DAY 5 (20TH JULY 2016)

Today started a little earlier than the previous days. We were grateful to secure a bus service which would bring us from Shanghai to Hangzhou, and take us to our destinations in Hangzhou for the next two days. We gathered at the lobby and checked out from our hotel in Shanghai around 6 a.m. The journey took around four hours, and we finally reached our first destination in Hangzhou, which was the China Tea Museum at 10.35 a.m.

HANGZHOU TEA MUSEUM

At the tea museum, we were required to complete a short assignment that would help us understand its glorious history better. Our tasks included finding out about the different types of Chinese tea, how tea-drinking culture spread throughout entire China and across the world, and how tea became one of the major contributions to China’s economy in the past and up until today.

Figure 25 Entrance of Tea Museum

The museum itself was surrounded by a green, lush tea field. The view was very beautiful and mesmerizing. We could see some workers working on the field despite the blazing hot weather (the temperature was recorded at 38 degrees that day). As we entered the museum, we were awed by a ceiling-high man-made waterfall with the word ‘tea’ written in Chinese on the wall. What fascinated us was in one of the descriptions of the display, there was a sentence that said ‘Tea is China’s major contribution to mankind”. Nothing could have been more true than this, despite some of us might not have think about it in such way before. We also learned that the Chinese perceived water as the ‘mother’ and ware as the ‘father’ of tea. This somehow represented how they think highly of tea within their culture, and not just another beverage.

Figure 26 Types and colours of tea

We were able to identify different types of Chinese teas that exist, which consist of six different kinds: green tea, black tea, oolong tea, white tea, yellow tea, and pu ‘er (post-fermented) tea. For all we know, Chinese tea leaves are obtained from the same type of plant, which is the Camellia Sinensis. What makes each type of tea different from one another is the method of processing, and also the geographical location of the tea plants. For instance, green tea does not go through an intense process of oxidation or fermentation, thus, it is more light in taste and its green color diffuse more in water. Green tea is largely grown in Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Anhui provinces. While Pu’er-type tea undergoes a heaping procedure that creates a unique color, aroma, and flavor. Compared to green tea, pu’er-type tea is more rich, and mellow in taste. Pu’er -type tea has been produced in the Yunnan province. Tea was not only used for drinking, but also used as medicine after mixing it with other herbs or spices.

From the literature writings displayed in the museum, we found out that tea was originally found in southwestern China around 2,000 years ago and tea was first traded in Sichuan province. The tea-drinking culture spread widely throughout China especially during the Tang and Song Dynasty, where the emperor played a very significant role in the development of tea. At the time, horses were used to transport tea from one province to another, hence, highlighting the importance of tea-horse trade route that spanned to the Tibetan land.

Tea was also used as gifts when delegates visit other countries, and also given to the foreign delegates who visited China. This has tremendously helped tea to spread worldwide. Different kinds of tea were traded to European countries in the 17^th century, including Britain, France, Holland, Russia and further to the American continents. The Dutch and British later brought in tea and tea technique from China and plant them in their Asia colonies such as India and Sri Lanka. Tea has been a significant contributor to China’s economy since then, and is has now become one of the most popular beverages among Western and Eastern people alike.

Figure 27 Sculptures depicting Tea Competition in the Song Dynasty.

We spent around 2 hours at the museum before departing for lunch and then to our next destination, which was Silk City.

HANGZHOU SILK CITY

At 2.30pm, after having lunch at one of the food stalls in Hangzhou, we walked to the Silk City which is only one kilometer away from the food stalls. We decided to visit Silk City at Hangzhou as it is the main attraction at Hangzhou, China. The district was very popular with silk as they are not only producing quality silk, but they also have excellent satins.

Figure 28 Entrance of Hangzhou Silk City

             Many years ago, China has been very popular with their silk and it travels throughout the world.  Their kings and emperors wore those silk as it is very soft and supple to skin and the designs are magnificent. In the present years, many tourists have come to Hangzhou to purchase quality silk and Silk City is the best place for the item. Nevertheless, many other tourist destinations sell silk too but Silk City in Hangzhou is the biggest wholesale and retail market in the country. We also learned that China exported their silk from this country to Europe, Australia, America, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau until today.

