P.S. Me? Don't worry about me. It was just occasionally travel times, mixed with my passion for coding this week. Will be back to normal soon.

Because of everybody now is using Twitter or other miniblog?

Posted by: liujiang on November 20, 2009 11:47 PM

everybody now twitters

Posted by: safarinew on November 21, 2009 12:16 AM

everybody now twitters

Posted by: safarinew on November 21, 2009 12:17 AM

Many people are also mini blogging of Sina ：）I also quit the habbit of blogging everyday but mini blogging many times a day. But nobody knows the future. Sometimes I suppose that blogging are more close to meaningful thoughts. Maybe time will tell. ：）

Posted by: cheery on November 21, 2009 5:24 AM

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you mean "refactoring"?
Happy coding~

Posted by: gengmao on November 20, 2009 9:19 AM

Refactoring is the correct term.

Posted by: Давид on November 20, 2009 12:56 PM

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Hello,
Lucky man, Chengdu is definitively my favorite city in China!
monsieurma

Posted by: monsieurma on November 16, 2009 7:43 PM

For those who don't have a chance to visit Chengdu, explore it here:
http://www.gochengdoo.com/en/gallery/

Posted by: Adam on November 17, 2009 10:24 AM

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2009 - Young Leaders' Forum 2009
2009 - Baixing company outing
2008 - 3rd China Webmasters' Conference
2006 - 2nd China Webmaster‘s Conference
200x - Microsoft Channel Meeting
200x - Microsoft Company Outing

Gulangyu:

Xiamen island:

Post your comment

I Always Fly China Spring

Recently, I really enjoyed flying with China Spring. Wendy, me and Yifan fly back to Zhengzhou via Spring Airlines, and fly to Xiamen and back via Spring. The 99 RMB flight ticket is very attractive. But there are more than that. As a business person, I appreciate what Spring Airlines did.

Low Cost with Relatively Bad Experience

Many people complained about the airline. They complained this and complained that, but they never complain about the price. The secret the airline keeps the ticket so low is very wise.

The seats are very tight. It is very compact. They re-arranged the seats to allow 20% more seats than most other airlines. It is tough and painful to sit there, but other than complaining about it, how can people refuse to take that airline? The ticket price is low!

There are no food, not beverage, and no any service on board - just a bottle of pure water. My guess is, if it is not required by the government, they will remove that also (since it is not allowed to bring any liquid on board, they have to offer something to drink). You have to pay for anything else.

They sell things! This is the part they got most complain. From the beginning of the trip to the end, the flight attendants sell stuff at the front of the seats, and use the on board broadcast system. People complain that they cannot fall asleep. They sell from Disney toys, to MP3, to shaver, and they have plan to sell real estates, and cars. Everyone complain about it, but that is the way they keep the flight ticket price low. I would say they are genius to make the decision to intentionally offer bad experience to keep the cost low, and it works very well. Everyone complains and most of them continue to choose that airline.

On the baggage allowance, they are the lowest. On the time for reserved ticket, they are the shortest (if you don't pay in 30 minutes after reservation, your reservation will be automatically canceled). On the turn over time, their flight will take off again after 20 minutes of landing, so they push the limit to move passengers as quick as possible, no matter you like it or not. They require you to use their website or call center to book (no other agents and dealer), and you have to have your online payment account ready before you are qualified to buy a ticket from them. Bingo! I love their style.

They also have unified aircraft - A320, and they fly 14 hours out of the 24 hours - compared to 11 hours of the industry average. It is common sense that aircraft only makes money when it is in the sky.

They are also planning to sell standing seats if they get the approval from the government. Yes. You see it right - standing seats on the plane. I believe if approved, they can further push the cost from Shanghai to Zhengzhou, or Shanghai to Xiamen to under 10 USD on regular basis.

