Enter China’s Forbidden City

China has been growing at an incredible rate for the last several decades and today with the focus of the Olympics and their huge economy and manufacturing sector many Westerners are once again focused on this world giant. China offers to many Westerners exotic culture and architecture. In fact, one of its landmarks- the Forbidden City is now becoming one of China’s most popular tourist attractions.

The Forbidden City
The Forbidden City has always been surrounded with mystery and intrigue. In fact, it is called the Forbidden City because no person could either leave or enter this palace without the permission from the emperor. And while it was well known throughout the world, many have always been fascinated at what is exactly inside and just what goes on in this magnificent palace.

The Largest Palace in the World
The Forbidden City is known as the largest palace in the world. Located on 178 acres in Beijing the Forbidden City was built during the 15th century with the labor of more than a million men along with about 100,000 artisans. It took less than 15 years to build this masterpiece and one of the most incredible facts about this palace is that it reportedly has 9,999 rooms and an astonishing one million pieces of precious art. The Forbidden City served as the seat for the Ming Dynasty, upon its completion in 1420, a total of 24 emperors have called the Forbidden City home. The last emperor ruled from this palace up until 1912.

The Forbidden City is Now Open to All
The Forbidden City, once a great palace later became a museum that was closed off to all foreigners. However, over the last 30 years foreigners have been invited and welcomed to enter the great walls of the Forbidden City to see all that this incredible landmark now a World Heritage Site has to offer. Since being open to all, millions have flocked to see this great architectural and cultural achievement.

For those that are interested in either visiting the Forbidden City or finding out about all the amazing art and architectural delights found inside, the Smithsonian Magazine has an interesting article on the subject. To read more about this incredible landmark, please visit our main website.

Managing Offshore Projects: How Do you Align Goals and Values?

Let’s look at a scenario I have observed many times. You have been just promoted to the position of project manager of a very important product development effort. You are given a tight deadline and a tight budget. Your senior VP of engineering, who is 3 levels above you in the organization personally met with you and informed you that the company needs to make this deliverable happen within the time frame allotted if not sooner. Otherwise marketing has said to him “competition will eat our lunch!” If that is not bad enough, a significant portion of the next quarter’s revenue depends on successful launch of this product. Because of the tight budget, more than half of your team is offshore. How do you make sure that you will meet your goals?

If you had all your team at your location, one of the first things you do is to gather each and everyone on your team, get them to understand what you have just learnt and how important it is to meet the deadline; also of course shipping the product with zero defects is part of your company’s value system. You do not need to spell it out. Everyone on your team understands it.

But, you have less than half the team at your location; the bigger part is in Bangalore, Beijing, Belarus or Shanghai. Without getting them fully on board, you have no hope of delivering the product on time. How do you make sure that this happens?

In high-context cultures like India and China, value systems are different and feed back mechanisms are different. Some of the contextual information that you take for granted may be news to some of your team members offshore who may not have had the opportunity to experience how business is conducted in the western world.

As the offshoring industry matures many companies understand the importance of deadlines and western value systems; but it is not universal. Also, recognize that most companies are experiencing high growth rates. Consequence – you cannot be sure that your particular offshore team will be fully on board with your priorities, goals and values.

What can you do? You need to spend time with your team in person. Take time to build relationship with the team. Have them understand project goals, your value systems and what is expected of them. You may also consider bringing some key individuals to the US for a short time so that they can share their experiences with their colleagues once they return.

What to know about traveling in China – Part 2

Traveling in China can be a great and worth while experience. But what do you do when you go to the bathroom at a restaurant and find yourself without toilet paper?

That’s just one of the quirks in China. When you go to a restaurant – excluding McDonalds – then you’re bound to have to bring your own toilet paper. For some reason, Chinese don’t supply customers with toilet paper. If they do supply it, it’ll be outside the stalls, not inside. Be prepared!

Another aspect to look out for is the treatment you’ll receive being a foreigner. Be prepared to get stared at A LOT, especially if you go to a small city (Not Beijing or Shanghai or Hong Kong). Tourism in smaller cities is very rare, so when a tourist does show up, they are amazed and astonished. They flat out stare. So get used to feeling like a celebrity!

Staying in hotels can be tricky. In larger cities, the water doesn’t tend to shut off as often as it does in smaller cities. The same goes for electricity. If you’re in a larger city, you can expect the electricity and water to be on and running for the majority of the time. However, in smaller cites, you’ll need to be aware that you may be without electricity or water at some point during your trip.

Speaking of water, all water in China is UN-DRINKABLE. That means you have to buy bottled water, no matter where you go.

Finally, haggling is a very important part of Chinese life. Local Chinese grocery stores and fruit stands will require haggling. Learn how to haggle! Or do all your shopping at modern day convenient stores and Wal-mart.

