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Originally Posted by tentseller
(Post 21293876)
It is a comfort food and familiar crowd issue.
You can take a boy out of rural China but you cna't take the rural China roots out of a boy. |
Originally Posted by tentseller
(Post 21293876)
You can take a boy out of rural China but you cna't take the rural China roots out of a boy.
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Originally Posted by guoguo914
(Post 21294829)
Can't agree more. If Wendi Deng goes back visiting her hometown in Guangdong without the company of local officials, I bet she'll easily find some familiar scenes.
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nap time is sacred
I received an important phone call from my partner in SH 20 minutes ago, and attempted to relay the message to our team here... they wouldn't hear it; by law, nobody is allowed to disturb them between 12 and 2. If I stay in Nanning much longer, I will also adopt their napping protocol.
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Grandma's Kitchen
I don't like Chinese food, but this place simply wowed me. 5th floor of the Mixc.
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Originally Posted by moondog
(Post 21296291)
I received an important phone call from my partner in SH 20 minutes ago, and attempted to relay the message to our team here... they wouldn't hear it; by law, nobody is allowed to disturb them between 12 and 2. If I stay in Nanning much longer, I will also adopt their napping protocol.
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The Paulaner bar 300 meters east of the Mixc
A friend of mine told me it was cool, but I didn't believe him (bars here are typically stocked with hookers or empty).
That having been said, a business associate brought me there on Thursday, and I must admit that everything about was Grand Yard caliber. It's not just that; it was designed with the idea of socializing in mind... rather than cordoning people off into their own special areas. The food, apart from the really easy stuff, is rubbish, but I've learned to lower my expectations in this town. |
Vietnam Visa
I realize there is a lot of info about this on TA/LP, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to post a first hand account here.
I went to the VN consulate on Wednesday morning at 930a. My taxi driver had a bit of trouble finding the location because she kept on asking people for the VN consulate (as opposed to the office building in which it was located, even though I repeatedly told her this was the wrong approach), but I could get back there easily if I had to do so again (large BOC branch in the lobby, left side of Pumin Lu, 100 meters north of Minzu Dadao... Nanning's main street). The entire process took less than 1 minute: -y450 for the visa (more if you want multi-entry, which they are glad to offer) -y25 to scan the picture from my passport (instead of providing them with my own picture) -y10 to kuaidi it back to me 2 days later I'm planning on checking out Hanoi next weekend. I'll be sure to provide reports both here, and on Wechat. |
business perspective
I'm writing now to give you a brief snippet of my experiences on the business front in Nanning.
Before I arrived on the scene, my company was down $300,000 in this market (not a lot of money when you consider overhead, but still sub optimal). My presence has helped us stem the bleeding, but I'm now convinced that we're not going to make boatloads of cash here any time soon primarily because doing so entails getting Chinese companies and consumers to change their habits. In spite of all the fancy buildings and the beautiful scenery, Nanning remains a large patch of farmland that suddenly became a city (e.g. check out Google Earth, and you'll see what it was like at the time they grabbed their images... barren fields and jungles). As far as I can tell, there is very little actual industry in Nanning (somewhat surprising in light of the fact that it is China's gateway to Southeast Asia). The economy is built on real estate speculation (big boon because most of the investment comes from other places), government jobs, and agriculture. Because of the real estate thing, there is quite a bit of money in Nanning (poorest provincial capital or not), but the economic infrastructure simply lacks to the means to allocate it efficiently. The net result of this is that local residents have been forced to adapt new means to get their hands on this cash. This is what clued me into the power of weixin, as well as creative direct sales strategies that are probably illegal, yet encouraged. In any event, I feel fortunate to have spent some time here because, during my entire China stint (1/3 of my life), this is the first time that I've really had a chance to put my ear to the ground in a 2nd/3rd tier city. Prior to my arrival, I read numerous McKinsey/BCG/GS reports about Nanning, but I can now officially state that those guys didn't even scratch the surface. Everyone seems to want to romanticize about building up China's interior; talk is cheap. |
Originally Posted by moondog
(Post 21407004)
I'm writing now to give you a brief snippet of my experiences on the business front in Nanning.