I Love China Spring

I admit the operating philosophy of Spring Airlines sounds great for me. Every business wants to use good words to describe themselves - the best experience with the lowest cost! But we are not genius. The only way that works is to give up a dimension of value, and only focus on the other. Spring Airlines stands for low cost airline, and they stand firmly on that area. I firmly believe they will be doing very well in the future, and will buy their stock if they go to IPO.

Standing seats? Really? that seems dangerous- how would you buckle in? Maybe there could be some kind of board that you lean against.

There was a rumor that RyanAir would charge to use the lavatory. Seems like it was joke though.

Posted by: Greg on November 12, 2009 12:14 AM

And we complain about ryanair in Europe....

Posted by: ecodelta on November 12, 2009 4:18 AM

How are public restrooms in HangZhou? Are there some on the trains too?

Posted by: Molly on November 12, 2009 5:46 AM

Man, thanks for giving us the name of this company, I will NEVER use Spring Airlines. 20 minutes between each flight ? Mmm ... says quite long about security issues that can happen there ...

I much prefer to :

- wait a little longer to exit the plane
- pay a little bit more

... in order to get decent comfort and more security ...

Just my 0.14 RMB

Posted by: Zimago on November 12, 2009 10:12 PM

Whew, I though our airline in the Philippines is the only one functioning like that, Anyway I am not really against their new policy's or new style on how to maximize their earnings. But it helps people too if they lower flight rates and lessen the comfort inside a plane.

Cebu pacific don't even give a 1 bottle of water. Just free seats and free air hahaha...
But it's really low rated ticket.

Posted by: Arvin on November 12, 2009 11:17 PM

Dear Jianshuo ,thank you for you understanding and trust to Spring Airlines. I wish you enjoy more in Spring Airlines ! Best regards. Zhang Wuan from Spring Airlines

Posted by: Zhang Wuan on November 13, 2009 9:31 AM

More on the issue from WSJ

http://tinyurl.com/yh5flnq

Some ideas.

They could also sell trip related things, for example Hotel reservation, transportation, flight packages, Holiday trips, etc...

On airplanes equipped with in-flight entertainment systems, use it to complete the transaction through a web like interface.
The in-flight entertainment system could also be used for advertisement.....

Just my two cents.

Posted by: ecodelta on November 13, 2009 7:28 PM

My only complain or suggestion is to improve Spring Air's seats. They are quite uncomfortable.

Posted by: chen_pu on November 13, 2009 10:54 PM

JS, you are right, the most profitable carriers today are the no-frills operators. The five-stars carriers such as CX, SQ & QR are cutting down the size of their F class to make room for lower classes, may be in the future, there will not be any flag carriers, and air passengers are more treated like cattle rather than people.

Posted by: stephen on November 13, 2009 11:33 PM

I have flown Spring on short flights and it is not that bad, but man, anything longer than 1.5 hours and I don't think I could take it; the seats are really really tight.

Posted by: China Law on November 18, 2009 11:04 PM

I've flown Spring twice but never again. Cheap, no doubt, but I don't believe passenger's comfort has to be compromised for being cheap. Selling stuff over the broadcast system at full volume is unnecessary.

With 20 mins turnaround time, it is no wonder this airline has a reputation of delay. Anyway, if any of you are flying with them, just a point to note, pushing the limit to move passengers as quick as possible translate to misleading passenger with a 30 mins earlier than scheduled departure time. Not that it matters since the delay is hardly verifiable by passenger that it is the airline's fault. Read the BIG print from the airline webpage on SPECIAL NOTIFICATION OF LIMITATION OF LIABILITIES IN CASE OF FLIGHT DELAY OR CANCELLATION.). I'll be curious to see their on time performance chart.

Posted by: lin_ch on November 19, 2009 12:31 PM

yet to try to board into a Spring Airlines flight. I should try one of these days :-)

Posted by: DC on November 21, 2009 1:35 AM

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In the later 3 days, I was always on the road roaming from one city to another. Not just our American counterpart, I, myself, hasn't been to other part of Fujian other than Xiamen an Fuzhou. Although I tried my best to avoid saying "China is blah-blah-blah" on this blog, I still make the mistake to pretend I know what China is on this blog. Obviously, the part I saw with our American YLFers is not exactly the China in my mind.

