China and the Chinese. View from the outside. Part 1

It has been 5 months since PHILIPS chose our IVIDEON cloud service as its partner. We were recognized as truly the best, bypassing a dozen applicants for this role from different parts of the world.

Twelve flights to Hong Kong and China, so that the PHILIPS camera - IVIDEON came into being for sale in all Apple stores around the World.
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This is a really interesting story, which shows that, after all, developers can create a really cool product. Moreover, without any “sellers” to conclude world-class contracts.
I promise to tell about it a little later, but now I would like to share with you what China appeared to me. Without rose-colored glasses and colors, as seen by many tourists. With healthy skepticism, sometimes with admiration, and sometimes even with disgust. This post, or rather the series of posts, will be useful not only to those who are just interested in reading about China, but also for those who, for one reason or another, are thinking about manufacturing or purchasing products in this country. Since, without knowing who will have to deal with and the peculiarities of doing business with Chinese, you can easily be deceived and lose not only money but also time.

Before continuing, I would like to make a remark. All the narrative in the article is based on the personal experiences of visiting Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Hangzhou. Naturally, China is a huge country, where people, depending on the region, will differ not only in terms of culture, but also in appearance.

You can take the girl out of the village. It’s much harder to get a village out of a girl

All the main production of electronics and electronic components is concentrated in the south of China in the city of Shenzhen and its suburbs. Yes, there is also production in Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Shanghai and other cities. But in terms of investment and exports, Shenzhen is ahead of all of China. He was even allocated to a separate economic zone, for which a visa can be obtained directly at the border. Unlike the rest of the country, where in most cases a visit to the embassy is required to obtain a visa.



Thirty years ago, Shenzhen was just a small village. Today it is a super modern city with a population of approximately 15 million people. But when you look at the people around you, sometimes you start thinking that they could not become city dwellers. What does it say? “You can take the girl out of the village. It’s much harder to get a village out of a girl. ”Likewise here, people who went ragged yesterday, feel today themselves masters of life. The flow of foreign investment and the extremely competent policy of the Chinese government have turned many of its residents into very wealthy citizens. And as a result, the availability of money, but the lack of elementary education leads to what can be observed, sometimes very colorful scenes. For example, in spite of the colossal production of local products, European and American brands are highly valued in China. Very few people think about their compatibility. Therefore, no problem in putting on green trousers, a red jacket with a yellow tie and striped colored socks. The main thing is that all this be from Armani, Brioni and other Italians known in China.
A kind of "new Russian", but in the Chinese style.



One evening I went to a good restaurant. Many who live in China will confirm that there is a great rarity there. Places where you can eat well and safely, familiar food can be counted on fingers. The first thing that struck me when I entered was four Chinese with cigars sitting right in the middle of the hall. Two or three hundred bottles of expensive champagne were set around their table. “How much does one have to earn in order to buy so much in the evening and drink only a couple of bottles?” I thought. It never occurred to me that in fact all this “wealth” is retained by the restaurant for “dear guests” until the very moment they come again. And again, all these not drunk bottles of champagne will be displayed around, showing with their whole appearance the consistency of their owners.

They sat at the central table right under the air conditioner, trying hard to hide from it. European guys performed on the stage, but “well-off” Chinese with champagne could not see them. From all points of view, these were the worst places of this restaurant. But it didn't matter to them. The main thing is that they are in the center and people see their “status”.



It must be said that a great deal in China is being done in such a manner - to throw dust into the eyes. That only is worth the presence in the Chinese market model BMW 7 Series 730 Li with a gasoline engine. For those who understand, this is an elongated heavy business-class sedan, but with a 3-liter engine. For a car of this size, a 3-liter engine is about nothing at all. Drive from one traffic light to another. But the Chinese do not care. They buy such a car not to drive, but to show that they have a BMW.



During the entire period of my stay in China, I could not get used to the dissonance that was felt everywhere. Sometimes you walk along a beautiful, modern street. Super modern skyscrapers around you, expensive shops. And in front of you is a pretty Chinese girl in heels and a short skirt. Such a fashion model at least 185 cm tall. And then, suddenly, for no reason at all, she squats down in the middle of the street and begins to clean the tangerine, throwing the remnants directly on the asphalt. No one is surprised, except me.



