moondog

As some of you know, my company has an office in Nanning, but until today I didn't have a chance to visit. Well, now I'm here, and I want to tell you about it in this thread. (There are not many threads on 3rd tier cities without tourist attractions here, so my insights can be extrapolated to other cities that receive few foreign visitors.)

Flying in, what initially struck me was how green the landscape is... just like nice parts of Thailand.

Then, when I exited baggage claim, my second impression was -- man, there are a lot of people here. Since I live in one of the most populous cities in the world, this observation might surprise you, but I guess my point is that Shanghai has pretty good infrastructure for dealing with millions of people living on top of each other, whereas this place does not.

Third impression: construction everywhere and in excess. Again, I've lived through the construction booms in Nanjing, Shanghai, and Beijing -- the latter two arguably being the largest in the history of the world. But, these guys are basically rebuilding their entire city in 100 acre plots.

Fourth, the presence of western brands here is scant in comparison with tier 1 and tier 2 China. I was already prepared for this, but seeing it person has really resonated with me. Basically, 6 million people, many of which have lots of money, and they don't have access to the same LV bags that the rest of China covets. In other words, the big brands spend 90% of their marketing budgets beating each other up in Beijing and Shanghai, while completely ignoring this virgin soil.

That's all for now. I'll try to get out and take some pictures tonight.

trueblu

Good insights, but also, although there is probably a lot of increasingly wealthy people in tier 3 cities, there may not be enough to sustain uber-expensive brands such as LV or Ferrari. But they would support middle tier branding, such as Nike, Levis etc. If I were into such things, which I'm not, facilitating the entry of such 'middle class' aspirational brands into tier 3 cities would likely be highly profitable.

Of course, I'm not convinced this is in the best interest of China's people -- they probably should try to steer a course from the quagmire of western capitalism before it is utterly too late. But hey ho, that would be veering into OMNI territory -- and I almost never visit OMNI!

tb

allset2travel

Moondog,

Your first impression observation of Nanning is right on.
I first set foot in NNG was in 2008, and have returned yearly.

Sometime ago, I wrote a long winded trip report that included a bit on Nanning. I do like the Marriott. Link to the report, scroll to Post #:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...dventures.html

moondog

I'm moving there, guys. Please visit me, and bring me foods that I like.

trueblu

I hope the pay is good! And this will solve your car license issues!

tb

Jiatong

I was in Nanning last fall, & the growth is amazing. Beihai is only a couple hours away....

Also Guangxi knows how to use the two south china sea ports to grow the export business to asean market from this province.

when will the HSR to Nanning be done ??

moondog

I'm not planning on staying there forever! The reason I'm going is that our guys down there are creating a new company to sell foreign products in Guangxi, and want me to help them get things rolling.

My initial visit to Nanning was too brief (24 hours, 4 of which I spent in the hospital because of my foot injury) to draw any sweeping conclusions, but think Shanghai 1995.

chornedsnorkack

Currently reported:
August 2013 - Beihai-Nanning
November 2013 - Wuzhou-Nanning

moondog

Next Monday is my big send off. While I've been to numerous 3+tier cities the closest I've come to living in one was three months in 1995 nanjing. And that was pretty rough.

Random question: will my sh Unicom number roam there nicely? I'm on set b.

Second question: is the Marriott in a convenient area? While there is no way I would live there I'm guessing they have nice food.

MSPeconomist

Seriously, you're moving from Shanghai to Nanning so suddenly? How long do you expect to be there? Will you keep your place in Shanghai for weekends or whatever?

BTW, what's the foot injury?

Scifience

It should; I've been using a SZ Unicom number all over the place for the last 4 years with no problems. The reload cards aren't region-specific, and I've never had trouble topping up online even from overseas.

Coverage might not be as good as on Mobile, though.

Jiatong

The Marriott is in one of the new business areas, but not the CBD of Nanning.

Since Nanning is the provincial capitol of Guangxi, the PRC would define it as a Tier 2 city. But business might only be a Tier3 type city.

The golf courses are better in Beihai !.

moondog

To me, Tier 2 refers to places like Hangzhou, Xiamen, and Nanjing. It's not so much about size or importance as it is about development levels and per capita GDP. McKinsey shares this view.

travelinmanS

Does this mean Monday the 17th is your last Big Bamboo night for the foreseeable future?

moondog

I'm leaving on the morning of the 17th so no Monday Club for me, but I plan on coming back at least once a month. Perhaps we can convene at GY on Sunday evening.