I will fly back to Shanghai tomorrow, and when I settle down in Shanghai, I will try to write more about this wonderful trip.

I'd like to take the time to thank Jan, Jon, June, the National Committee on US China Relationship and all participants of the conference of this year. I am so happy to spend 1/52 of my year of 2009 with the great people here this year.

I am very impressed by the Yoyou Inn. If I ever have a chance to visit GulongYu, I'd like to consider to stay there. Your trip sounds so wonderful.

Posted by: Molly on November 12, 2009 1:18 AM

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Another thing that people don't mention was, calendar. Do you have a Calendar briefly discussed about it, but again, it is something with some sort of network effect - calendar is only useful when everyone has one if you want to keep the exact time for meetings. Otherwise, your life will be miserable with delay of meetings, and no shows if you are the only person who are not flexible enough to move meetings randomly on that day.

Buddhism

One of the sharpest question about Buddhism during our visit to South Putuo Temple was about the high ticket price to enter most temple in China. In my personal view, with the systematic destruction and a little bit construction of religion in China, the Buddhism temple has gone to a path to tourism location. The original meaning of quiet meditation and peace in soul have been forced to count the revenue of donations, so they build bigger houses to attract more people. The improvement of buildings in a temple certainly cannot meet the stronger religious needs from the confused people.

A Generation of Confusion

I know our American friends were confused by the Confucius ideology and the materialism and needs for a higher moral standard in China. When asked how I feel, my quick answer is, I am confused.

China has entered into a stage of conflicts. Within a short period of 30 years, the rich and the poor, the money-centric culture, and the traditional virtue, the new laws, and old conflicting laws, the materialism and the remaining internal pride not to talk about it --- all these things mixed together, in a chaotic way that many people including me are quite confused, and one way out (as many people take), is don't think about it, if you don't to be more and more confused. I talked a lot about that confusion in my daily life on this blog in the last 7-8 years.

American Songs

Heard an interesting song when going to Karaoke with American fellows: Love Shack. It is an interesting song - very funny for me to listen and with a nice MTV attached to it. The closest song I can find to match that style of 1980's American song is the Mice Loves Rice about few years ago in China. It is nothing serious - just that type of song completely for fun with repeated sentence: "I love you, just like the mice loves rice". It is an expression of simple, stupid, but true happiness, and people love that popular folk song. I am happy that people in China started to appreciate those songs without high morale standard in it (as opposite to those propaganda songs)

Xiamen

Another note about Xiamen. It is, as I always say, an amazing city. This is maybe the third time I am in Xiamen this year. Xiamen is just 299 RMB or 1.5 hour away from Shanghai, and the airport is pretty close to the hotel area (not the downtown - the hotels with beach), and you can safely treat Xiamen as the back garden for Shanghai (although most people say Hangzhou is the back garden). I love Xiamen and I love to put my meetings in this amazing city.

i heard some of the monks in the temple is hire. it is like a 8-5pm job to work as a "monk" in the temple. is that true?

Posted by: DC on November 8, 2009 1:03 AM

YLFs!!! i miss you guys!!!!

Posted by: Ashish Gadnis on November 10, 2009 7:17 AM

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Let me post some photo of the noon view of the nice hotel room.

Wow! It's beautiful! I've never been to Xiamen, and wish to go there in the future.

Posted by: Michelle on November 5, 2009 2:29 PM

What's the name of this hotel? It looks great. I didn't reserve a hotel on Gulang Yu last time I visit Xiamen, and it seems I made a big mistake.

Posted by: Chen Rui on November 5, 2009 3:50 PM

Seaview Resort Hotel, Xiamen.

Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang on November 5, 2009 10:58 PM

It looks really so nice!

