Post: #126

Jd,
I don't have much to say about Dongguan since I didn't go there. I only got an offer for a teaching job there but after inquiring about it with my contacts (mainly Tim and Nick from the elevatorlife) found out it is a dump. Sure it's conveniently located just outside of GZ and costs will be cheaper than in GZ which is among the highest, if not the highest in all of China.

Agreed that people in DG will be less jaded per say than those in GZ but even in GZ, which is a huge city with a population bigger than the entire Canadian population, you'd be surprised to find a lot of locals there who don't know any foreigners. Quite a few of the girls I met in GZ told me that despite living in a city full of foreigners, they don't know many if any at all.

You definitely want to be in the Guangdong province if you're there for manufacturing/developping your own products or even for sourcing products as it's the manufacturing capital of China and by default, of the world. No doubt that the more chinese skills you have, the more options/doors you will have opened, so definitely invest the time/effort to learn as much of the Mandarin as you can before going there. It can only help you in every aspect, not only just biz wise but also day to day things specially if you were to live in a more local area where no one speaks english and everything is in chinese, but also, you'd get access to the hottest chicks as they in 99% of the time, do not speak english as they do not need it.

Post: #127

An update on this, Ryan has now reached a truly remarkable milestone in that he's over 200K! At 203.8K so far! in 10 days!!! And with 14 days still to go on this, I have no doubts he will at the very least, go over 250K! Absolutely mind bugging!: Just wow.....

(03-04-2013 02:04 PM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  Update of an awesome success story:

You guys remember my friend Ryan from http://www.theelevatorlife.com/the-eleva...n-watches/

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1173...nless-stee

Well, last week, he launched his first product, grain watches and made a cool 100Gs in that 1 week. You read that right, $100,000 in the first week of launching his product. I'm blown away and very happy for him as he deserves it since he worked his ass off in that project the last few months.

Guys, this is a prime example of what China can do to you if you're there, working closely with your manufacturer, with the right crowd and above all, if you're focused and don't let distractions come into your way (both girls and most importantly, other opportunities while there).

China here I come...

Post: #128

Buja,
I tried replying to your PM but it keeps saying you have not set up your PM options to receive PMs. Let me know once you've corrected it so I can reply to your PM.

(02-23-2013 10:26 PM)buja Wrote:  Hi Vacancier Permanent,

I also want to thank you for turning us on to The Elevator Life.
I haven't been to China since 99 but I'm going this year to Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and most likely Guangzhou.

I'm interested in importing consumer products from China to South America.

The first product that comes to mind is Victoria's Secret style bras and panties...the women are crazy for those things down there.

I'm sure there are other products with higher margins though.

I'm going to start banks accounts while I'm there.

Do you have any recommendations of anyone I should meet while I'm there?

Post: #129

I have been thinking about coming back there for awhile.

Post: #130

thanks VP, I think I fixed it

Post: #131

Have you lived in GZ before? If yes, would love to read about your experiences there. Or anywhere in China for that matter!

(03-16-2013 01:07 AM)elabayarde Wrote:  I have been thinking about coming back there for awhile.

Post: #132

Guys,
Check this video from the elevatorguys! This is what about 2k/month gets you in the primest area in Guangzhou!

http://www.theelevatorlife.com/the-eleva...qus_thread

I've been there and it is simply stunning, specially at night! The views from the rooms are stunning! The IFC Tower and the TV Tower and right by the Subway station! This is truly a Wow stuff kind of location! It really doesnt get any better than this really! This is the view by night basically: http://vimeo.com/53043267 (most of that video was shot around the Tianhe area, where this is located in the primest area in GZ!).

2k/month for about 3 guys is 666.66$/month per person. I'd be interested in joining up forces with 1 or 2 other guys when I get to GZ by the fall to have a similar set up, a pimp pad with other like minded entrepreneurs, each working on our own projects. It would create an ideal environment where we would keep each other pushing, inspiring and also to brainstorm and bounce ideas off each other. Who else in here would be able to make it to GZ by the fall, shooting for late Oct-early Nov?

Having an environment similar to what these guys have created would be sick! You also see Ryan, the guy who is killing it with his original grain watches on kickstarter on that video living with Tim & Nick! This place smells like Money Money Money!!!! Being near these guys would simply be phenomenal! Lets do this guys!!! Who's in?

