I recently met someone who has been in China for the last year and Shenzhen for the last two months. He had read this blog and thought ‘he says everything I’ve been thinking but have been too lazy to write.’ Many of the things I’ve described here have also been experienced by the friends who …
Category Archive: General
General posts meant to give advice or discuss logistics.
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Pedestrians get no love
If there’s one thing I’d like to change about Shenzhen, it’s having the right of way on sidewalks and the sense of safety that I can be a pedestrian without getting run over. Sadly, the sidewalks are frequently populated with as many cars and motorcycles and bicycles as the road is, and going in both …
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China can be gross sometimes
Since I’ve been here I’ve seen a parade of disgusting everywhere I go. It’s relentless and it’s exhausting. Here are just some of the notable ones: As I came up the escalator from the subway, a woman was crouched on the sidewalk vomiting into a corner. At least she was kind enough to do it …
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The Phone Situation
You’re going to need one. You’re going to want a smartphone. And you’re going to want a data plan and GPS. China, like the rest of the intelligent world, uses GSM for cell phones, and the cell and provider are separate. You get a phone at full price and you get a service. Most of …
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Getting by without talking
I’ve decided that it’s totally possible to get by without talking at all, and in fact may be preferable to trying to speak. When I try to initiate a transaction and say Hello in Mandarin, people assume that I can speak at least some, if not fluent, and they will speak back in Mandarin, to …
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A-Tech Product Engineering
On the recommendation of a mentor, a few of us took a quick trip to a prototyping company called A-Tech. The company’s focus was building prototypes of toys. With big names for clients such as Hasbro, Mattel, Tiger Electronics, Hallmark, and Mega Block, the company’s show room looked like a toy store from the United …
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China’s Receipt Lottery
China has a problem with tax evasion. Stores often keep at least two sets of books (and sometimes three). There’s the actual books, and there’s the government books. When people go to a store and purchase something, the purchase may not end up on the government books, especially at restaurants where it is difficult if …
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So many learning curves
If you are coming to China to manufacture, it’s is essential to have your ducks in a row and anticipate common problems. It’s probably not enough to have a handmade prototype. You need a completely designed PCB, a complete BOM, complete CAD drawings of all the parts and how they will be assembled. Knowledge of …
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Hardware is HARD
Over the past month the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that hardware isn’t called that because it’s physical; it’s called that because it’s really difficult to do. In talking to people who have had successful and unsuccessful products, they are all consistently saying the same thing, and with all the stuff a company must endure …
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Tipping in China
Don’t. It’s not expected, and they don’t respond positively when you try. I tried the first night when I arrived and my cab driver talked to my contact on the phone to get me to the right place and waited with me until she showed up. He didn’t seem to understand and didn’t thank me. …
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