Inside of Silk City, there were more than 600 silks shops that sell similar products such as silk fabrics, handcraft, garments, scarves, ties and many more. There are varieties of shops selling silks that are different in quality in Silk City. We have encountered many shops that sells silk and satin at different prices and the reason why is because some of the silk contain 100% silk and some cheaper silks are not.  

We stopped by a shop that sells silk scarves and clothes. The shop was a little bit far from the silk market which was around 300 meters away. The shop offered silk clothing for RMB20 for one piece and only RMB30 for two pieces. We thought that it was such a great offer due to the fact that other silk shops in Shanghai sell the similar item for about RMB40 per piece. When in China, we were keen to bargain for lower prices. However, in Hangzhou, especially in Silk City, most of the prices were fixed and even though we can bargain for lower price, it was not as enthusiastic as while we were at Yu Yuan Street.

Right after we entered the silk market which is in the Silk City, we found that many shop owners were not as welcoming as shop owners in Shanghai. We learned that almost all the shops here that sell the same silk item as other shops have studied about each other’s pricing strategy and they will not sell cheaper or higher than their competitors. To our surprise, there were many shop owners are not able to converse in English and many misunderstanding occurs during the process. We mostly spoke with each other using a calculator. We spoke in our own languages and we would appoint an item to ask for the price and played with the number on the calculator until both of us agreed with certain amount.

Figure 29 Silk shop that sell ready-made silk clothing and handcrafts

We found only two shops that sell silk fabrics and the prices are very expensive. One-meter silk fabric is around RMB300 and to bargain prices in these two shops were very stiff due to the fact that they are the only remaining shops that sell silk fabric. The reason why not many shop sell silk fabric is because the price is too high and very least consumer can afford them. To our surprise, some of the shops in Silk City no longer sell silk materials as they move to selling more urban clothing and western products such as t-shirts, jeans and jackets.

Figure 30 The shop that sells high quality silk fabrics

QING HE SQUARE

After a tour around Silk City, we moved to the next destination which is Qinqhe Square around 4.30pm. It was still very sunny when we reached Qinghe Square around 6p.m. The bus dropped us down in front of a hotel shop nearby, which is approximately 30 metres away from the entrance to the square because it was a no-stopping area in front of the square. The roads were pretty narrow, so the bus driver had to park slightly further. After briefing about the time and place to gather, we all went separately in several groups.

Figure 31 Entrance of Qinghe Square

Qinghe Square is basically an ancient street located at the northern foot of Wu Shan Hill in Hangzhou. It is just several hundred metres away from the beautiful West Lake. What amazes us is that the street is the only well-preserved part of the ancient city. Qinghe Square has been the most flourished street in the city since the ancient time. During Sing Dynasty, Qinghe Square had many shops, restaurants and teahouses, and became the center of politics, culture and commerce in the city. After so many years, it is still a prosperous business area. In April 2000, the government of Shangcheng District proposed their vision for Qinghe Square. Their proposal was to protect the historical buildings of the Ming and Qing Dynasty that were in Hangzhou along this 460m stretch of the street. The redeveloped ancient street now exudes an atmosphere of both past and present.

We were amazed by the architecture shown along the street. Qinghe Square is something very different from what we have seen in Shanghai. Shanghai is a cosmopolitan, hence, portraying a very advance, modern lifestyle. However, Qinghe Square made some of us feel like being in a surrounding of an ancient Chinese drama depicting the dynasties, truth be told.

Figure 32 The surrounding looks like a scene in Chinese ancient dramas

Figure 32 The surrounding looks like a scene in Chinese ancient dramas

Our assignment at Qinghe Square required us to compare a shop of similar kind with one at Yu Yuan Garden. Based on our observations, we found that it is more difficult to bargain here as compared to Yu Yuan Garden. The prices of the things are mostly fixed. Another observation is that prices are not stated on items. Hence, different customers may have different prices. For instance, the shopkeeper quotes different prices to different customers. It all depends on how they perceive us, or tourists.