Here, by the way, for some reason this is not at all shameful. Throw trash directly on the asphalt. You can see how cans of cola or beer are thrown on the ground quite often. Moreover, no one is trying to somehow hide it and do so unnoticed. They just do not understand what to do wrong.
We must pay tribute to the Chinese government - they are trying in every possible way to eradicate this problem, which, by and large, is much broader and is characterized by the lack of education of the population. On the streets and in the subway you can meet social advertising, which tells about what is good and what is bad. At the crossroads there are often people who teach the Chinese to use traffic lights. Not everyone understands that you need to go to the green light.
Fences between the pedestrian zone and between oncoming traffic lanes are installed on the city’s roads. They say three years ago, when these fences were not like the widespread use of cameras, motorists drove as they wanted in the truest sense of the word. In the oncoming lane, unfolded through a double solid. Sidewalks, etc. were not ignored.

Girls, girls and ... grandmothers

As for most Europeans, it was difficult for me to distinguish, for example, Chinese from Taiwanese or Hong Kong. I was sincerely convinced that Chinese live in Hong Kong. But it is not. Hong Kongers themselves are very offended if they are called Chinese.

When Hong Kong became China’s property in 1997, many Hong Kongers drove off. They didn’t want to live with the Chinese “woobs”.
And after living in Hong Kong and China for some time, I understood why.
In terms of culture, behavior in society, Hong Kongers are closer to Europeans. Even in the manner of dressing and expressing emotions on faces.
But the most interesting difference between Chinese, Hong Kongers and Europeans is that the Chinese have a female half of the population can be safely divided into girls, girls and grandmothers. Visually mature women are virtually absent as a class.
Due to the humid climate and the stability of the solar cycle (the sun rises and sets almost at the same time), as well as nutritional characteristics, the Chinese look very young for their age. And the girls strongly emphasize this.



Under 25, they look like schoolgirls. And almost up to 50 years in every way tend to be like girls. They wear short skirts, stockings, colorful T-shirts and tank tops, pink socks and Hello Kitty bags. It looks very coarse, but at the same time very funny. You go and you really can not determine the age.

Construction in China. Moldovans have a rest

The pace of construction in China is both amazing and fascinating. In the same Shenzhen skyscrapers grow at a speed of 3 floors per day! And this is not just a concrete box. The construction, which began in the spring, ends completely in the autumn and the handed over object goes into operation.
Japanese technology and European design together with the Chinese workforce give a truly excellent result. Although, the Chinese sometimes try to create their own "author" projects. Then very strange buildings are born with an absolutely inconvenient organization of the premises inside and with the same appearance.
In 2008, when the crisis began all over the world. In China, on the contrary, they launched a massive construction of roads and subways. Moreover, the automation of the process, like all production in China, was absent, if it was possible. People came out with a pick, wheelbarrow and shovel to remove asphalt, etc. If it was possible to do without a jackhammer and automation, we did without it, although, of course, modern tunneling machines made from the USA were used for digging tunnels.
All the main metro lines, which in terms of the number of stations are already approaching Moscow, were built in less than 5 years. In Moscow, during this time, several new stations have opened, which can be counted on fingers. And many of which were built for decades.

Chinese

When you cross the border of Hong Kong and find yourself in China, you realize how hard it is when people around you don't speak English. Without knowledge of Chinese, you feel very limited in everything. Starting from ordering food in restaurants where there are no “pictures” in the menu and ending with an elementary need to get from point “A” to point “B”. For example by taxi.
I remember several times I came across a comical and at the same time sad situation. When you open Google Maps on your phone, you find the place you need to go to, you increase the Chinese name so that the taxi driver can see it, and he turns his head hard and shows with his whole face that he cannot read!
Unfortunately, there is no alphabet in Chinese as such. And if any Russian fifth-grader can read aloud even the medical encyclopedia, of course, having understood the meaning of not all words, then the Chinese are not capable of that. He either knows the hieroglyphs related to a specific topic, or does not know.

I heard the opinion of people that hieroglyphs consist of a complete number of elements that have a certain value. And when you combine them, you get a word that is understandable within the meaning of associations. Like, guess easy. Here is an example of the hieroglyph “Man” combined with the hieroglyph either “Parus” or “Boat” and together it means the word “Sailor”.
Great example. But I would give another in response. In Chinese, there is a hieroglyph "woman". If you put it next to the hieroglyph “child”, what do you think, what word will come out? Nanny? Mama? Maternity hospital? And no! It is obvious! At least for the Chinese. The meaning of this word is “Good”! And such a pseudo-associativity from the point of view of Europeans there is enough. As in the old joke, when one Italian is a cook, two Italians are a bribe, and three Italians are a racing team. One Belarusian is a partisan, two Belarusians a partisan detachment, and three Belarusians a partisan detachment with a traitor.