Posted by: Grace on November 6, 2009 12:10 PM

wow! I want to go there, looks sunny and nice!

Posted by: Yee Shian on November 6, 2009 4:30 PM

Retiring to a 5-star oceanfront resort, cavorting and patting each other's back.
What can one expect from this annual meet of sino american cooperative organization?
PROBABLY a "Chimerica Manifesto" in public,
BUTT a roadmap to a life of celebutante and socialite in private.

Posted by: shanghai-ren on November 7, 2009 2:22 AM

健硕，
你的那些自拍视频找到你满意的地方放了吗 ？
我也在寻找一个相对满意的地方，但是还没有找到。
希望在你这里找到一些建议。
Thanks.
　

Posted by: Luwei on November 10, 2009 1:57 PM

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Update November 04, 2009

I finally sit in my nice sea view room at Seaview Hotel. The flight was delayed by 3 hours, so I was stuck in the airport for 5 hours today. When I arrived in Xiamen, it was already 9 o'clock.

It was so nice to my old friend, Jan, Jon, June, Matt, Stacy, Rose, Jennifer, Biao, Reihan, and new YLFer there. Will go to bed now, and expecting the great session tomorrow.

It seems that the luggage has been delivered to Xiamen. Congrats!

Posted by: Michelle on November 4, 2009 11:36 PM

Share some well-designed funny luggage with you:
http://www.likecool.com/Suited_Case_by_Erik_De_Nijs--Design--Gear.html
You'll love them if you're waiting for delayed flight/train in some crowded traffic terminal.

Posted by: Adam on November 5, 2009 8:58 AM

hey jianshuo,

i came across your blog, recommended in my Google Reader. i am quite pleased reading through your posts. :)
oh, do you still remember me? ;-)

-Hua

Posted by: Wang Hua on November 8, 2009 10:24 AM

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I will be in Xiamen from November 4 to November 11 with the main session from November 5 to November 7, and the extension trip from November 8 to November 10.

Looking forward to your update on YLF 2009. Eager to know whom the "great people" you are to meet there, and what you are to discuss on.
I had an interesting dream last night: I was sitting in the last row on a bus, and the guy sitting beside me was - Kaifu Lee - one of a few persons I admire so much! Is he attending this forum too? Are you seeing him there?
I know he is your good friend. It's really odd for me that you didn't mention him in your blog in the past several months, during which so many things happened to him. I had thought you would start even another series for him and his new adventure. Anyway, I know your rule. Your blog. You deside what to talk.

Posted by: Adam on November 4, 2009 10:34 PM

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My Position

I support Wendy with all my heart, but I intentionally keep a far distance from the business. There are several reasons. First, it is Wendy's business, not mine (well, although legally speaking, I am also an owner). I know it is her dream to own a shop, and I let her do it without interference. Second, to run a shop requires a lot of time and energy, and I have my business to take care of. Sometimes, to put a firm line and won't over commit is a must in today's world. It is more of a joyful journey than a serious business anyway. I want to be a helper and observer, more than a participants. If I retire one day, I may be very happy to join in, and deliver milk tea to customers. That would be very interesting (more interesting than sitting in an office).

Milk Tea and Happiness

I was surprised to discover the connecting between a milk tea shop and happiness. Yes. It is just a mom-and-papa type of small shop. But when you quietly sit from a distance of the shop and see smile on people's face, you just feel good about it. Just like Disney, milk tea is a business delivering happiness to people. Restaurant? Maybe "decent", "elegant", and "just nice", or book store - "knowledge", "empower"... for milk team, the term connected to it may be "happiness", "romance", and "relax". I will be happy if someone say: That milk tea is so GOOOD!

A tip for this specific shop: the standard flavor of the shop tends to be a little bit sweet, as many customers told them. So you can choose mild sweet when asked.

Staff and Post-90s

I realized many of the staff in the shop were born after 1990 - the post-90 generation. They are doing very well - energetic, with nice communication skills. I was actually surprised. They were all recruited on Baixing.com within 4 days, and Wendy said: Good job! and I am happy to hear that.

