Having started off the stay in Chengdu by tasting some of the surroundings, come Monday it was time to head off to the office. But not before having had some breakfast in the hotel. Once again it was clear how over-the-top they tried to make the place. There were bird cages with very cute looking tweeting exotic birds placed all around the breakfast tables every morning, as well as a lady was playing a Chinese string instrument while a few people were performing Tai Chi in the atrium.
As it turned out the office was pretty nearby the hotel, but every day I had to face two problems:
As it turned out the office was pretty nearby the hotel, but every day I had to face two problems:
- The taxi drivers didn't want to go there because it was too close, and thus too cheap a ride.
- The taxi drivers didn't seem to have a clue where it was exactly.
My working days mainly consisted of knowledge sharing from me to the teams in Chengdu and vice versa, experiencing the way they work and helping out getting a couple of projects moving. Also each day a different group of colleagues would take me to lunch. Unfortunately for the people on the first 2 days I had caught something bad in my food or the water during the journey across the mountain, and I felt really bad, rendering me nearly unable to eat. It was so bad that on the Monday evening, when some guys took me to see the beautiful Jinli Street, I eventually ended up throwing up in the bushes! Luckily the guys were really helpful and got me some medication from a pharmacy. And can I tell you: YAY for Chinese medicine! The night that followed was basically the worst one I can remember I ever had, regarding intestine troubles, but come the following afternoon I was 100% ok again. I could hardly believe it, but the medication had given me a full recovery within 12 hours!
There was also some time for exploring the city during lunch breaks and at the end of the day. One of the places seen was the Global Centre, which is the worlds largest building in terms of floor space. To give you a rough idea: it's nearly the size of all of Monaco (420 vs 499 acres).
We went to visit the centre of town, entering with the underground via Tianfu Square, where I ended up face to face with a C&A clothing shop. Of all places... I guess that also in China "C&AAAAAAA IS TOCH VOORDEEEEELIGEEEEEEER!!!!!" (Dutch inside joke.)
Stumbled upon a building that seems to have a loooot to do with grain. We walked through a shopping mall where we were warned "Do not please on manage area frolic!" and noticed the striking contrast between old communist built structures and the new capitalism induced ones. All in all, every day was a great experience.
We went to visit the centre of town, entering with the underground via Tianfu Square, where I ended up face to face with a C&A clothing shop. Of all places... I guess that also in China "C&AAAAAAA IS TOCH VOORDEEEEELIGEEEEEEER!!!!!" (Dutch inside joke.)
Stumbled upon a building that seems to have a loooot to do with grain. We walked through a shopping mall where we were warned "Do not please on manage area frolic!" and noticed the striking contrast between old communist built structures and the new capitalism induced ones. All in all, every day was a great experience.
On the Thursday there was a special meal served in the hotel, because it was apparently 'Chinese Valentines Day'. So there was an Eastern European girl playing the violin and singing, there were loads of all kinds of food, free cocktails, and I took the opportunity to take a little bit of wasabi with my sushi... ;-)
The Friday was the last working day in the office, and the team took me out to two places. During the day we went for a tour of the Tianfu Tech Park where the office is located. Part of the tour included driving around part of the tech park in an electric bus. It was a nice experience. And as my Chinese colleague Gregory shouted out in excitement: "For 5 years I have seen this bus driving around, but never had I been on it! THANK YOU STEFFEN!!!!" which caused some hilarity.
In the evening the team had a teambuilding event to which me and Veronika got invited too. Basically it meant having dinner in a restaurant and then drinks at a bar. The restaurant is the biggest I have ever seen. I don't know where to begin to describe it, so I won't really try. I just know I have only seen 2 floors of it. One floor, housed a few hundred tables, and the other at least 32 private dining rooms of varying sizes. Ours was quite large, and Gregory once more shouted out in excitement: "This is such an exciting day! First I have been in a bus I had never been in before, and now I am sitting at the biggest table I have ever seen in my life!!! THANK YOU STEFFEN!!!" Not sure how I am to thank for the table, but why not. The table was truly pretty damn large, actually!
After the restaurant we went to a German Beer Bar, where there were more varieties of German beer than I've seen in a German supermarket. As we wanted to get up early in the morning to go see some Pandas we left the team after a first drink to get some sleep and let them enjoy their evening together.
In the evening the team had a teambuilding event to which me and Veronika got invited too. Basically it meant having dinner in a restaurant and then drinks at a bar. The restaurant is the biggest I have ever seen. I don't know where to begin to describe it, so I won't really try. I just know I have only seen 2 floors of it. One floor, housed a few hundred tables, and the other at least 32 private dining rooms of varying sizes. Ours was quite large, and Gregory once more shouted out in excitement: "This is such an exciting day! First I have been in a bus I had never been in before, and now I am sitting at the biggest table I have ever seen in my life!!! THANK YOU STEFFEN!!!" Not sure how I am to thank for the table, but why not. The table was truly pretty damn large, actually!
After the restaurant we went to a German Beer Bar, where there were more varieties of German beer than I've seen in a German supermarket. As we wanted to get up early in the morning to go see some Pandas we left the team after a first drink to get some sleep and let them enjoy their evening together.
