my EMBA Chronicle

We spent a few days visiting businesses around Beijing and getting the inside scoop on some of the challenges and strategies for doing business in China.  Several of our hosts suggested that the first step in being successful is to forget everything you think you know about China.  The dynamic Gregory Shea (RIM Asia Pacific Vice President of Government Affairs) suggested we challenge our perceptions of a country that are often over-simplified and skewed by the western media.  In the short two weeks that I’ve been China, I couldn’t agree more.

It is hard to explain the complexity of China.  And, as a tourist only spending a few weeks in the country, I wouldn’t even attempt to do so.  One thing that I enjoy while traveling is the variety of texture and patterns reflected in every aspect of daily life in a new place.

Calligraphy

Lucky Tree

Temple Wall

Sidewalk

Locks

In some way, these images help to define China for me and offer glimmers into the deep history and complexity its culture.  Perhaps what Mr. Shea and other hosts are trying to help us learn is that knowing China requires an understanding of the fine details of the country — its history, language, customs and nuances.  I’m a big fan of Christopher Alexander‘s book “A Pattern Language”, and the concept of linking patterns together to solve recurring problems is one that has spread beyond architecture and into areas of interface design, education and software development.  It strikes me that all the patterns around us — from buildings to clothing, work schedules to transportation systems — can reveal a lot about a culture, its values and view of the world.

In seeing the patterns of China — like calligraphy — I found it easy to take in the beauty of a script or think about the characters as representations of word that I could not interpret.  Yet really understanding the way a language is structured or the way words are visualized in Chinese could lead to a much deeper understanding of the country and culture.  I think this is the notion that several of our hosts in China were trying to convey.  After all our summer reading of books and news articles and tales from other travelers, many of us arrived from Loyola believing we had some understanding of China.  But just like the calligraphy, I was able to enjoy the surface of the country and to also recognize that I need to go much more into the details and a little off the beaten path to catch a glimpse of the authentic China.

There has been so much to see and discover in Beijing!  Here are a few random snapshots from the past few days:

Fire extinguisher in a hotel south of Beijing.

Starbucks?  Not quite!

Freedom of expression.  Chinese writing on bamboo is much more beautiful than spray paint on cement.

Full service bike shop.

Flatbed truck.

Our class arrived in Beijing on Friday to begin the International Field Study component of the MBA program.  What an exciting adventure it has been!  One of my first excursions was to the Forbidden City — a monument steeped in history and shrouded in mystery.  Being from the US, it is remarkable to wander through a landscape of structures that date back hundreds and hundreds of years.

Forbidden City, Beijing China

In keeping with the rich traditions of Beijing, I took a dragon boat and followed the old imperial route up the Long River to the Summer Palace.  Although it starts in the heart of the city, the shallow river is surrounded by old willows and is insulated from hustle and bustle of the city.  My experience cruising in the traditional-style boat along the ancient route seemed to be not so different from this experience in Beijing 500 or 1,000 years ago.

Buddha Temple and Lake Kunming at Summer Palace

Yet Beijing is a young city.  Most of the building has only taken place in the past ten years — and a large part of it happened within the past five years as China prepared for the Olympics.  A visit to the Olympic Park area really captures this young Beijing.  The high tech museum which chronicles the construction of the Olympic venues and the structures themselves seem to belong to a different time and place than my dragon boat river ride.

The Aquatics Center (Water Cube)

Classmates who spent time in Beijing ten or 20 years ago remark that they don’t even recognize the city.  And the Chinese tell me that the pace of change is so rapid that many of the pictures I take now will be very different in just a few years.  This is not such a surprise as I realize that buildings that were shrouded in construction fabric only one week ago are now showing freshly polished stone and “opening soon” signs.

Diorama of Beijing at Urban Planning Museum