Shanghai Sagas – Of Cheap Goods and Qip Routes

When I first acknowledged that I’ll be going to China, the first thought which came to my mind was Cheap Fake Goods. Isn’t this what their economy thrives on? Isn’t that what they are good at? Isn’t this where all brands and fake-brands are made?

I remembered reading an article claiming that there was a fake Apple store in China whose employees didn’t know for an entire year that the store was fake. I thought to myself that if they are so good at creating duplicate goods, which surely work as well as the branded stuff, then why let Nike and Adidas rip me off. Why not pay for a shoe which feels like paying for a shoe rather than feeling that I’ve just paid for a Lamborghini.

 

So from day 1, my hunt for the fake markets began. Surely it would have to be well camouflaged to avoid the eyes of the real brands. After some hunt and pestering my Chinese friends, the thing turned out to be a no-brainer. All I had to do was understand the Pinyin script of Mandarin. There was a mark on the map as a tourist destination called Qipu which at once looks like a Chinese restaurant alley. But as soon as I replace the “Q” with the Pinyin “Chi”, it clicks. I had to go to Cheapu market.

 

As soon as I get out of the Tiatong station, people horde around me flashing catalogues in my face. What do you want? T-shirt? Shoes? Nike Shoes? Jeans? You want Jeans? What do you want? Being Indian I was used to such brokers and figured best to avoid them. I went into the building which looked like a Mall but it had the cheapest shops ever, once you bargained of course. A shop selling traditional Chinese shirts caught my eye and I went in. It had some really well-designed low-quality Chinese-looking outfits. I figured I could bargain for sport. I found a shirt and asked for the price. 680¥ the shopkeeper began. It would’ve been 680 had it been a good quality branded thing, but this wasn’t. 50¥, I started. Now what followed is not a scene for my young readers, but if you do really want to know, this guy puts it in the best possible way. Trust me, I’m not kidding.

 

Ultimately, after 20 minutes of bargain which at a point involved the Chinese guy taking my hand and putting it on his throat to try to tell me that I was killing him at that price, we settled on 80¥. I still felt I could’ve brought him down on 60¥, but I’m not that good at bargaining. Suddenly, I wished my sisters were there with me. Anyway, when we settled on the price, I realized that I was doing this for sport. I didn’t really want to buy this thing. So I told the guy Xie Xie (Thank you), and dashed out of the place, while the guy was screaming something after me which resembled an English ‘Come back you #$^&#*.’

Now I knew why Indians were rarely taken seriously in China. We did this for a sport. Spending 20 minutes with the guy, bringing him down by 600¥, i.e. about 100$, and then leaving without buying. Surely many have done this before me, and many will be there doing the same thing after me. Well, I didn’t feel too bad about it. The jackass quoted the price 600¥ higher than what he was willing to sell it at. You keep a profit margin but there’s a margin. I know what you have is fake. It doesn’t even have a brand logo on it! Don’t try to kid me.

 

But now I knew how to buy from China and by how much were they willing to come down. As I walked through the market, I saw everything a human could possibly use being sold in that market. And once you bargained, it was at unbelievable prices. Later I was told that this isn’t one of the big markets of China. Shanghai is not much of a manufacturing center. If I really wanted to buy like an exporter or a wholesaler and wished to see the heart of the Chinese market, I should go to the manufacturing areas like Yiwu, Ghanzou, Shenzen, etc.

 

With passing days, I discovered more markets less obvious and more cheap than Cheapu. Cheapu, being a giveaway, was more of a touristy high-priced area. The inner parts of Shanghai held more secret alleyways with some of the cheapest shops I’ve ever seen. Perhaps some of the cheapest in the world.

 

This country lives up to its claim of being the manufacturing unit of the world. The Communist party is spearheading China’s economy. Maybe there is a merit to a single-party no-opposition rule. When you rule alone, you’re responsible and you try to take your territory forward in the race of development, by one way or the other.