Barca Fc Doesn’t Want Messi to Go to the Olympics

Carles Puyol Barcelona’s team captain is trying to put a stop to Messi’s participation in the Beijing Olympic Games with his national team as his name was announced during a press conference as part of the Argentinean squad for the upcoming event.

One of the main reasons the Barcelona team does not want to allow the Argentinean to participate in the Olympics is due to the preliminary round for the Champions League qualification being played on the same dates. Therefore; they will do everything possible to hold the young footballer to play in order to have him in full condition for the European competition.

This is indeed a very controversial situation as Messi could be suspended for the entire duration of the Olympics as it is stated in the FIFA rules that all players who do not have 23 years of age have to be released to their national teams if they are required to play. On the other hand; Puyol insists that Messi is a key player and that this is a crucial time for the Barcelona club and it would be indeed a disaster if such a player is missing from the team’s roster.

“We have a great squad, but Messi is an important player for us, one of the best in the world,” Puyol said Thursday from the team’s preseason training camp. “What’s happening with his situation is a theme that we can’t really get into since we can’t control it. Let’s hope it’s resolved and that we can count on him being with us.”

After Ronaldhino’s departure from Barcelona FC to his new Italian team the AC Milan; the Argentinean has become the main star of the Spaniard club as his contribution has been phenomenal. On the other hand; the Brazilian’s work was also of great push to Barcelona despite the last two seasons during which he was not able to perform his best due to injuries. Puyol admits that Ronaldhino will be remembered as of the best players that has been part of the Catalonian list.

Barcelona FC Sporting director Txiki Begiristain has announced that the team is working on an agreement with the Argentinean Football Association in order to come to terms with them; as he stated during an interview “On our side we want Messi to play the first leg of the Champions League (third qualifying round) and then we’ll release him to play at the Olympic Games. We understand that reaching this agreement is the best solution. If we get a good result then, without being over-confident, we should be able to let the player go.”

Up to this point the Argentinean Football Association has not accepted the terms and conditions of the deal but it could certainly prevent future disputes therefore; they will wait and see what the outcome turns out to be.

Other European clubs like Werder Bremen and Schalke do not want their Brazilian players Rafinha and Diego to be part of the Beijing Soccer Tournament and have taken the petition to the sports’ highest body the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Therefore; they will decide if the players will or will not be part of the Olympics this next month of August.

China – Travel, Shopping and Living

Shopping in China is a unique experience. That is why if you want to have vacation and wants to escape from the real world for a few days, then a trip to China will surely do the trick. The country is rich in history and natural resources and these two reasons are the ones that can convince the traveler in you to consider China. When you decide to visit the country, don’t be surprised to see a number of visitors from different parts of the world. That’s because the country is known as the target vacation spots for most adventure-seeking and culturally-sensitive individuals who seek the well-documented and highly-appreciated Chinese culture.

The number of visitors that the country received and the appeal of most travel spots is validated by the fact that the tourism industry of the country is considered as the fastest-growing industry in China. For the year 2003 the number of tourists that visited the country numbered 91.66 million and the number of tourists who stayed overnight was 32.7 million. The numbers submitted by China helped propel the country into the listing of the world’s top 5 in 2003.

The surge of tourist arrivals surely made the industry ecstatic and alive In fact the tourist hotel industry in Beijing and Shanghai and the rest of the country are expanding. The places to check in the country are the more than 15,000 natural, cultural and other man-made tourist attractions. But of course visiting all these scenic spots in the country is next to impossible. What the visitor can do is to visit the top sites that match his fancy. If the visitor is into shopping, then a check of the many spots considered a shopping heaven is a must. And speaking of China shopping, the country was called the shopper’s paradise in the 19th century.

The country is known for many products but what captured the fancy and the imagination of shoppers and visitors are the silk products, tea and wine. The silk coming from the country is top rated and the teas from the country come in many varieties as well. Other than tea, wines and the well-regarded silk, the country is also known for their souvenir items and the antique items that date back hundreds of years ago.

Other noteworthy products to check out if the visitor may want to do some shopping include the porcelain from Jingdezhen, the embroidery products of Suzhou, Hunan and Sichhuan and the batik of Guizhou. If the visitor is the type of person who likes antiques, then nothing to worry though as a number of antique shops and stalls dot the cities. The key in order to get what you want and to get it at cheaper prices is to do some bargaining and show off your bargaining skills. A visit to the country will not be complete without checking the other cultural heritage and of course the cuisine. If the visitor happens to taste the cuisine, then the visitor got a taste of China living. There are a thousand things that can be done in China; travel and see for yourself.

Ras Ethiopian (Beijing) 2

Beijing Bellagio 2 AM

Kokomo Beijing on RTL II News

Beijing Restaurants Tut Tut Tut

Coco Banana–Beijing

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