Post: #133

Very informative video on Shenzhen, what it is like to live there, the scene and other good stuff about SZ by my boys Nick and Tim:

http://www.theelevatorlife.com/the-eleva...-shenzhen/

Looking like an excellent place to base yourself in the south of China. On the water, new shiny, exciting city, right next door to Hong Kong, amazing night life all make SZ a great place to start in China.

Has anyone in here been to Shenzhen? Would love to hear your experiences there.

Post: #134

^ Since we're on the topic of Shenzhen, I should throw in that while I was living in Hong kong (1 year) I made several trips up across the border and all I can say is, the girls up there are the most beautiful that I have encountered in Asia (Tokyo maybe comes at a close 2nd). Many guys in HK agree with me, and while our experience was primarily shopping obviously, its a helluva trip, i'd get lukeys just bargaining with those girls. And yes, *all* of the salespeople are girls, it's as if they pick out the hottest from the mainland and bring them there.

Language barrier is far greater than HK obviously, and pros are pretty rampant (my friends actually accidentally stayed at a hostel that was actually a brothel or something). But get involved with the university, there is a new one that just opened a couple years ago, and you can get to know the community pretty well and find chicks that are more westernized. As for clubbing, i don't think we ever went as they were daytrips, again this was 4-5 years ago so hopefully things haven't changed.

Would kill to see a datasheet on that place.

Post: #135

A small info update on Shenzhen, I've been here for a little more than 10 days.
Most events are posted on either shstuff.com (as mentioned before), or at shenzhenparty.com.
The city itself is very modern and sometimes it really gives the vibe of being in 1st world countrys top tier city.
As for the parties, I spent most of my nights out in Coco Park strip (many clubs, my favorite is Pepper, then LAX. There is also Viva, but the level of sound requires some good earplugs).
I also heard good things about the club close to KK Mall, which is just next to grand theater subway station.
The weather is surprisingly cold, there were days when it was dropping below 15 degrees celsius.
Quality level of girls I have to admit, it is one of the highest in Asia (compared to Thailand, Burma, Malaysia, Phils, Vietnam and Cambodia). But the language barrier is harsh, and translator with pretty slow connection (I use China Unicom, which is supposed to offer fastest mobile internet), but still it might be painfully slow.
As for the websites, there are proxies to be able to use internet without censorship. I downloaded freegate professional edition without any problems when I was already in Shenzhen, so no troubles here. It works with FB, but YT videos take hours to buffer, so I don't even bother.
More to come.

Post: #136

Awesome, I got the nomination!

Spring/Summer 2014 - Semester abroad in Guangzhou!!!

Post: #137

^ Hm suspicious spam post. Possible spam troll?

Post: #138

All i can say about GZ, enjoy the pollution, Shanghai was stunning clean after that...

The underground train service is fast and cheap, packed though

NO good looking girls, no English, girls freak out if you try and game them, they are very shy and play games

Prices have risen over 18 months, no longer the bargain, 4-star hotel was like $100 night

For the record i like China, and will return!

"Lifes about, shooting your load"

Post: #139

^^^ agree with above post

Go to GZ to make money, and lots of it, don't go for the girls.

But there are plenty of white girls in Hong Kong which is about an hour train ride away, and places like BKK and DPS are short flights away if you want Asians

Post: #140

Great thread VP. Will really help me make the most of my trip to Guangzhou in August. Will update you guys after.

Post: #141

Spent 4 months in Guangzhou earlier this year. In the end I baled and went to Thailand.

Guangzhou is packed with the hottest girls imaginable, but you need to spend time there and establish yourself.

Guangzhou has extreme weather and humidity. In June there was like a perpetual thunderstorm in the distance. On two occasions I experienced 3 thunderstorms in a single day. My coat went mouldy, my airconditioner smelled horrible every time I turned it on and food would go off very quickly. Also food quality is low and contamination is also a big problem. My University I was studying at had a problem with Cadmium in their rice - do you really think a street stall would have a biochemistry lab to check their ingredients?

Plus I would go out for a couple of hours and my clothes would stink. It's not me, because it doesn't happen in Bangkok. God knows what was in the air. Only saw 2 sunsets in 4 months though.

Also Guangzhou is quite expensive for accommodation. Most Chinese apartments tend to be quite large and designed for whole families. You can share, but then it comes with its own particular problems.