Irony

Love, I was told, was a beautiful story

of togetherness and friendship and romance and glory

That when in love, you adorn the little gifts life bestow

A lie they say, and here let the truth be told

 

The play of love, is indeed great

but not A Winter’s Tale or a Tempest

A Twelfth Night Comedy perhaps, or a of Errors

The writer is seldom Cupid, and is more likely Momus

 

To spend your life, he gives you two options

To find love, he gives two choices

One, is the one you hopelessly, irretrievably, love

The one made for you is the other

 

He jests and mocks and scorns and shows

He makes you walk the desert on burning shoals

He makes you bleed, in hope of the one you love

and he gives you, someone better than you had hoped

 

But He doesn’t understand Love doesn’t work that way

There’s no one better than the one to whom our heart we gave

We don’t want the righteous reward for our toils

we just want to hold her close, her embrace,

 

So do you learn to live with the one you chance upon?

or you strive to find the one you were made for

Do you try, fail, get crushed, and try again?

or do you move on as if she never happened

 

I know when my perfect woman arrives

I shall have the courage to look deep into her eyes

hold her hand, wipe a tear from her eyes

bring my lips close to her ear, and slowly whisper,

‘Sorry, I’m married’

 

 Vishal Gupta

May 30^th, 2013

Shanghai Sagas – Of China, Shanghai, and Tongji

Arriving in the Paris of the East, the city wastes no time in letting you know that English is a language she accepts, but does not prefer. Anyway thanks to innumerable advices by cousins, friends and CGP Grey, I was fully equipped with a Lumia in hand with a pretty simple Chinese text to English and also picture to English translations app installed; which made life pretty easy. A deep thanks to all the computer wizards I went to college with. I owe you big time.

 

The first puzzle to be solved is the most feared one – food. Specially to a vegetarian like me, this becomes as big a fear as a college Viva exam. But I’m nothing if not adaptive. It takes little time to understand that vegetarian food is readily available if you can live on leaves, mushrooms, tofu, corn, bread, noodles, fruits, rice, potatoes… and eggs. Coming from the land of the white revolution, milk becomes a problem when a liter costs 200 ₹ (Just 20 ¥ they say). For 200 ₹ I get a meal at a decent restaurant in an upscale neighborhood.  But I realize if I’ve got to live in Shanghai, my daily food expenses are going to linger at atleast 150 ₹. Well, in Shanghai’s defense it is the most expensive city in the orient and is trying to compete with Hong Kong. So far, she’s doing a marvelous job.

 

We’re put up at Gan Xun (pronounced Gan-Shun) guest house of Tongji University which conveniently lies in almost the center of the Siping campus of the University. This turns out to be good for someone who loves to explore the campus and this 607 acre campus has a lot to offer. Some of the must have articles when I go off for my explorations are the campus map, the map of Shanghai, metro map, card of the guest house, money and a phone with a translation app. It’s almost foolish to walk out without any of these articles, but then, a traveler is allowed to be foolish sometimes ;)

 

The biggest advantage Shanghai gives which I have really come to appreciate is the extensive subway lines which connect practically everything in the 6^th largest city in the world. A tad expensive (by Indian standards), the tickets costing between 3 – 6 ¥ can take you anywhere in this city. And the city does have a lot to offer with hyper-bargaining enabled Qip (cheap) markets, high rise skyscrapers, supermarkets, gardens, river-banks, and of course, the Chinese favorite – KTV. It’s an extensive network of Karaoke parlors across Shanghai (and perhaps across China), where people can book a room and spend the night singing, dancing and boozing. That’s when the usually silent and calm Chinese come to life and you get to see a different aspect of their lives as if screaming out to you – WE KNOW HOW TO HAVE FUN TOO!

 

Another aspect of the Chinese culture is the amount of alcohol these guys are capable of digesting. On the onset, they seem like short and thin people, but their boozing capacity is something of a legend. Alcohol is readily available here in all supermarkets, departmental stores, and even student canteens inside the University. Talk about freedom! Yet, I’m yet to see a drunk Chinese. The cost of the drinks tempts even a teetotaler like me. Sometimes while buying dinner my Indian mind judges what is cheaper to get with the food – soda or beer?

But foodilemmas are nothing uncommon here. You realize this when you find a lot of beef at reasonable prices, but no milk, which is quite weird to me. I guess the Chinese will find an opposite paradox when they visit India in the coming semester. Another thing which my American friend Aishek pointed out to me is that there are no pigeons or stray animals here, but loads of eggs and suspicious meat.

‘I’m not judging,’ she said, ‘it’s just something I’m noticing.’ I guess I should stick to my vegetarian options.

 

Before I start with my stories, I’ll let you take a break. In the most populous city in the world, with so many people from so many cultures around, stories are sure to follow. So until next time – Kan Ni Yihou.