Beijing: A shock to the team

By Michael Darch

I said in an earlier blog that Shenzhen was an eye opener for any of our team that had not been to China. Well, Beijing blew their socks off!

The new airport, the airport access roads, the clean streets, the Olympic stadium, the subway system, the ring roads, the architecture, the number of new buildings, the vibrancy, I could go on and on. The old myths are not only dead, they are buried.

Whether you say it is the culmination of thirty years of effort, as Dr. Xia Yinqui conveyed to me, or just China showing off for the Olympics, the result is a world-class city on speed. I can even notice the difference from my last visit in October. Beijing is a showcase for the New China.

It is not without its challenges. The streets are packed. Our trip from the Canadian Embassy to the ZhongGuanCun Science Park, better known as Z-Park takes us over an hour and a half. Cars, buses, taxis and trucks are everywhere.

Speaking of cars and the Olympics, since our last visit a few months ago, all the old cars are gone. The city is obviously serious about reducing its smog before the Games. Again, you can be cynical and say that removing the high emission older vehicles is merely an attempt to look good for the Olympics, but the reality is that it is happening.

Our dinner hosted by the Z-park was excellent. The Deputy-Director of the park Dr. Xia Yinqui keeps us entertained with stories about Ottawa. Yes, I said Ottawa. Dr. Xia spent over seven years in Ottawa getting his Master and Ph.D. degrees at the University of Ottawa. He still keeps in touch with his thesis advisor and several other Canadian friends.

We are treated to Peking Duck in the traditional style, as our hosts show us how it is prepared and eaten in the proper way. We are shown how to eat the skin with sugar so that it melts in your mouth. Ioan Nistor is asked when he tries it, if it melted in his mouth. His reply, “I think it melted before it got to my mouth.”

Another interesting point comes up at dinner. There are nine Canadians there. Someone makes the casual remark that it looks like I am the only one born in Canada. I look around the table and sure enough. I am the only Canadian born in Canada. As part of my marketing pitch, I always say that immigration is critical to Ottawa and that for the last ten years Ottawa has been a destination of choice for skilled immigrants. Case proved!

Tomorrow, our largest crowd yet.

(Mike Darch is Executive Director of OCRI Global Marketing)