Apart from that, we have also realized that the people here are more systematic in terms of business. It is definitely more systematic and lesser people as compared to Yu Yuan Garden. One example is postcard shop. At Yu Yuan Garden, the postcard shop is pretty small and not much services are offered; it only sells postcards and helps to deliver them – their core business. On the other hand, at Qinghe Square, the postcard shop is pretty huge, with a café within the shop. We can see that the businessmen at Qinghe Square are more future-oriented. They think more for their businesses. Similarly, for the postcard shop, they offer unique and additional services. For instance, one can purchase postcards from the shop and schedule when to post it. He or she can opt to schedule the delivery for the future (for 1, 3 or 5 years later). The shop will keep the postcard for the customer, and deliver it in the future.

We gathered in front of the hotel at 7.15p.m. (the place where we got down from the bus earlier in the evening) and departed for dinner once the bus has arrived. After our dinner, we made a kind request from our bus driver to take us on a short tour around the West Lake as most of us did not get to see how it looks like. It was very kind of our bus driver to allow us to get down from the bus for 10 minutes to capture views of the lake.

Figure 33  Night views of the beautiful West Lake.

DAY 4 (19TH JULY 2016)

On the fourth day, we have got used to the morning rush of the subway. We made our way from Dabaishu Railway Station and got down on South Shaanxi Road. It took us about one and a half hour to reach our destination.

Figure 17 The crowded subway station before working hours.

Figure 17 The crowded subway station before working hours.

ADEN SERVICES’ OFFICE

Figure 18 Mr. Michael Lau and Ms. Olivia

Figure 19 Mr. Pierrick Renou was explaining the office concept.

Despite the long ride, we were very excited because the planned schedule was slightly different than our weekends here in Shanghai, and had allowed us to take some time off to conduct our corporate visit with ADEN Services. At around 9.30am, we were at the foot of ADEN Services’ office. The moment when the door opened at ADEN Services’ floor, the smell of freshly baked cookies filled the air. The atmosphere was pleasant and there we saw Mr. Michael Lau and Ms. Olivia Blanc receiving us with open arms. Point to note, Mr. Michael is Aden Services’ Executive Director China of Sales, whereas Ms. Olivia is currently the Marketing and Communications Department Manager of Aden Services China.

Our visit started off with a physical tour of the office. We had the privilege to have Mr. Pierrick Renou, the technical manager of ALTEREA Ltd., a subsidiary of ADEN Services, to explain in detail the concept of ‘Green Fit-out’ being integrated in the workplace. As shown in the brochure (figure 22), the office is fully furnished by non-toxic fittings and transparent glass to have a bigger office view. It has a unique air purifier in building which recycles a large percentage of the air interiorly and only takes in small percentage of air from the outside environment. The air purifier fixed in the office triggers the air pollution rate and purifies it as needed. The employee can enjoy greenery view by having small green plants at their desks.

                       

Figure 20 A few exercise bicycles are provided  for the employees to work out during working.

                             

Figure 21 Office view.

Figure 22 The brochure which lists out all the green fit-outs in the office.

ADEN Services is an international leading provider of integrated Facility Management solutions. Its scope of services covers firstly, environment which includes energy monitoring and management, water and waste management, green fit-out in design and construction, hygiene and cleaning solutions. Secondly, it helps in managing assets, from security management and systems, building services and maintenance, leasing solutions, engineering and procurement to business process outsourcing. Thirdly, it covers the industry of digital as well, which are IFM operations software suits, innovative ‘end user’ services, mobile and e-commerce and customer service portal. Lastly, it focuses on people as well, from food services, HR outsourcing, well-being solutions, help desk to travel desk. Up to date, ADEN’s operation covers the Africa region, Central Asia, China, and South-East Asia.

Mr. Michael spent an hour sharing with us on the company’s business portfolio and his personal experience. Carrying out a business in China is not easy, as he needs to maintain good relationship with the customers, customers’ employees and government. He told us that some of the China’s police station are their clients as well. In addition, Mr Michael shared his point of view on leadership before the session ended. Most of the time during winter or hot sun, they will visit the employees in front line to show support and encouragement.

