Originally Posted by
rdchen
I'm not sure if there is any Subway in Qingdao, However, the Chinese name for Subway is 赛百味. Maybe you can show it to your local host.
I actually looked at subway.com before I posted the link. I didn't reveal the results of my "research" because I figured the OP might derive satisfaction out of trying out the store locator himself. But, lest anyone else cares, they're do not appear to be any Subways in QD at this moment in time... could always grab a boat to Dalian, I suppose.
As long as I'm here, I'd like to revisit the cell phone topic for a second. Even those that don't speak Chinese should still recognise that Chinese language support is a useful feature when you're in China (or Taiwan/HK/SIN). Let's say you're trying to meet someone at an obscure restaurant or bar; showing the cabbie an SMS goes a lot further than simply repeatedly shouting out "Friday's". My boss used to do the latter on a regular basis and it was quite embarrassing for the rest of us.
Finally, a few comments on the Canton Fair. Sure it's expensive, but every time I've gone, the investment ($1000 for 2-3 days) has paid off in spades. I can think of lots of trade shows in America that cost much more (CES comes to mind) and provide less value. That said, if you don't have a solid game plan, you might not get a lot out of it.