Arrivederci Taiyuan
July 21, 2010
In one of Woody Allen’s movies he said “The only sin in his family was buying retail” This is the mantra of the whole of China. I have just finished four days of ferocious, taojia-huanjia (offer and counteroffer). After five years of doing business in China I am very familiar, but still find the process exhausting and inefficient. It starts with what seems like a simple question, “What is your best price”. If you give the real bottom price that is where the negotiations begin. Remember this is not a sadistic customer tactic, it’s the way the game is played. After a further round of offer and counteroffer, there begins the pleading for a further discount to prove if you are a true friend, and the information that the item in question is meant as a gift to a dear family member. At the conclusion of the bargaining, the customer may be presumptuous enough to ask for a gift for doing business with you. This same process must be done for every sale. If you think you can make some firm finalizing statement to halt this infernal cycle you are wrong. You must learn to find soft ways to maneuver. I am not gifted in this process but I get by.
So, we are done here and will leave for home tomorrow. I went for a nice walk today around the city. I went to what would be called Central Park Taiyuan. There is a beautiful lake in the center, lined at the edges with Willow trees. It reminded me of Westlake in Hangzhou. Since this is an ancient homeland of civilization they have properly made a few areas with monumental sized bronze Dings like the kings of the Zhou Dynasty used in ceremonies and proof of their mandate from heaven. The most outstanding Ding is about two stories high (an original Ding of this type wouldn’t usually be more than about 20 inches high. Walking in the open after being inside for four days was itself a treat.
I saw a man catch a fish along the side of the lake. It was a nice mullet of about two pounds. There were several people fishing and relaxing. Several men could be seen squatting down around a Chinese chess board, or a makeshift tabletop with playing cards being thrown down. Then I walked on through an area at the end of the park, into several blocks of empty apartment buildings that were obviously scheduled for demolition. I came on what will be someday be a huge boulevard. For now it was a series of trenches and holes being fitted for water and sewage lines, and perhaps electricity. On both sides of this future boulevard there were empty highrise buildings and empty businesses that still wore their signs advertising restaurants, hotels and equipment stores. It was a dusty walk.
I came on a vast vegetable and fruit market where you could buy plenty of the small yellow mellons that are grown here in Shanxi. By the side of the street there were large pictures on billboards of Wanda Plaza. Wanda Plaza is going to be a vast shopping mall and new high apartment complex. In short, this city known by Chinese as being poor and ugly, is renewing itself. Perhaps this is where the money in the Chinese stimulus has been going.
