March 13, 2012- Flight to Shenzhen, Huawei tour, Dongguan

March 13, 2012
Meet at 5 am in lobby of SunWorld hotel for check out and transfer to Beijing International airport.

Beijing airport

Beijing International airport is one of the world's largest and we leave from the newest terminal built for the Olympics. Terminal looks literally like a city with a roof on it. It's huge! Ticket counter is amazingly efficient. We are able to pick our seats the day of the flight. Once on Shenzhen airliner, we are amazed at how nice the stewardesses are. Reminds me of air travel in the states 30 years ago. Dr. Cazier reminds me that flying is new to most Chinese who are ascending to the middle class. Food on the plane is very good and stewardesses perform a "hand" song at the end of the flight. Nice touch! Flight was about 3 hours to Shenzhen.

Shenzhen is a new manufacturing city where most employers are in technology business. Everything is new and nice. We stop at a small mall to have lunch. Lex, Nirav, Shridhar and I go to hotpot restaurant which smells really weird. I am not that hungry.

Next, we head to Huawei for a tour. Huawei is China's AT&T and largest telecommunications company. The schedule has been changed and we get a very short tour. I didn't learn too much there.

Back on the bus to Dongguan. Arrive at Hotel Sofitel Dongguan Royal Lagoon. This is a VERY nice hotel! What a treat. Bernhardt employees picked us up for dinner in town at a Western Chinese- Muslim  restaurant which was delicious. This was one of my favorite meals in China. Food had Indian/ Pakistan/ Afghanastan influence and was spicy. Main meat was lamb and kabobs which were delicious. We also had a sweet ice wine from China. Grapes are picked after the first freeze, making the wine sweet. Steve and Mike were our hosts and we sat at their table. Steve is from Lenoir and went to Gardner Webb in Boiling Springs. He now has a Chinese wife and 2 children in China. He also has a few children in US from a previous marriage. He doesn't think he will ever go back to the states. Mike is Chinese and from one of the southern provences. We were talking about the bijeo tradition and he pointed out that southern Chinese are much more civilized and don't expect you to get drunk to get to know them! He had worked previously for a Canadian company in supply chain management, getting shipments across the Pacific. He said that was a very difficult job and he is much happier working for Bernhardt. Bernhardt's office which is in the hotel, consists of 5 people who work directly with the manufacturers in China to make sure the designs are handled correctly. then they co-ordinate the shipments.

Mike and I got into a political discussion about American workers vs. Chinese workers.  All in all, dinner was a great experience to have real discussions with the Chinese and experience wonderful cuisine. One of my favorite experiences of the entire trip for sure.