Third Day in Beijing

Today was another busy day, but really fun. The morning started off as usual with breakfast downstairs with everyone.. today I discovered a guy that made waffles in the back and some banana bread, so i was pumped. I'm still having a little trouble with the getting up early thing... woke up at 5, 6, then 7. At least I was able to get back to sleep though...a few of my classmates are having even more problems with sleeping too.

We started off the morning with a lecture at Peking University on the Chinese Market / Consumers. I was excited for this lecture since it's the thing most related to what I'm currently doing. It was also good because I'm most likely doing my research paper on consumerism / conducting consumer research in China. The discussion started off with an overview of the 7 main regions (markets) of China. It was interesting to get an overview of the other sections beyond Beijing and Shanghai (the only regions that my company has done research in). We also talked a bit about the young Chinese consumer and the increasing influence of American culture. There is also this idea of the post-80s generation and determining one's own life.

Next we learned about brand perceptions and Chinese awareness of foreign brands. It was interesting to hear the stereotypes that go along with owning various car brands in China. For example, the image of BMW was pretty similar to the US - basically a symbol of richness and the divide between the rich and the poor. It didn't seem like people had all that positive of view of the people who chose these cars. It's much more acceptable to drive an Audi. Since government officials drive these cars, it's seen as a sign of loyalty/respect, but still a high quality car.

We went over a pretty interesting case study that outlined Pfizer's introduction of Viagra to the Chinese market. There were all sorts of glaring issues such as price, cultural impact and distribution/PR that all seemed like they could have been avoided if the company did a little research/thinking.

After the lecture we had some time to tour around the campus- we took a few pictures in the courtyard and hit up the bookstore. I bought a small leather bound notebook to take the rest of my notes on (I was sick of carrying around a big legal pad). After walking around some, we went to lunch at a restaurant on campus - I think this is where I hit my Chinese food wall (only 2 full days of food. I know- pathetic). I was all ready to dismiss the rumors of people getting sick of the food in China, and then there I was, basically sick of the food. Phil, my Chinese classmate, said that this was the most authentic food we had so far... . I hate to be picky about the food we have, because I feel disrespectful...but I'm really starting to crave something different.. like anything with cheese or pasta...

After lunch we headed over to Bayer for a company visit to meet with their VP of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The meeting room was pretty sweet - the 32nd floor and all windows. It was disturbing to look down at the city and see so much smog and traffic though. The lecture was really interesting. We talked a lot about how being socially responsible can be strategic for a company while at the same time be a positive thing for others. We also got into what Bayer, specifically, is doing as a chemical and pharma company to be more socially responsible.

After the company visit (that ran really long) we headed to dinner (Thai food - yes!). As usual we sat in a lot of rush hour traffic.. I was so pumped for some pad Thai I didn't even care. Come to find out, I was terribly mistaken...the food was okay, but extremely spicy.. I had some veggies and white rice. At least we had plenty of Pijiu to go around (that's Chinese for beer, pronounced "p-jew" haha).

Tonight I'm laying low and packing up. We're out touring all day tomorrow and then taking an overnight sleeper train to Xian. I'm really excited.