Another exciting day in New York. Although I didn’t pack my schedule as busy as I did when I was in Silicon Valley (most of the business meetings were completed yesterday), there are still a lot interesting things to do in New York, especially when I have unbelievably kind friends here who took great care of me.

NASDAQ

The day started with a visit to the NASDAQ Open Bell ceremony at 9:30 am. I was actually quite impressed by the way NASDAQ worked. At the Times Square, if you locate the NASDAQ Tower (very easy to see), and there is a glass room at the street level. That broadcast room IS the place to ring the bell. I thought it would be a place inside the building with a lot of people trading (the typical scene found in the NYSE, and Shanghai Stock Exchange), but they don’ t have that. As a completely automated system, the National Association of Securities Dealers Automatic Quotation (NASDAQ) does not have a physically marketplace (just like Baixing.com). The tower (called Marketsite) is just a terminal of the real system – just as millions of terminals saw by millions of people worldwide. It is actually a broadcast room. Sherry told us that more than 100 TV programs were broadcast exactly from that room.

The audience of the opening ceremony in the room is not too many, since there is no room m for more than 30 people. However, what is happening in the room is broadcast on the screen of the big tower in real time, and the ticker will be promoted all day round, making it possible to be seen by 1.6 million people in Time Square that day, not to mentioned the people seeing it from television.

People can get onto the stage, and the professional photographer can take a photo, which will be shown on the tower in a moment.

Look at the team who rang the bell.

With the strong disco-volume music, and a press of button, the NASDAQ market started to run (well, of cause the actually system is not really controlled by the button). The big screens turned and displayed the real time stock price. The first few seconds was the most exciting one since everything changes so dramatically when the market opens, and it will get stable few minutes later. It was a very memorable experience.

Thanks to Sherry and Brian for inviting us.

NCUSCR

The next stop is National Committee on United States-China Relationships (NCUSCR) at 23rd/6th. Just as NASDAQ, which saw the dramatic changes in the financial world, NCUSCR saw the change in international relationship world.

I treated here as my home in New York City, since I am a proud member of Young Leader’s Forum since 2007. Jon brought me to the High Line area in Chelsea. We enjoyed the special perspective offered by the High Line project. We talked about the history of Friends of High Line organization. It was co-founded by Robert Hammond (YLF 2006 Fellow), supported by Vishaan Chakrabarti (YLF 2005 Fellow), and architect design by Gregg Pasquarelli (YLF 2002 Fellow), I just felt a strong tie with the amazing project.

Charlie Rose, and Bloomberg

I ended the day with a visit to Bloomberg headquarters, the center of finance media world.

I was invited by Charlotte Morgan (YLF 2009 Fellow), who is producer of the popular talk show Charlie Rose, and I had the opportunity to look into the producing room, and the actually taping of the issue with Gary Player (top golf player after Tiger Woods).

Just as tech companies in Silicon Valley is competing on free lunch, I guess the finance and media companies in NYC are competing with the views outside their window. Look at this one:

I made another quick drawing of what I saw on top of New York.

Thanks all

I’d like to thank my friends in NYC to offer the great insider tour for me to experience a New York not every tourist can see. The day is so excited and full that Wendy and I wrapped up the day with set meal in McDonald’s to balance it.

P.S. Last but not least, Happy Birthday to Wendy! I love you.