One of my favorite places in China is Xinjiang Province in the
northwest part of the country. The Northern Silk Road trading route wound
through the province centuries ago. The feeling is more Middle Eastern than Chinese
due to the mix of ethnic minorities. I began visiting the main city of Urumqi on
business in 2002. Over the years I visited Xinjiang more than a dozen times. Despite
the rapid modernization in the province, no one will confuse doing business in
Xinjiang with doing business in Shanghai, Tokyo or New York.
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| Life in the slow lane on the Old Silk Road |
On my first visit, I stayed in what is euphemistically known
as the “best available” hotel. At check-in, after showing my passport and signing several forms, I was "upgraded" which I assumed was
probably a loose interpretation of the word. As I walked down the dark hall to my suite, I could only imagine what was on the
other side of the door. To my surprise, the room was huge with a beautiful view
of the snowcapped mountains outside the city. To my dismay, broadband had not
made its way to western China. After several calls to the front desk and a
couple of visits from the hotel "tech" expert who was also the bartender – I was in
business; connected to my company server in the US by a 14.4 kbps (that is kilobyte
not megabyte) connection. Anyway, a few hours later I had my email. On my fourth
visit to Xinjiang, a couple years later I stayed in a brand new Sheraton with very
fast broadband but I digress.
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| Nothing typical about a business lunch in Xinjiang |
The hosts on my inaugural visit were the management of a
large SOC aka State Owned Company. They liked to entertain but instead of playing golf,
they preferred big screen karaoke while drinking “bai jiu” (53% alcohol),
riding horses or having an outdoor lunch of very fresh lamb. Fresh in the sense
that the lamb is alive when you arrive at the Yurt where lunch is served. On
my first trip, after a brief business meeting, we drove to an ancient village
for a tour followed a stop at the lowest point in Central Asia. By mid-afternoon
we were part way up the nearby mountains at 2,000 meters sitting outside a Yurt
eating a feast of local lamb and vegetables. After a post-meal horse ride we
headed to a Muslim restaurant for more food and a culture show. The busy day
was concluded in front of a full wall sized karaoke screen (something I never
saw in Japan). On this occasion instead of “bai-jiu” they brought in Xinjiang
Black Beer to lubricate our vocal cords.
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| Far away from the polluted skies of eastern China, the blue skies of Xinjiang |
The customers on the Old Silk Road weren’t my most profitable
but they were probably the most interesting.
It was our faithful driver Philip who introduced us to the
"New Silk Road". A few weeks ago I made a brief stop in Shanghai as part of a
longer trip around Asia. One of my assignments was to bring back 13 pairs of
pearl earrings requested by a friend of my wife for her daughter’s wedding
party. Knowing me to be a reluctant shopper, a week before the trip, my wife
emailed Philip and asked him to visit her favorite pearl shop in Shanghai.
Always eager to please Philip asked for specifications and said he would do his
best.
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| Philip - one of the founding fathers of the New Silk Road |
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| One of the speed bumps on the New Silk Road - wireless "disconnections" courtesy of China internet "management" |
A few days later Philip picked up the earrings and brought
them to the airport when he met me. My part in the deal was only to pay
Philip and put the earrings in my briefcase. Several cities and ten days later, I landed in
Charlotte with the goods. A few days later while I was on a morning run, my
wife’s friend was out on a walk. She waved and said “thank you for the
beautiful pearls”. I smiled, waved and said "thank Philip" under my breath.
Philip, loving all things Apple, will say that Steve Jobs invented
the New Silk Road. I think Philip did.
