Tag Archive for 'China'

Relocating to Shenzhen

Published
by
David
on July 30, 2008
in China
. 3 Comments


Photo by Sze Tsung Leong for The New York Times

A little over a month ago I posted about my desire to relocate and work in China again. Well, after a great deal of research and interviews at odd hours of the day and night I’m pleased to be able to announce that I will be relocating to Shenzhen (next to Hong Kong) in just over a months time!

I’ll be working in the same field as I do currently but in a slightly different role for a new company and, all going well, intend to stay out there for a couple of years at least. I’m a little sad to be saying goodbye to London which has been my home for the past 3 years but feel ready for a change, new challenges and above all an adventure!

The process of obtaining a work permit and the appropriate visa (type Z) is the first hurdle on my journey which is so far proving to be a complete nightmare. Not only am I required to submit verified copies of all the usual documents but also have to provide comprehensive medical reports, criminal records (of which I of course have none!), and education certificates. Frustratingly no official documentation is available for the process which is eating a lot of precious time and money but, keeping the end goal in mind, worth it!

A Little About Shenzhen

Shenzhen is a city of over 12 million people which only 30 years ago was a small fishing village until becoming China’s first Special Economic Zone in 1979 under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping. With the help of massive foreign investment it has since grown at a rate unseen in human history before and is now the largest manufacturing base in the world (your iPod/iPhone was born there!) and southern China’s major financial hub.

With no recognisable centre Shenzhen is a city like no other and has been described as a “vast field of urban experimentation” for modernist architects who have thrown the concept of the 20th Century city right out the window. Much of this highly dense skyline was built in the last decade and its populous is a mix of intellectuals with a high level of education, and migrant workers.

It’s proximity directly north of Hong Kong has further propelled its development and there are even plans for the two cities to integrate over the next decade to create a metropolis large enough to rival New York and Tokyo. Whilst it might have close neighbourly ties the cost of living in Shenzhen is considerably lower.

With average temperatures of 22°C year-round (around 34°C currently) it’s certainly going to take some getting used to for someone used to English weather! Whilst I have never been to Shenzhen I can’t wait to get there :)

Last but certainly not least, many thanks to everyone who has offered help and advice. I have no doubt I will be asking for many favours over the coming months as I adjust to this new life so please bear with me!

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Life Relocated

Published
by
David
on June 15, 2008
in China and General
. 0 Comments

In this time of increased personal mobility and global connectivity the world is nowhere near as big as it once was. The days when you made a home for yourself near the place you were born are long gone and, certainly in places like the UK, multiculturalism is now well defined and spreading. Whilst a discussion of the cultural implications of such movements is beyond the scope of my question it does present an interesting challenge…

Going on holiday somewhere exotic is one thing. Relocating there is a completely different proposition.

I don’t usually like to talk about myself here but I’m going out on a limb today - ever since spending a few months living, working and travelling out in China last year I’ve wanted to go back for a longer dose of the excitement, energy and adventure I found there, but am struggling to find the right path. The traditional route is to study Chinese or teach English out there, neither of which really appeal to me – I ideally want to work and use the skills I have to do something both personally enriching and meaningful to a wider audience of some sort.

I may be asking too much but luckily I have age on my side (I’m 23), a lack of personal responsibilities, and a valuable few years of experience working as a technology consultant (loose definition!). My investigation has so far proven that finding an opportunity out there is probably going to come down to a large amount of research and an even bigger dose of luck. I am however willing to bet that someone out there within a few degrees of separation of here (if not an immediate connection) knows of some opportunity and it’s just a matter of making that connection which is partly why I’ve written this post.

So what to do? Preferably something related to technology and the internet but am quite open to something new. Finding a job with a local company is probably out of the question as I’m currently in London and don’t have a Chinese work visa. The best route appears to be through a western company who require native speakers with the appropriate skills.

The challenge I have set myself is to relocate myself to China (or possibly elsewhere in east Asia) within 1 year or less. It’s not that I’m unhappy with what I currently do but would like to try something a little different before it’s too late!

View David Gilbert's profile on LinkedIn

Any help or advice anyone might be able to offer would be hugely appreciated - I’m easily contactable either by commenting below, the contact page or via my profile on LinkedIn. Thanks!

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Design Perspectives

Published
by
David
on May 30, 2008
in China, Design, Japan and Korea
. 2 Comments

What do you notice about the design of these web pages (aside from the fact that they’re not English)?

Cyworld
Daum
Naver

163
Sina
Sohu


The top 3 are Korean and the bottom 3 Chinese - all are popular portals. Naver is Korea’s premier search engine (with 77% of the market there) and Cyworld could be compared to Facebook (with over 20 million users).