Location, Location, Location

As you can imagine, the location of the shop is the key to the success of the business. Wendy was very lucky to find a shop in one of the best location in Shanghai. That is at the exit of the busiest Metro station (People's Square Station), opposite to one of the landmark of the area (Raffle's City), and besides arguably one of the busiest pedestrian in Shanghai - the one crossing Xizang Middle Road. To be short, it is at the center of the whole city. Technically speaking, it is 371 meters away from the theoretical center of Shanghai (which is the Park Hotel). If you search "Shanghai" in Google Maps, the shop is 300 meters away from the point marked as Shanghai. It is also within the same block of that point - the location of the Shanghai Municipal Government.

Sitting by the shop at night, and seeing huge flow of people passing you, and see the nero of Nanjing Road, you surely know that you are feeling the pulse of the city. I love that location.

Best Wishes to the Business

As any new venture, there are risks, and returns, joys, and sadness, ups and downs. There is a good start. At least the next time, we know where to hold our blogger meetup. I guess the next time, we will do it in People's Park, with milk tea delivered. I believe Wendy may be kind enough to give us special "Buy one and get one for free" offer. :)

P.S. Another good news. I finally got back my eBay id: jianshuo. I love a simple ID without ugly numbers attached to it, like jianshuo99, or jianshuo2009. Now jianshuo is my gmail id, hotmail id, Facebook id, twitter id, Paypal id and eBay id. It is pretty good evidence that I am an early enough adapter to most new services. My eBay id was already 7 years old.

What do you mean by Milk Tea Business. Do you sell Milk tea or what?

Posted by: Mengembalikan Jati Diri Bangsa on November 2, 2009 8:06 PM

To: Meng ~ Jiansuo's wife,Wendy,opended a milk tea shop with Taiwan brand Ting Tea~~~~~

Posted by: Sarah on November 2, 2009 9:56 PM

It's a cafe, Mengembalikan, selling more (cream) teas than coffee or snacks.

Posted by: Jie on November 3, 2009 4:02 PM

Headed to 人民广场 today, and decided to drop by the milk tea shop. Ordered a 仙草奶茶 and it was pretty good! Not sweet, just the right taste for me. The service was good too! I was a little lost at the process of ordering and getting the drink, but the cashier was very patient with me and greeted me warmly. Business will definitely be good because the shop is located strategically!

Posted by: Yee Shian on November 4, 2009 1:11 AM

Is this a franchised business? or Wendy orchestrated all the marketing and operational details by herself.

Posted by: stephen on November 4, 2009 11:10 PM

It is franchised business - pretty easy to get started.

Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang on November 5, 2009 1:11 PM

Great! I love milk tea so much! and since Im visiting Shanghai next week! I will definitively stop by!

Hehe!

Posted by: Claudia Frias on November 9, 2009 11:25 AM

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Your new toy is not bad. Can see the Crater Baily clearly from the photos - the largest one near south pole.
I still remember the excitement when I saw lunar craters for the first time through an astronomy telescope in my junior high school. I was fascinated by the magnificence and mystery of the universe during those a few years, and dreamed I could work in an observatory after growing up. Dream is dream after all. All those astronomy knowledge in my brain is fading away, and fewer & fewer stars can be seen in the city nowadays due to air pollution. Children living in the cities can hardly understand why the galaxy is also called Milky Way. I once had a chance to spend a few nights on a peak of Tianzhu Mountain in Anhui (altitude about 1500m). I'll never forget that splendid scene, a twinkling "river" running across the dark black sky. At first I thought it was a cloud, until later I realized it consisted of unnumbered dim stars. Do bring your camera and take some starry night photos if you are to stay in mountains one day.

Posted by: Adam on October 31, 2009 12:08 AM

Ooooo. That's pretty amazing.

Posted by: Molly on October 31, 2009 1:34 AM

Wow. I can never do that with my camera!

