The MoMo thing was only somewhat surprising to me. We all know that weixin has completely disrupted SMS; it is a respectable app. For people in these parts, MoMo is equivalent to wx, but slightly easier to use.

Regarding napping, they look so happy when they are sleeping (I really want to post the pics; you should see the smiles on their faces).

Regarding "most definitive internet resource on Nanning", I'm absolutely certain about this; if you read the Chinese sites, they will tell you that Wal Mart is the coolest place in town to hang out at during weekends... I think I can do a bit better than that. While I lament the fact that Internet Brands will receive all of the upside from my efforts, FT is my home for now.

6 weeks shall be in late August.

There were mentions that Nanning-Qinzhou high speed railway should open sometime in August.

Is the railway observed to be under construction, and specifically when in August shall it open for scheduled service?

I want to stay put for a while, though I do need to go back to Shanghai once a month.

moondog, is this you? hah

News link: http://slide.news.sina.com.cn/c/slid...33556.html#p=2

http://www.sinaimg.cn/dy/slidenews/1...483_476393.jpg

:D :D :D Could almost be his twin brother!

But, I am far more handsome. :o

This is nap time, guys. I must admit that I've joined the club.

http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/58/pwhj.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

You're right: they do look happy. Perhaps your employees don't have effective AC at home and hence spend restless nights in hot humid weather.

I will definitely be looking at this in the run-up to my trip to Nanning, and I can probably do some updating too if moondog won't mind. :D

You are welcome to crash at my place during your stay if my business partner isn't here (he rarely is).

Back on topic, these Nanning people have lots of money, but nowhere to spend it. My complex reminds me of Shuangjing (Beijing) when I first moved there before Line 10 opened. Viva was a really low end shopping mall, all of the restaurants were hole in the walls, and other retail space was hogged up by an unreasonable number of real estate offices.

But, look at it now! Viva is a beacon of luxury, people show up to Bang Bang in their Lambos (which they honestly don't know how to drive), Iki is regarded as a "can't miss" restaurant, and apartments are fetching 50,000 per square meter.

Meanwhile, my neighbors in Nanning have the Lambos and the Bentleys, but are forced to walk across the big street to Mixc in order to eat decent food. I was thinking about opening a restaurant here just so I could eat well (this is why Cantina Agave in Shanghai exists), but one magically popped up 5 days ago. It is sort of like the "Grand Yard" (our Shanghai hang out)... very nice 装修 that demonstrates big money is behind it. They don't have any food yet because nobody here seems to be able to make hamburgers; if I can't find someone to train them, I will take up this task myself.

Nanning
Small town China.;)

http://www.exoticspotter.com/images/83/82825.jpg

I'm a pretty wicked cook, if I do say so myself. And I make great burgers. Should I apply for the position?

So finally, I have arrived in Nanning! :D

While I'm happy that I actually made here (there was a real fear that I wouldn't), I was not happy with how delayed we were. We sat on the ground for 1.5 hours without a proper disclosure of the reasons why, but I presume it was congestion at SZX. :mad:

Unfortunately, the delay meant that I'm probably going to squeeze my visit into two days instead of three. If the weather improves, I hope to visit Wuming Rock tomorrow morning, then probably head to Nanhu (if I don't do that today). Definitely doing Detian on Monday.

One thing that I noticed though: at least on the highway, Nanning is really clean! :P

Greetings, all.

I've been meaning to give you guys an update on Nanning for the past several days, but haven't had a chance to do so until now.

I honestly don't know where to begin because my time here has been a complete shock to my senses, so I'm just going to throw my impressions out in random order:

-The napping thing was hard to get used to at first. Naps aren't acceptable in Shanghai or any other place I've ever lived. But, here they are guaranteed by law. In fact, one of my colleagues chastised me for typing too loudly during nap time about 10 days ago... so I decided to adapt to this aspect of the culture myself. And, I must say that I have no complaints. No business happens during nap time anyway, I can now roll with the locals who refuse to go home before 2a, and still get an hour of work in before bedtime. Moral to story: if any of you set up an office in Nanning, be prepared for the naps; it's an unwinnable battle... you could conceivably even be booted from the country by challenging it.

-The food isn't very good, but it's surprisingly expensive. When I say expensive, I'm not talking 10k hot pot or the like, but y100 pp for ordinary street food. (I eat a lot of street food because I can't stomach any of the true "restaurants" near the gate of my complex, and I hate waiting in line for 40+ minutes at the popular places in the MixC across the street.)

-I haven't seen any sites that I would describe as tourist worthy apart from the Guangxi Library (impressive because it is on stilts above a reflecting pool), but this is partly due to the fact that I don't get out much during daytime heat. Still, even when the cooler weather arrives, I don't have high hopes. I've done the old part of town because our office used to be there, and don't plan on going back because it is gross; meanwhile the new part of town (where I spend almost all of my time) is kind of like Lujiazui or Financial Street in Beijing.

-People here seem to be quite bored as a rule, and are used to being bored. This is exactly how Shanghai was when I first visited it 18 years ago. But, they are almost all eager to try new things... a hamburger that doesn't taste like a tire, a cool craft beer from the UK, a coffee shop that isn't called "Starbucks". Not only do the people around me have a considerable amount of disposable income to drop on such luxuries, Beijing is determined to transform this city into something great (e.g. Nanning is China's official gateway to SE Asia, and the new HSR will make it blissfully convenient to access both the PRD and Beihai).

-Mandarin speaking ability is a pretty important feather in these parts. During my time in Beijing and Shanghai, I let my skills slide a bit because almost all meetings take place in English. This is not the case in Nanning; in spite of the fact that my colleagues speak passable English, none of the guys we meet with do, so if I'm not on my toes, there's a danger that we will fail to convey the proper message.

In closing, while I miss all of my awesome friends and our superb hangouts in Shanghai, I'm glad to be here because I'm 100% convinced that Nanning is the future (even moreso than the other darling cities that are frequently tossed around in the financial press).

Have a couple of pictures of the expensive street food options? That and urban exploration are two of my three most important reasons for visiting China, and am curious to know why you think it's expensive, and what they've got in store.

Also, Yunnan isn't another SE Asia gateway? I could definitely see charter flights in China from just about any city going to Bangkok, but do you notice more Vietnamese/Thai restaurants/bric-a-brac shops in Nanning than elsewhere in southern China?