If your first reaction is that all these sites are very crowded and densely packed with content then you’re not alone. Your second reaction might be to ask why would they design something so cluttered, and from a western perspective lacking in the clarity and simplicity that we’ve come to expect from “good design”. It’s certainly not very “Web 2.0″, as we know it anyway.

It turns out a lot of other people are thinking the same thing. Different theories for why there is this marked difference are abundant, ranging from the influence of Buddhist principles whereby “strong and rich colour, density, and opulent presentation symbolize happiness and wealth”, otherwise termed the ‘aesthetics of abundance’, to different advertising models and the way in which people read/scan different languages. It seems no one has a definitive answer which means there’s definitely room for research here.

What I find fascinating is that two almost entirely different ways of looking a web design have emerged from a common set of technologies used by different cultures. It’s even more applicable when you consider western firms doing business in East Asia where a simple re-branding exercise is clearly going to be insufficient.

Another interesting point in fact is that whereas in the west we are used to accessing and advertising websites by their URL (e.g. www.randomwire.com), in East Asia the search box is king and URL’s are virtually redundant. These so called “navigational searches” may have something to do with the complexities of typing roman characters on input devices especially designed for Japanese/Korean/Chinese but still seems a pretty good idea to me and one which I expect will slowly make its way westwards in time, especially with the rise of the mobile internet where typing is even more cumbersome.

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Solidarity in Numbers

Published
by
David
on May 22, 2008
in China
. 0 Comments

I thought I’d share this heart-wrenching story I received from a friend in China yesterday relating to the devastating earthquake last week -

This is just one of many such harrowing tales emerging from the disaster which really brings home the reality of the situation.

I sometimes feel that it’s all to easy for us to divorce ourselves from tragedies which happen on the other side of the world. We sit and watch them unfold on the news in near real time with the media doing their bit to dramatise the situation ala 24. However, the suffering is very real and the numbers involved almost unthinkable - whatever we may think about the way the Chinese government sometimes conduct themselves in this instance it’s difficult to find fault.

I find it sad that it often seems to take a national tragedy to unite people but at the same time encouraging that there is still a thread of humanity left in the world. The scenes on the streets in China during the time of national mourning were a particularly moving testament to this. Perhaps if everyone felt this sort of compasion for each other all the time the world we live in would be a much nicer place…

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Peking University Ruins

Published
by
David
on May 19, 2008
in China, Film, Photography, Tech and Travel
. 2 Comments

One of my most curious discoveries in Beijing came on my final day when I visited the grounds of Peking University (colloquially known as Beida) which can be found in the northwest district of Haidian (very near where I used to live). The rambling grounds are located on the former site of the Qing Dynasty royal gardens and retains Chinese-style landscaping as well as many traditional buildings including a large lake and pagoda.

DSC_6928

It’s ranked as one of the best universities in Asia and, having been originally established by a group of Americans, has a rather colourful history - during the Cultural Revolution students were sent for “re-education” (they call it “re-adjustment“) to cleanse them of their liberal misunderstandings!

DSC_6906

I wasn’t entirely sure if visitors were allowed to wander around the campus uninvited but none of the guards bat an eyelid at the gates, possibly because I’m still young enough to pass as a student, but nevertheless I was allowed to continue unimpeded! Having walked around the lake, passing a number of groups taking kitsch wedding photos (as the trend appears to be) I ventured off the main path into an altogether less well kept area and stumbled across a cluster to abandoned traditional-style buildings which I can only presume used to be classrooms.

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As the whole area seemed to be deserted I decided to have a poke around inside. Most of the rooms were filled with rubbish and mother nature was clearly starting to get the better of the interior but what intrigued me was the rather artistic graffiti which previous inhabitants had left on some of the walls. As if echo’s from the past the walls clearly had a story to tell although sadly I have no idea what any of it says. If anyone out there would be kind enough to translate I’d very much appreciate it.

DSC_6908

Whilst walking through the silent courtyard overgrown with weeds it struck me that the whole place had a bit of a bleak atmosphere and it was a great shame that it had all been left to rot. It remains a mystery as to why it has been abandoned but hopefully they’ll get around to restoring it before the deterioration gets much worse…

DSC_6914

And so, after a very delicious dinner of Beijing Duck with my former colleagues, my second stint in Beijing came to a close. It had been a busy week to say the least but I was extremely glad to get another glimpse of this amazing pre-Olympic city with its many faces both young and old. I’m not sure when I’ll be back next but I’m sure we will meet again!

Sidenote1: If you’re into urban exploration then you may like this list of websites which feature rich photo galleries, stories and other background information including maps and building plans (for the more adventurous!).

Sidenote2: If you’d like to donate to the earthquake relief effort in China then Google have setup a site to do just that. They have options to donate to two different bona fide charities.

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