The consequence of all this is the fact that the overwhelming majority of Europeans quickly learn basic spoken Chinese, using alternative spellings of words (transcription). And it does this in the first few months of living in China. But even after 5–8 years of being in this country, many Europeans still cannot master the hieroglyphs. It is good only for those who spent their youth in a linguistic university, learning the basics of the Chinese language and writing, having arrived in China already prepared.
Such a fundamental difference between European languages ​​and Chinese generates one important feature of it. The ability to divide people into classes without the potential possibility of transition between classes. A worker in a factory has very modest knowledge in his subject area and will never be able to read data from another subject area. He knows only what he needs to perform his duties.

Attitude towards Europeans

In general, in Shenzhen you can walk and ride around the city all day and never meet a single European on your way, if you don’t stop at tourist spots. That is, there are not so many white people there. And, it seems, according to the logic of things, if this is such a rarity, then my appearance in the subway or in a restaurant should have surprised them. But this is not happening. I didn’t see at all on any external signs of attention to my person from their side. And my height is 190 cm, which is significantly higher than their average indicators. Yes, if you come to the exhibition, they all rush with their catalogs and offers, evaluating you as a customer and customer. But just on the street they do not express any emotions. Moreover, people with whom I communicated, told me that in reality “real” emotions are alien to them. Like, for a Chinese girl, the norm to cry once a day with or without a reason, throw a tantrum. But she does it for real.
Well, it's hard for me to judge. Crying girls have seen a lot and tend to the fact that this is really some local ritual. I think those who live in China can better explain this phenomenon to me. But the fact remains that on the street almost all Chinese look like robots. Without feelings and emotions. They don't care whether you are white or green. They just go somewhere and it doesn't matter what happens around them.

On the other hand, they told me, and I saw confirmation of this, that the attitude in business on the part of the Chinese over the past few years has changed towards a more dismissive one. And this is a logical explanation. If earlier, the Chinese were to say the least dirty and ragged poor and the Europeans were wizards for them, bringing money and technology to their country, now the situation has changed. All the money brought, all the necessary technology (as they think) - received. The Chinese have become very wealthy and have concentrated huge money supply in the country. Now the European man seems to them no longer so necessary. Laoway, as they call us. Someone says that this is a dismissive characteristic for whites, and someone thinks that there is nothing offensive about it. And yet the fact remains. There is a specially arranged bus route from China to Loui Vuitton in Hong Kong. In the only store in the world, where, thanks to the Chinese, they line up on a weekday for purses worth several thousand dollars! They make imitations of the iPhone and Samsung, but they send all this for export. Themselves enjoy the original. They drive Ferrari, Bentley and top luxury cars. Moreover, so many Chinese can afford them, that it is not clear what you need to buy to stand out from the total “gray” mass. And as a result, the Europeans already depend more on the Chinese than the Chinese on the Europeans.



A week after I rented apartments in San Jose for the development of our office in the USA, I knew all our nearest neighbors, I was invited to two birthdays and one barbecue. I stood on the porch with a bottle of Budweiser, watched how the steak was being prepared and listened with pleasure to the stories of the retired US Navy officer how he served, where he sailed and how great it is that in 30 years in the navy he didn’t have to kill anyone duty of service.
Russian living in China, unfortunately, could not boast the same. Yes, they know the neighbors. Hello. But they live separately and are not particularly friendly. Even for 7-8 years of life in China, they fail to make this contact. Perhaps there are exceptions, but I never heard of them.

To be continued

I hope that my post was interesting to read. But apparently it turns out too big and I would like to divide it into two parts. In the next article, I will definitely talk about manufacturing in China, about the ability of the Chinese to think and invent, and also how to choose the right factory and negotiate. Even the story of the first photo to the article smoothly passed into the second part.
Also note that I have shown only one point of view based on my own experience of visiting several cities. Perhaps too critical and, of course, not complete, since in China I spent less than 2 months. Do not take it as the only correct one. Still, China itself is huge and is the most ancient civilization, and in the USA many people generally have a stereotype that all Chinese are very smart, because in the Valley there really are a lot of intelligent engineers and scientists from China.
Nevertheless, if you go to China to organize production, it is much better if you treat everything critically and not naively rely on "Chinese wisdom" and ancient culture.