After a 14 hour flight our group of 35 arrived in Shanghai airport at about 6pm. We are 11 hours ahead of Valparaiso.
Shanghais is a city of about 15 million and the growth is hard to believe. During the hour bus ride from the airport to the hotel, the amount of construction was startling. Even at 7pm on a Sunday, workers were out on the sites, welding, and using heavy equipment. Cars, busses and motor scootters filled the streets and the stores were still open at 10pm.
Three of us walked parts of the city and it had the feel of Chicago, only bigger. It is a safe city to walk at night and the architecture is a mixture of older culture giving way to modern construction.
You can see the evidence of a global market all around. The bus we rode to the hotel had a Cummins engine inside (manufactured in Indiana), Americian products can easily be found in the stores and US companies have a ubiquitous presence throughout the city.
On the plane, I sat near David Bramlage of Cole's Hardwoods, an Indinan company based in Montecell which has been exporting quaity Indiana hardwoods to China for decades. David has been here many times to expand their markets and provided much insight into conducting business in China.
I.U. President, Michael McRobbie is on the trip and he reported that China now send more international students to IU Bloomington than any other counrty. He has plans to meet with a number of IU alumni during the trip.
I was disappointed we didn't get to ride the 220 MPH Mag Lev high speed train. But perhaps another time. Its summer here and the weather is warm and a bit muggy.
Tomorrow we will attend a US Commercial Service briefing, attend a Cummins luncheon, meet with the Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce officials and attend a reception of the Hoosier Club of Shanghai in the evening.
Jon