June 13, 2023
Mandarin Immersion (Part 30)
By Simon J. Lau
I made it to Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province. This city is home to many of China’s largest internet companies, including Alibaba (China’s Amazon), Didi Chuxing (China’s Uber), and NetEase (China’s Zynga), among others. Many moons ago, I was considered for a role at NetEase to lead their North American finance operations. I went so far as to interview with the company CFO. Although that role never panned out in my favor, I do sometimes wonder how interesting that opportunity may have been!
That said, the most interesting company headquartered here, in my opinion, isn’t a tech company. Instead, it’s Nongfu Spring, the most ubiquitous water bottle brand in all of China, possibly all of Asia. That fact tickles me and makes me love this place more.
Besides high-powered corporate offices, Hangzhou is also considered one of the most beautiful cities in China. There is a saying in Chinese, “上有天堂，下有苏杭.” This roughly translates into “There is heaven above, then there is Suzhou and Hangzhou below.” Essentially, comparing these cities to heaven. (I’ll be visiting Suzhou next).
I’ve only been here for one night, but if my experience walking the old town and enjoying the street food is any indication, I can tell that I’m in for another treat this week! Street food, A++!
Finally, I enjoyed a nightcap at Elephant. As part of my self-guided Mandarin learning program, my goal is to engage in at least one meaningful conversation each day. If all else fails, I fall back on the bar scene and lean (heavily) on the bartender for conversation. Last night, my bartender was particularly chatty. He was also very generous with drinks (which made for better conversation). We spent time talking about his hometown, Kunming, which I had recently visited, and life in Hangzhou. Surprisingly, he wasn’t a huge fan of this city.
It wasn’t clear to me why, but he did tip me off to a horrific local law. Dogs aren’t allowed outside in public areas between 7 am to 7 pm. I pointed to the Shiba next to me (the owner’s dog) and asked what happens to this little guy. He said that the rules apply to him too. 😓
Ruthless indeed. I doubt that is the reason the bartender didn’t like Hangzhou, but that would be one major strike against the city for me. Let’s see how it makes up for it! 😅
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