I tried to meet the Elevator guys but they were too busy with their champagne lifestyle. Just beware that you need to know what you're doing business wise. I bought Chinese made shoes and they lasted 6 days. Now imagine you'd just bought a container full of them. Also if a business deal goes wrong, the Chinese police will be round to take your passport away. Then you're stuffed.

Also exporting Chinese stuff to the rest of the world sounds good, but it's very competitive. How much did you pay for your Chinese made iPhone cover on eBay? Yeah, I bet the export guy is making $$$$ from that business.

Most guys doing well in Guangzhou are exporting Chinese stuff to the Middle East and Africa - places that don't have clothes or widget factories of their own, and where they will overlook shoddy goods.

I went to Dongguan, it's a paradise of hot women and amazingly cheap apartments BUT there's no work there. If you can get a visa and have the means to support yourself then check it out.

Shenzhen is more modern than Guangzhou but boring. It's a good place to find alpha alpha females but they're normally single because they're so busy and also most men don't like very smart women.

If I was going back to China, I'd go to Changsha or somewhere in Guangxi.

If you want to pay for sex, it's not hard to find. Guangzhou has been cleaned up and the pimps have decamped to Dongguan and Foshan. But most hotels in Shenzhen are set up for HK guys to go take their mainland mistresses/dates. Girls can be found in hairdressing salons and other places, but my guess is that a lot of escorts have moved online to places like WeChat.

As to Chinese girls, they're hot but they can be very clingy. A few clubbing types do short term relationships but most are seeking husbands.

It's good that hardly any of them smoke or drink. Tattoos are becoming popular though.

Whatever, you'll have the place pretty much to yourself. I'd go whole days without seeing a foreigner. Most foreigners are expats who are already married, African/Middle Eastern businessmen or English teachers. Tourists are pretty rare, and usually they're lost and looking for the HK train.

Post: #142

DG is the p4p capital of china, plus the only place inwas ever scared (i'd be shocked if there s anyone bigger than me on this forum)

Quality in shz is insane. Insane. No one ever talks about, but this is the place with the hottest chix in asia. The reason is that it pulls in all the hot chix of half of china. Having said that if you dont speak chinese and have some cash you fucked.

Post: #143

I went to parts of Dongguan. But China just feels a lot safer than anywhere else. When I worked in London, the biggest and toughest guy in our office still got mugged in Hackney!

Yes Shenzhen is great. There are less foreigners there, especially if you discount the border crossing to HK.

If I went back to China I'd go to Shenzhen. Last time I lived in Guangzhou, but the best dates I met were all from Shenzhen or Dongguan.

The downside is that it's expensive there. Even Mentos and M&M's were like 20% more expensive than in Guangzhou. Over the course of a month, the extra expense really adds up.

China doesn't really have Thailand's affordable condos. Here I am now living just 3 miles from Bangkok's Nana Plaza and it's just ~$300 a month for a studio room in a hotel with 24/7 staffing and a TV/microwave/fridge/big bed. Live somewhere a little less upmarket and you can spend a quarter of that.

Post: #144

I came across this thread since Im looking for information on Asian countries because Im thinking of Teaching English abroad and heard that salaries go from 10,000 RMB to 12,000 depending on the city. Great thread and this city got my interest since its close to Hong Kong.
Very nice thread.

One question though. How is the foreign exotic factor in Guanzhou? I have a friend from there who says I will be quite popular but I also know that foreigners arent very liked in Asia, but maybe im mistaken. How is the exotic factor there compared to other cities like chengdu or Shangai for isntance? Do they speak Mandarin or Cantonese? I'm Latino and maybe the culture might take a little to get used to. Maybe if I find some salsa bars ill be good.

Post: #145

Guangzhou has a lot of foreigners there since it's a mega business hub. However, all the girls I met there told me that while there are a lot of foreigners, they don't meet many as they are shy. So yeah you may be popular there depending on where in the city you're looking/fishing.

Can't talk about other cities in China as I've been only to GZ but from what I heard, Shanghai is filled with gringos, therefore, being a foreigner won't be anything special. Unless you're a high paid exec or successful entrepreneur with a big social network and language skills. Chengdu I've heard great things, maybe the China pros who have been there can provide some first hand experience from there?

