anacapamalibu

Last time at the coffee shop I took a couple beers and put them in their
ice cream freezer. Does seem odd why there are so few retailers at
the two train stns, however there is plenty of empty space to add them
at any time.

moondog

Oh, there is, but there isn't. In both BJ and SH, the departure halls simply aren't set up for retail on their main levels. Basically, physical human beings occupy 90% of all available floor space during peak times.

The upper and lower levels are different. In the case of the former, the leasing agents clearly suck, while outfits that would make a killing don't understand the scale of the opportunity and/or lack the guanxi to make a deal happen on reasonable terms. (YUM! brands seems to be on top of this game; as much as I dislike KFC, they have positioned themselves in the limelight at Beijing South.)

In the case of the latter (speaking of Shanghai, now), that ~700m hallway between tracks 1 and 2 (that all of the desirable BJ-SH trains seem to use) and the subway station entrance is simply not well equipped for retail. Sure, it is wide enough to have shops on both sides, but it lacks allocation for them (in terms of the architectural setup).

I am guessing that many seasoned mall operators would have simply creamed over the prospect of playing a role in the development of either of these projects, and would have invested in order to cover any differences in construction costs between what we have now, but they didn't appreciate the scale of the foot traffic has become a reality when the plans were in their early or intermediate stages... their loss... and, ours, as well.

Fortunately, KFC (no trouble finding it in BJ) and Subway (near the subway station in SH) are both tolerable options.

Moving on, my friend who always flew, until this morning, told me that he felt the train was a much better way to travel (we spent the entire trip in the dining car, and actually got some work accomplished). He was particularly impressed by the scenery along the route. What's more, since air delays were long enough to make the train the faster option, his analysis was correct on more fronts than he had proffered (e.g. getting to our meeting on time was a BIG deal, and we pulled it off).

That having been said, the flying experience is generally nicer on the whole, and the actual travel (by plane) part is short enough to avail you of not having to rely on Subway or KFC in order to remain conscious.

In closing, for you guys that don't do this drill 3x per month, I encourage you to check out the train, even if you never set foot in your assigned seats; the dining car is a decent place to hang out.

anacapamalibu

Departure halls have grossly oversized corridors and entrance areas.
At the least they could set up kiosks. From a business aspect seems
a big mistake when you have all those people to not try and get some more
money out of their pockets. That holds true also regarding
food and beverage service on the trains.


Shanghai Hongqiao
Lots of wasted space in corridors and
at entrance

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_V0__Pjv5pa...anghai+390.JPG

http://images.travelpod.com/users/kn...ay-station.jpg


Beijing South
Corridors appear to be oversized

http://www.flickr.com/photos/niffgur...57627634143076

mnredfox

They have cold beer in China???

anacapamalibu

They have:

Starbucks
KFC
McD
Pizza Hut
Burger King
Hooters
Dairy Queen

How did cold beer get left out?

moondog

Appearances can be deceiving.

What this picture fails to convey is that humanoids and their life's possessions tend to occupy a considerable portion of that perceived "empty space" during peak times. Furthermore, trains board from both the north and the south gates (left and right sides of your picture), which makes passing through the middle extremely difficult. Hence, the only sensible "corridors" of passage are on the outside of that middle area (when you get to your gate, you can return to the middle).

There is simply no space for restaurants in the middle, but there is at least one small convenience store in it (fortress style construction).

The side corridors to which I alluded above tend to be relatively peaceful (e.g. nobody camps out in them), but are not wide enough to house any sort of meaningful retail establishments.

Shanghai Hongqiao has a remarkably similar setup (chaos on departures floor; idiotically selected retailers both above and below... unless you happen to be fond of shopping for overpriced jewelry during your Monday morning commute).

anacapamalibu

Got to get to where the people are, mobile carts.
Dim sum and various food and beverage items..
beats McDonalds.

Mobile Carts

mnredfox

The best part is all of my local Chinese friends don't know what Hooters is. I had a few friends (all female) wanting to take me there during Thanksgiving last year since it represented an "American restaurant". I dared not tell them why, they thought it was just food.

moondog

Bear in mind that you are talking about a society (excluding the 60% of the population that is still poor) in which KTVs, spas, and massage parlors are the norm.

rkkwan

They are just following Americans. Plenty of Parents in Houston take their kids there for buffalo wings.

Anyways, to get back to the previous OFF-topic, the Chinese hasn't even learned to refrigerate their sodas/pop/soft drinks. How would they know about beer? Pepsi, in particular, tastes horrendous when warm, yet that's most often the cola served. Yuck

anacapamalibu

Cold drinks are bad for health...has to do with chi.
However they should make some minimal accomodation for laowai's
consideration...like when here they can easily get hot water to drink.
Never seen refusal when ordering hot water to drink at a restaurant here.

So just get me a cold beer.:

Hooters China rather mundane compared to king meal...one might imagine.

HD

moondog

At a Subway in Shanghai yesterday, I requested ice for my Sprite, and it was explained to me (by the counter girl) that ice was not necessary because their Sprite was already cold. I countered that this would not be the case in 20 minutes time. Her reply, "we offer free refills; our soda is always cold." She was not trying to be a smart ....

Bringing this thread back on topic, on my (5p) train yesterday, only 8 beers were on offer (for the entire train) as we pulled out of Hongqiao, and they were warm. Our solution: pre buy all 8 (a great value at y10/can... one of the better varieties of Yanjing), and stick them in the fridge.

anacapamalibu

Ice will constrict the blood vessels in your throat and therefore limits one's
ability to smoke while eating.

mnredfox

I've seen it, and I think that's just wrong.

anacapamalibu

They obviously market towards families as they have child's menus

But this is a bit much

Baby Bib - Your Crib or Mine?