China Advice?

"Milky" (jordanmielke) 10/23/2015 at 09:58 • Filed to: China, Design

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Oppo Im heading to China for work! More specifically to Shanghai and Beijing to show off some design work. I’ll have a couple days to be a tourist at each. Any tips on the cities or China do’s and dont’s would be appreciated.

Also apparently they only have 3 pixel cameras over there.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Milky 10/23/2015 at 10:06

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Carry your work on a portable HD and wipe your computer when you get back.

Milky > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 10/23/2015 at 10:13

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Wait, are you taking crazy pills or is this a real thing?

Also Im taking a work laptop with some very expensive software.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Milky 10/23/2015 at 10:16

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Yup.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/12/2793…

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national…

PatBateman > Milky 10/23/2015 at 10:19

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Do not cross your legs in a manner that shows off the bottom of your feet.

If they nod their head while you speak, they are not agreeing with you; they are only showing that they’re listening.

Depending on the situation, your hotel room phone might be bugged.

Keep your laptop with you at all times, and do not log onto the internet with it (if you have proprietary information on it).

No, I'm not being paranoid.

PS9 > Milky 10/23/2015 at 10:23

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Today’s oppo challenge;

*Note: Only Milky can participate in this challenge

Gather whatever parts are available to you in China and build a Miata. You have 24 hours, and free use of a MiG welder.

Milky > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 10/23/2015 at 10:27

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Well damn, Im going to have to bone up on this.

Milky > PatBateman 10/23/2015 at 10:30

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NO INTERNET?! My God.

But really though I’m only the designer, I don’t have that desirable of info .... should figure out what I need and don’t need before I go.

Either way, thanks for the etiquette tips.

Milky > PS9 10/23/2015 at 10:30

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That is going to be one shitty looking Miata.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Milky 10/23/2015 at 10:31

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I would suggest asking your employer to buy you a burner laptop that you can load only what you need to show your clients, or putting the program you need on an external drive that you keep with you along with an OS installation so you can wipe your pc once you enter the country.

Also, if you need web access, VPN or nothing.

crowmolly > Milky 10/23/2015 at 10:31

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I was in Shanghai last year. Some things I was told:

1.) Many (if not most) of the taxi drivers do not speak English.

2.) Be aware of scams- like the “hey, nice American, take our picture please then buy us drinks” one. Shoeshine guys (like the one near the Masarati dealer) will harass the shit out of you and may intentionally squirt filth on your shoes so you pay for a shine.

3.) Cars will not stop for you in the street.

4.) Some common communication things won’t work, like Google products and Facebook.

5.) Be aware that your search results will be filtered on other search engines like Yahoo, etc.

6.) Bring but don’t necessarily carry a fair amount of cash. My corporate AMEX was mostly useful as a drink coaster.

Where are you staying?

Milky > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 10/23/2015 at 10:45

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But they just bought me a new MacBook Pro. Really only have photoshop and CAD files on it. And after this event the design will be public anyways.

Just looked up VPN and they’re cheap! Or cheaper then I thought they would be. Will do that for sure.

Milky > crowmolly 10/23/2015 at 10:50

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Apparently were going to have a driver.

Im hoping I’m okay with street scams being that I live in Detroit.

noted

Damn commies

We’re having a meeting later and I was going to ask about monies. Can I just get some VISA pre paid cards?

IIRC a Westin and Zhejing international hotel? Im not really sure to be honest.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Milky 10/23/2015 at 10:54

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Invest in one of these.

PatBateman > Milky 10/23/2015 at 10:57

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As a designer, you might have the most desirable info for them. The Chinese, as you probably know, take liberties with others’ patents and proprietary work. They’ll want a peek of your hard drive (and pretty much everything else on the computer, including emails, browser history, keystrokes, passwords, etc).

I did a very encompassing paper on this in one of my business classes in college. France is just as bad (if not worse) with this kind of corporate espionage as well. Their government will spy on you on behalf of their companies, complete with bugging your room, putting a scanner in your shredder, monitoring all web activity, and even breaking into your hotel room and room safe to see what they can find. Fun stuff.

crowmolly > Milky 10/23/2015 at 11:03

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Apparently were going to have a driver.

Cool, makes that easy

Im hoping I’m okay with street scams being that I live in Detroit.

Probably, but some are creative so just a heads up

noted

Damn commies

Don’t say this there

We’re having a meeting later and I was going to ask about monies. Can I just get some VISA pre paid cards?

Maybe. Visa might work a *little better* but I burned through my cash due to no stripe reader. If the card doesn’t have a chip it might be totally useless.

IIRC a Westin and Zhejing international hotel? Im not really sure to be honest.