Figure 23 Goup photo in front of Aden's office.

WYNDHAM HOTEL GROUP HEADQUARTER

Lunch was brief because we had to prepare for our next corporate visit to Wyndham Hotel Group. Thankfully, the Group’s office suite was not far distanced from our meet point. Hence, it took a swift 5 minutes’ walk from South Shaanxi Road to Middle Hua Huai, where our second corporate visit destination lies.  Wyndham Hotel Group has its office suite strategically located, within the reach of public transportations. It has over 16 brands in the hotel industry and has successfully acquired international recognition for being able to cater to different segmented markets. It claims to be the largest by hotel count.

The Wyndham family comprises of three main categories. They are Wyndham Hotel Group, Wyndham Worldwide and others. We learnt that Wyndham Hotel Group has won numerous awards such as ‘Best International Management Groups of China’ by Hotel Forum Asia and as ‘Best City Hotel’ by TTG, to name a few.

We understand the Group works as a management team and so happened the office suite we visited was their Asia’s headquarters. Currently, Wyndham Hotel Group has eight different brands operating in China – Ramada, Days Inn, Howard Johnson, Super 8 and the list goes on. It was featured in 2014 Fortune 500 Company.

Figure 24 List of awards that they won recently.

MARKETING STRATEGY. 

In our recent Q&A session with Mr. Ooi Joon Aun, he shared with us his boss’s, Mr. Leo Liu, marketing strategy – “Mission first, People always” by citing an example of a real life case scenario. Our main takeaways were when we were reminded that not one single model can work in all situations perfectly. For instances, Mr. Ooi gave an example of Howard Johnson not adapting the same business model in America that caters to the majority of spenders being mid-ranged customers and China, that has more high-ranged consumers. “Take what we have and change the business model to fit market needs.”

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE.

When asked about the Group’s strategy in differentiating its brand from other star-rated competitors, Mr. Ooi answered the way to go with the hotel business is to horizontally shift the Group’s focus and transition the brand into a lifestyle brand. The case is true when we were told of Microtel being able to provide its customers the ultimate integrated digital hotel experience!

TECHNICAL TERMS.

Apart from market propositions and strategies, we were exposed to terms widely used in the hotel industry. Notably, their KPI (Key Performance Index) is known as Rev PAR, which stands for Revenue per available room. Another interesting term we learnt was ADR – Average Daily Rate that is measured in currency. Hence, to calculate Rev PAR, we take ADR times the occupancy rate, which the answer is an indication of the efficiency level.

BUSINESS CULTURE IN CHINA.

A Malaysian himself, Mr. Ooi also had his period of adjustment getting used to the way the Chinese society roll. We have been told drinking is a normal practice in the business world. It acts as a form of respect. Rejecting a drink offer portrays disrespect and rebellious attitude. As a matter of business ethics, bribery might sound like a normal practice in China. However, Wyndham Hotel Group has expressed their disagreement to succumb to that tradition because the Group understands the importance and impact of integrity upon its business.

Xin Tian Di Street

As soon as our corporate visit at Wyndham Hotel Group ended, we took the subway to our next destination, the Xin Tian Di Street. It was a mind blowing experience as we all could feel the historical value of the site. The buildings and the street have own nostalgic values. For instance, the stone gated houses on narrow alleys, some adjoining houses which now serves as bookstores, cafes and restaurants gave a treat to our eyes. It’s a car-free shopping and hi-tea spot for the high end users. we had an opportunity to converse with the foreigners who were spending their time there.

We managed to ask their intention of visit to China and what makes them to choose Xin Tian Di Street as one of their tourist spot. Xin Tian Di has a lively nightlife on the weekdays as well as weekends, though romantic settings are more widespread than loud music and dance places. It is considered as one of the first lifestyle centres in China and also the most expensive place to live in China, with some apartments costing more than Tokyo, New York and London. It is home to the Chinese elite and top executive expats.