Before I arrived on the scene, my company was down $300,000 in this market (not a lot of money when you consider overhead, but still sub optimal). My presence has helped us stem the bleeding, but I'm now convinced that we're not going to make boatloads of cash here any time soon primarily because doing so entails getting Chinese companies and consumers to change their habits. In spite of all the fancy buildings and the beautiful scenery, Nanning remains a large patch of farmland that suddenly became a city (e.g. check out Google Earth, and you'll see what it was like that the time they grabbed their images... barren fields and jungles). As far as I can tell, there is very little actual industry in Nanning (somewhat surprising in light of the fact that it is China's gateway to Southeast Asia). The economy is built on real estate speculation (big boon because most of the invest comes from other places), government jobs, and agriculture. Because of the real estate thing, there is quite a bit of money in Nanning (poorest provincial capital or not), but the economic infrastructure simply lacks to the means to allocate it efficiently. The net result of this is that local residents have been forced to adapt new means to get their hands on this cash. This is what clued me into the power of weixin, as well as creative direct sales strategies that are probably illegal, yet encouraged. In any event, I feel fortunate to have spent some time here because, during my entire China stint (1/3 of my life), this is the first time that I've really had a chance to put my ear to the ground in a 2nd/3rd tier city. Prior to my arrival, I read numerous McKinsey/BCG/GS reports about Nanning, but I can now officially state that those guys didn't even scratch the surface. Everyone seems to want to romanticize about building up China's interior; talk is cheap. 1st tier coastal communities has been dealing with the presence of the "West" since the 19th century. They are more open to intl culture, philosophy and life. They have experience the intl cross cultural experience. The farmland turned city communities see what the first tier cities have and they want/get the same. New buildings, expensive branded cars/clothes but their mindset is still rural agricultural in cuisine, thinking and behavior. Take English communications and western culture; IME in SH and BJ there is generally a higher desire to learn, practice and participation. |
Originally Posted by moondog
(Post 21407004)
I Prior to my arrival, I read numerous McKinsey/BCG/GS reports about Nanning, but I can now officially state that those guys didn't even scratch the surface.
Needless to say, most Chinese consulting company employess prefer to stay in their office and maybe send a few emails or faxes. Shanghainese would probably outright refuse to leave city limits. The end result is as you stated, seeing is believing. |
I'm just back from my first -NN-VN trip. Report is here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-reports-177/ |
I'm in Beihai once in a while for work, and recently stumbled upon the Guanling resort. While nothing compared to SEA, its two private beaches aren't that bad, and no crowds like Silver Beach a few km away. May be a nice weekend break for those staying in Nanning...
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3736/9...495b49d418.jpg Cliff View http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5329/9...64772cc859.jpg Beach View http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5499/9...c620f3f4ba.jpg Crowded Silver Beach |
Many thanks for the pointer, sniles; Beihai has been on my list for a while, and if I don't return to Shanghai, I am planning on checking it out during the National Day week.
Getting back on the Nanning topic, I finally made it to Kev's Pub yesterday. You won't find anything about it on the internet, but apart from the Marriott, he serves the best western food in this city (I'm talking about burgers... not fancy steaks). |
How popular has Nanning-Pingxiang-Hanoi proven to be?
I understand that the distance is under 400 km. Guangzhou-Nanning-Hanoi should be shorter than Guangzhou-Changsha-Wuhan. Hm. Some numbers: Population: Hunan - 65,68 millions Hubei - 57,24 millions Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region - 46,03 millions Vietnam - 90,39 millions Per capita GDP, 2012: Hunan - 5304 Hubei - 6111 Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region - 4427 Vietnam - 1528 Total GDP, 2012: Hunan - 351 milliards Hubei - 352,5 milliards Guangxi - 206,4 milliards Vietnam - 138,1 milliards Should a high speed railway be built Guangzhou-Nanning-Hanoi, to allow the Vietnamese working in Pearl River delta to go home more often? |
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