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... Conclusion
WE
experienced
Shanghai
when the cold was beginning to subside and spring was in
the air.
But for
an ordinary Filipino who is used to hot and humid
weather, the average three-degree centigrade temperature
was too cold. What made it unbearable was the wind chill
factor when you are standing in the middle of the road.
Shanghai
is a veritable shopping mecca for people of different
statures. We were “delivered” by our guide to different
shopping buildings where all things that you’ve seen in
Greenhills or 168 in Binondo abound. Stall vendors fight
for customers as they even tug at your shirt or arm and
try to entice you to see their products.
Just
like in Divisoria, one can haggle for a P600 Seiko or
IWC watch that peddles for around P2,500 in Greenhills
which is of good quality. You never ever bite on the
price they give when you ask. As what our guide had
advised us, go for at least one-fifth of the price and
haggle. If he levels off to a price that is still way
above your price, leave the place. More than always,
they will go after you and agree to your price. But a
piece of advice here: be ready to buy once they do.
Leather
goods and watches are good buys all over. The Chinese
have excelled in copying the best the European and the
American brands have to offer. I got a branded leather
bag for my wife for only P480. In our local department
stores, they are tagged at least P4,000 or more.
What
amazed us, really, was the kind of development that was
introduced by their government. In
Shanghai
skyscrapers are sprouting left and right, while elevated
highways crisscross the busy financial district. There
was one elevated highway we had run into which spirals
upward first for almost eight stories high before we
reached our destination.
One
bridge that we took across the giant
Yangtze River was a huge one that was recently renovated. One can
reach the upper deck of the bridge through several
elevators at the foot of the bridge.
A
further trip up north to the
Wuhu province—Chery cars country—was also an eye-opener for
everybody. The almost three-hour trip would tell you how
development had already crept up even to the remotest
province of China. On both sides of the road, newly
built, one- to five-story buildings were standing almost
side by side. The empty spaces along the stretch are
planted with various plants and vegetables, which could
simply show why vegetables were plentiful in all our
dining stops.
Even in
the northernmost provinces of China, road construction
and widening is everywhere and are expected to be
finished soon.
Medicines are very cheap. An eye drop, which was
prescribed for my infected eye by a local pharmacist in
a nearby building beside our hotel, cost only P9. Here
in Manila, branded eye drops go for more than P70. It
was good since the next day, the redness in my eye
disappeared and the infection was gone completely. One
companion sought medication for his constipation and was
given two suppositories that also cost only P9. By the
time I saw him at dinner he said he was very much
relieved. Here in Manila, it would cost you around P120
or more.
Why the
name Chery? A company book said Chery originates from
the English word “Cheery” that implies happiness and
cheerfulness. In Chinese, “Chery” conveys the meaning of
auspiciousness.
The
Chery plant is situated inside a huge tract of gated
land in the province of Wuhu in China’s Anhui province.
Chery Automobile Co. Ltd. was founded in 1997,
specializing in the production and operation of
automobiles and automotive components. There are more
than 13,000 personnel at the said site.
The
company has developed complete product lines “and the
company’s own research and development projects have
enabled the development and production of vehicles,
engines, gearboxes and other core components.” At
present, the production capacity for Chery vehicles
stand at 400 units a year, while those engines and
gearboxes stand at 400,000 and 300,000 units a year,
respectively.
Last
year more than 350,000 Chery cars were sold worldwide.
More than 200,000 were sold in
China
alone, and the requirement is still rising, according to
Chery officials. They also aim to produce 1 million cars
by 2010, and enhance its exportation share to 40 percent
of Chery total sales volume.
Two
years ago Chery signed an agreement with an American
company to supply 13,000 engine units. It was tagged not
only as the biggest contract for Chery, but is also the
biggest passenger-car engine exportation of a
Chinese-made brand in the global market. “Such a
large-scale engine exportation signified that
Chinese-made brands are not only becoming more and more
popular to overseas consumers in terms of whole
vehicles, but marks international acceptance of the
quality of Chery’s engine whose development represents
the level of core technology of automobile production.”
Yes,
Chery cars are now being sold locally and with the way
curious onlookers are trooping to the 28 Chery
dealerships almost on an everyday basis, one may say
that the Chinese (car) invasion has already started. |
