User Comments - hiewhongliang

Posted on: Organizing a Marketing Event

不一定，看情况，看关系。胡总看来是黄经理的大客户，也应该是黄经理请过来的。如果胡总在这情况下拉出名片给黄经理，就可能引起小尴尬，因为这就代表胡总觉得黄经理可能不知道他是谁。我觉得胡总做的对。

有时候中国关系是莫名其妙的......

Posted on: 我想做农民

Hope China's farms don't go the same way as Australia's, where the suicide rates for farmers is double that of the normal population. Hope there is more support here for the pressures of farm life.

Thanks David and Connie for the new vocab and the interesting discussion on the topic. 

Posted on: Organizing a Marketing Event

Didn't think so... try this:

http://www.speakingofchina.com/category/mandarin-love/

Posted on: Organizing a Marketing Event

Was talking just this afternoon to a local Shanghai practising psychologist and family counsellor, and she said, "你知道中国传统夫妇怎么表达爱吗？埋怨！" ie. "Do you know how traditional Chinese couples express their love? By whinging!" I have to say I partially agree... wish sometimes my wife would understand the effort it takes me to express my love for her everyday... *sigh*...

I swear by my ancestors I didn't make the above up.

Sorry shanghaichanges, probably not helping your situation any...

Posted on: A Complicated Cab Ride

Huh?!? This is complete contrary to my experience in the recent 3 months here. I think I take a taxi on average 5 to 10 times a week, and I have to say I can't recall ever waiting more than one or two minutes for one standing by the road. I don't doubt the experience of you guys who has been here so much longer than I. I'm wondering why my mistaken "taxi heaven" impression. I do take taxi during peak hours and in rain. Is it a downtown issue? I travel mostly around Pudong and sometimes across to Hongqiao. Hmm, weird...(Do you guys pay daily respects to the local cab diety 租车大圣 like good boys？Very important ritual... :-))

This is contrary to my experience in Beijing, where I did find it crazy hard trying to get a taxi.

Posted on: Organizing a Marketing Event

How true. Over here in the major cities it is so common to have to consider a place having TOO many people and therefore not being able to promote products and services properly, especially when our strategy is to build trust through one-on-one contact. Completely the opposite problem to what we generally face in Australia.  

By Aussie standards, a place like Shanghai probably in perpetual 客流高峰期! 

Posted on: A Complicated Cab Ride

Thanks for the update, chris. Have to admit hadn't notice the starting price this trip since all rides had been long distance. But I like how the meter in the cab shows everything (fare so far, distance travelled, price per km, stationery time, etc) so a customer can check at all times what happening, including possibility of meter tampering.

Posted on: A Complicated Cab Ride

If 一会儿 at 徐家汇 is less than 15 minutes, she should have the cab wait even with the meter running. It'll cost more to hail a new cab ( (starting meter 11RMB) than to pay for the running meter of a stationary cab (charged at 2 or 3RMB per 5 minutes)... just the 吝啬鬼 (cheapskate) in me!

Posted on: A Complicated Cab Ride

I've had this problem in Beijing before, but I suspect the problem there is not the language issue as discussed in the lesson. A tour driver there once told me that taxi drivers fake ignorance of heavy traffic areas because they will be stuck in traffic jams, even with a running meter the low rates they get paid when the car is stationary is not worth the petrol being burnt, so they just avoid going into places they know they'll be jammed. Can't blame them, taxi rates are not viable for drivers to make a living in Beijing.

Posted on: Preparing for the Ironman Race

Where do you leave your bike when going into buildings in Shanghai? When I first arrived and went to a bike shop in Pudong the salesman warned me that bike theft is rife. Back in Australia I have a chain lock and that's good enough there, but the salesman sounded skeptical about that approach here. Is he right?