Cantonese is only spoken in Hong Kong and the south East of China, in the Guangdong Province, whose capital is Guangzhou. But having said that, the national language in China is Mandarin. So if you're learning one, focus on Mandarin.

There are some latino bars/clubs in GZ. Check gzstuff.com for events, clubs, as well as classifieds for jobs.

Suerte.

Post: #146

Just an update:
My buddies Tim & Nick are running their own Kickstarter on very stylish watches and are killing it as well after Ryan did earlier this year. Check it out:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1624...ss-steel-w

These are very nice watches that go well with our lifestyle as classy, stylish globe trotters. I don't push products in here but I will make an exception here as these guys are the real deal and so are these watches. I got my own copies as well.

Post: #147

As an important high-speed railway connecting the Mainland China and Hong Kong, the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong High-Speed Railway is a part of the planned Beijing-Hong Kong High-Speed Railway. It could serve rapid transit from Guangzhou South Railway Station to Kowloon West, Hong Kong, passing by Humen Town of Dongguan, Shenzhen North Railway Station and Futian Station. Furthermore, at Guangzhou South Railway Station, passengers could experience the free-transfer system to the high-speed trains to Wuhan and Zhuhai.

Post: #148

Didn't want it start a new thread as this is very relevant to this thread. I love podcasts, specially those about business, travel and lifestyle and I came across a great one which goes in details about the Canton Fair, the biggest fair in the world, which is held twice a year, from mid Oct to mid Nov and from mid Apr to mid May, in Guanghzou, China. This podcast covers all the nitty gritty details of the fair, such as how to get there, what is needed to attend it and how to get those docs required as well as the costs for attending it. I found it very informative and helpful as I'm going there this fall and I'm sure a few people in here would be interested in at least learning a bit more about the Canton Fair.

Enjoy!

http://www.ecommercefuel.com/canton-fair...uence-com/

Post: #149

I used to live in GZ for half a year, so I can divulge a bit about the place.

For nightclub life, i suggest going for Party Pier, which is opposite the district Liede'. In Liede' itself they have a bar called Hooleys, which is a good place to meet expats. Try to locate the Soho clubs, if you are interested in Chinese girls, although it may be difficult if you don't speak any Mandarian. Its very easy to hook up with expats in this city, there are a lot of russians and spanish. People are pretty lonely in GZ, which i reckon is the same for most of China, in terms of expat wise. So people are eager to meet new people.

Zujian New Town, has a four seasons hotel at the top of the coolest building. I suggest going there and buying one drink and a cigar, always take female company; its an impressive place

The metro is easy to utilise, if you are staying somewhere, I suggest Yanji* its a few stops away from Zujijan New town. It used to be a tough neighbourhood, but now there are a lot of expats there but it refrains from being too commercialised.
Anyone who is interested in Martial Arts, I suggest heading to Foshan and which is one hour away by metro, to check out Ip Man's temple.

Personally I would prefer Shanghai, but some people say GZ is better; although being not as well known. Foreigners are common here, but you will always have the exotic factor. As a white man in China with average looks, will still have you seen as being the equivalent of Brad Pitt.

Post: #150

(10-15-2013 05:33 PM)MidWest Wrote:  I came across this thread since Im looking for information on Asian countries because Im thinking of Teaching English abroad and heard that salaries go from 10,000 RMB to 12,000 depending on the city. Great thread and this city got my interest since its close to Hong Kong.
Very nice thread.

One question though. How is the foreign exotic factor in Guanzhou? I have a friend from there who says I will be quite popular but I also know that foreigners arent very liked in Asia, but maybe im mistaken. How is the exotic factor there compared to other cities like chengdu or Shangai for isntance? Do they speak Mandarin or Cantonese? I'm Latino and maybe the culture might take a little to get used to. Maybe if I find some salsa bars ill be good.

Speak to me before you do teaching in China. I did it for a while to subdizise living costs and food, while I tried to do a start up. You have to be careful as a lot of people get ripped off or make bad choices. I know a couple of friends who are doing the same thing. It will defiantly be an experience.

I believe being Latino won't make too much of a difference, especially if you are light skinned. I am white but have dark features and have passed off as being latin before and this didn't impact my game in a negative way at all. Black guys will have a harder time in this location. Even if you are in Shanghai, you will still have the exotic factor. Truth is Chinese girls would much rather a guilao any day over one of their own men.