Cool, sounds good. I was in the JW Marriott and it was excellent. If they let you, book a room there.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Milky 10/23/2015 at 11:13

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I would still put your CAD files on USB thumb drive(s) that never leaves your person.

And I would highly recommend having the ability to do a fresh install of your OS from a secure drive before you load those USB drives. China WILL put spyware on your PC if they have access to it.

Milky > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 10/23/2015 at 11:30

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Putting the files on a USB is no problem and I’ll look into reinstalling my OS.

IIRC its pretty easy on a Mac and you keep your files. Would only be worried about losing software, but if thats not a problem then I have no problem doing it.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Milky 10/23/2015 at 11:38

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From what I gather in the articles, and I am by no means a cyber-security expert, is that you should keep the files you absolutely need on your person at all times, and that whatever computer you need should be nuked and wiped before going over, and again once you get there.

Only a total wipe and a fresh OS install will keep your files safe.

I would talk with your IT guys and bosses about how they want you to proceed. They might not care, in which case I wouldn’t worry about it. But they should care, and I would hope they will see your trip as an impetus to have a plan if they are going to be doing more business in China.

BorkBorkBjork > Milky 10/23/2015 at 11:44

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Looks like all the bases are covered in other responses. Watch out for your data, beware of scams, and bring a breathing mask (a NIOSH N95 will work fine for most particulates). Remember, the Chinese Government is not your friend.

Another bit of advice, don’t eat at any local (read: non-westernized) restaurant that doesn’t have their meat hanging out for everyone to see. If you don’t see a flayed pig hanging in the doorway, then you probably aren’t eating real pork.

LionZoo > Milky 10/23/2015 at 14:54

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As a native Chinese and a guy that frequently travels back to China (in fact I’m going to Shanghai next week!), the guys commenting are being way too paranoid. I generally bring work with me and while I’ve never had data issues, I still take some precautions (e.g., I leave all non-essential data at home and pick and choose what work to bring with me so that if it’s compromised it won’t be a big deal). The news makes issues seem way worse than it is (it’s how they get clicks).

What you should do is really spend some time enjoying the experience. I’ll try to break things down for you, but if you need further information, just drop me a message.

Shanghai: Of the two cities, Shanghai is definitely more fun (I’m biased though, that’s my hometown). The cafe scene in Shanghai is really good and there are some fun tourist traps. There are also some nice clubs, if that’s your thing, and some of the older towns outside of the city (might be a bit more difficult to get to) is worth checking out. Also, if you’re into driving, go to the Shanghai circuit karting track (take the subway there and then call the kart track to ask for pick up from the subway station). There’s a slow kart, a fast kart, and a level above that. Ask for the highest level and tell them you race cars overseas. I also find it interesting to check out the billion high end shops in the city center. Exotic car shopping is interesting at first, but quickly gets old. Go to Pudong just for the sky scrapers, and try to get a meal at the restaurants at the top. Check out the Eastern Pearl. Ride the ferry between the bund for the old school experience (I think it’s still operational?). There are also some older parts of town still around, but they’re rapidly disappearing.

Beijing: It’s definitely more somber than Shanghai and more polluted. However, Beijing has history. Where the goal in Shanghai should be to have fun, the goal in Beijing should be to check out as many of the historical landmarks as possible. Obviously try to hit most of the posts: Tiananmen, the Forbidden Palace, the Great Wall (that’ll probably eat up a day), and other spots. (Note: the Forbidden Palace is mostly empty of furniture since when the KMT left China, they took as much loot as they could get their hands on.) Beijing has these huge blocks that are a bit of a trip, but walking them quickly gets old. Beware though: taxi transportation in Shanghai is easy, but for some reason the Beijing transportation system basically shuts down at 11 pm (I once had to walk home after work since no taxi wanted to take my fare and the subways were closed). Beijing also has the best colleges in China, and visiting them gives you an idea of the Chinese college experience.

Regardless, have fun. China is a lot less scary than people that have never been to China try to make it seem. (And Beijing and Shanghai are like Disneyland compared to... Dongguan.)

LionZoo > Milky 10/23/2015 at 14:59

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Westin is always a good choice. I’ve mostly not had an issue with using Visa, though I try to just use hard cash when I can. I don’t like the international charges and the more local places won’t take Visa.

TheOnelectronic > Milky 10/23/2015 at 20:20

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Tossing my two cents in that I’ve heard this advice as well, including from my brother who’s done a fair bit of business in China.

Dunnik > Milky 11/02/2015 at 02:28

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Be very careful where and what you eat. You may just wish to eat at your hotel whenever possible.

Also, watch out for Jing Jing and Cha Cha.

Otherwise, enjoy your trip to China! China? China. China, china, china. China. China! China -China. China? BTW, I love China! China.

certified cool guy > Milky 03/07/2016 at 20:29

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what bike is that lol