standup

.......no Corvettes....but I did see a Cadillac :)

......I spent 5 days in Suzhou, a small hamlet of 5.7 million people :) ....

.......China is a country of contrast.....the public trash cans seperate organic and inorganic rubbish, then just around the corner you see someone dumping a 100 rotten eggs in the street......the traffic is organised chaos....honking the horn is a friendly warning and nobody seems to get angry when they're cut off......which happens all the time....

BEWARE OF SAFETY......not that you have to worry about the people, they are polite and friendly, and perhaps a little shocked to see a Westerner........but in China, you never know what's around the corner....

.....all in all it was a very WOW experience...... :thumbs:

pik

I agree, what contrasts. I spent six weeks in Beijing a few years ago. Wonderful country/culture, great beauty and history. Crammed full of people, smoke, spit, cars, donkeys, smog, pollution etc etc. Don't even think about driving over there.
I remember almost dying on the highway returning to Beijing, we were flying down the road in a chinese made jeep cherokee, being serenaded by my driver (Celine Dions My love will go on) at 8am. The suspension was shot so we were all over the highway, suddenly out of the fog/smog/pollution appears a steam powered farm tractor- coming right at us!!! On our side of the divider. I was so tired from working 14 hour nights for weeks that I didnt really care. Wonderful place/people. I miss it, in an odd way.
I was born British, am now an American :D . It took that six weeks in China to realize and cherish our liberties and freedoms.

A2Shark

Beware of safety! :lol: :lol:

I was there two years ago and saw a lot of English translations on signs are hilarious. We took a lot of pictures of them, too. Its kinda nice they provide that, though. Not many Chinese translations on American signs.

I'm hoping to get back there sometime - great experience & lots of really friendly people.

SpyderD

You description fits third world country, anywhere. You want developed in China you go to Hong Kong. You want developed in Asia you go to Singapore - probably more modern, definetly cleaner, than anyplace in the world.

I've been to Hong Kong and Taiwan but not the rest of mainland China. I am considering a vacation there (seriously) but I understand it is very expensive there for tourists (and still innaccesable for the "go it alone" type tourism that I like). Let us know about the prices (hotels, tours, etc).

comp

good post :thumbs: :thumbs: did you check out any parts companys over
there ??? :flag

pik

Spare parts!, thats a laugh. During the plant start-up that I worked out there, we seriously considered putting someone on a plane to Germany to get the parts we needed.

As for vacationing, I thought Beijing was quite cheap.

Biker

I visited Shanghai and Shenzen on business last year. China is a very interesting place. No vette parts, but I did get some bootleg DVDs and NBA jerseys for the kids.

DMONSVETTE

I don't get it. :confused:

pik

Demonsvette.
The sign means to think about your safety in absolute terms. If you act based upon western standards of safety to you would be hurt/killed crossing the street. Concepts of rights of way, yielding, merging etc are all different. It is not that un-common to be getting on the highway and see trucks backing up off the on ramp to avoid tolls. It is a little funny in translation, but I think the intent to make you take NOTHING for granted.

SnoDrgn

:thumbs: I'll be heading there next month.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=806958

standup

......You'll have a great trip......Whitehorse has you covered with the info he's given........

I was awestruck most of the time, in a good way.....the language barrier didn't bother me, but I was only there for 5 days.....if I lived there it would be necessary to try to learn the language......

......I felt pretty safe......the only dangerous thing I ran into were the shopkeepers......they will hound you into buying something....and if you do buy something, they'll keep after you for the add on sale......if you go into the shop, be prepared to barter your way out :) ........

........Have fun :cheers:

standup

I didn't find it expensive at all.....I bought a leather belt for $3 USD, 500ml water was 50 cents, Sheraton room was $115, 10-15 minute cab ride $1, a brand new bicycle that looks like a Vespa was $200 (I didn't buy it, just looking), Coca-Cola $4 (that was expensive), meals about $20 and souvenirs were really cheap (and nicely made).......I hate to say it, but I think it's more expensive to travel to my country (New Zealand) :yesnod:

:cheers:

gh78

Screw China!!!! and our Goverment for lifting the import Tarrriffs and ruining our economy and our way of lfe!