Xiaoping. In these 30 years, China has gone from a tremendously poor country to the world's 3rd highest GDP. It's no doubt been quite a transformation.

In this time of celebration of the opening-up policies, Shenzhen has been on the forefront on the conversation - a figurehead of sorts of China's transformation.

Recently, I have been looking for a new apartment in the downtown area. Here is a view of the Shenzhen skyline from one of the places.



Here's a CNN video discussing change in Shenzhen: