Beijing is certainly very different from Shanghai. Today we had the opportunity to see Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Great Wall of China. There seems to be many more sightseeing attractions in Beijing, but far fewer entertainment choices than in Shanghai. Our tour-guides said that if we want to see an 100 year old China, then visit Shanghai; but if you want to see a 500 year old China, then visit Beijing. All the stores in Beijing seem to close between 9 to 10 PM and we were warned that it isn’t safe to walk on our own after 10 PM in the city. In Shanghai, most of the stores were open till 11 PM or later and I felt very safe wandering the streets on my own during later hours. It’s interesting to see just how different these two huge Chinese cities can be.
We’ve had many class-related activities, from our visits to Accenture and Johnson & Johnson while in Shanghai, to our extreme amount of sightseeing in Beijing. The company visits gave us a lot of insight into just how diversified and complex the Chinese market is. It is impossible for a business to survive in the Chinese market if it is unable to adjust itself to appeal to the many segments within China. One of the greatest class-related activities was the “Shanghai Scavenger Hunt” where we had the opportunity to explore the city on our own within small groups. With the objective of visiting key locations and observing how business was conducted there, we were really able to observe and experience the Chinese marketplace firsthand. From this experience, we were forced to learn to navigate on our own, without the assistance of a tour guide. We were also able to observe the differences and similarities between marketing and advertisement in both countries. All this information will be highly useful to our final presentation on this upcoming Friday. In addition, by simply exploring on our own, I feel we were able to pick up some important survival skills for the next time we’re in a foreign country.
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