Posted by: Yee Shian on November 4, 2009 1:13 AM

JSW: great pics! does your Cam come with an attached telescope?

Posted by: JT on November 4, 2009 11:42 AM

Hi! Jianshuo, I've got the same question with JT. The moon in your photo is like that one I observe through the telescope. It's not like the moon we see with the naked eye. By the way, how are you in Xiamen?

Posted by: Michelle on November 4, 2009 2:38 PM

I think that's just the "zoom in" function of the cam.
Usually you need to use a tripod when you shoot a dim object while zooming in. Otherwise you can't hold the cam steadily and the photo would be vague, coz the zoomer also magnifies vibration of your hands. Another solution is to adjust the ISO setting of the cam to a very high value, so you will only need a very short exposure time, during which little vibration could happen. But not every cheap cam can do this. I don't know if Jianshuo had used any of these tricks. If not, he may have the potential to become a good sniper.
I do have a question too: why the 2nd photo is yellowish. Did Jianshuo change the "white balance" setting?

Posted by: adam on November 4, 2009 6:54 PM

The answer is simple - it is just the zoom in feature with no add-on. The camera comes with 12X optical zooming, and 150X digital zooming.

What impressed me a lot was the 3D Stabilizer. Even with 150X digital zooming, the image is still very stable. You can even use the camera to shoot the moon on the moving car without too much problem.

The stabilizer is just like the lens floating in oil. You shave it heavily but it makes the move very soft and smooth.

Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang on November 4, 2009 11:16 PM

To answer the other question about the yellowish moon - it is because I changed the exposure (not white balance) to show more details of the Moon.

Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang on November 4, 2009 11:17 PM

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The Location

Here is the location of the shop:

211 Xizang Middle Road, Shanghai, China
It is at the corner of Xizang Road, and People's Blvd.
It is opposite to Raffle's City, and at the foot of the Shanghai Urban Planning Museum
It is also at the gate of the People's Park and at Metro Exit #3 of People's Square station of Metro Line #1, #2, and #8.

Why

This is an even more important question. Wendy always has a dream of opening a milk shop (it seems it is many girls' dream), and I support her to do it with all my heart. Too often that people have dreams but don't have time to go for it, and I am happy for Wendy to be able to do it. It is more about a hobby and an experience, other than anything else.

The next you visit the People's Square, do stop by the store and have a cup of milk tea. If you have a Dianping account, you are welcome to leave your comment there.

WOW. Congratulations to Wendy and to you !!! Wish you two a lot of luck as I believe luck is a good thing in a new venture. And happiness too :-)

I will try to stop by next time visiting Shanghai :-)

Posted by: STLPlace on October 29, 2009 11:38 PM

tons of bloggers would show there...

Posted by: WJ on October 30, 2009 12:27 AM

congrats... Wendy become the lady boss! I'll go and try pearl bubble milk tea :-)

Posted by: DC on October 30, 2009 12:27 AM

Congratulations! Great location. What's a milk shop by the way?

Posted by: Molly on October 30, 2009 12:49 AM

Congratulations!

So what do I have to do to get a free cup of boba nai cha?

Posted by: Kai on October 30, 2009 1:02 AM

Great ! definitively, when I am around I will take one cup of tea !
Congrats!

Posted by: camille on October 30, 2009 1:42 AM

Is the shop staffed by Wendy herself? Or is she just the boss?

Posted by: martin on October 30, 2009 2:25 AM

We will be in Shanghai next week. I love the milk tea we can get in China but can't get in the U.S.
We will certainly visit.
甄玫 罗彬

Posted by: zjemi on October 30, 2009 3:17 AM

Congratulations to Wendy for pursuing her passion! I can't wait to stop by the next time I'm in Shanghai. Maybe she can advertise on Baixing. ;-)

Posted by: RC on October 30, 2009 6:59 AM

Best wishes!

Posted by: jqian on October 30, 2009 7:08 AM

Congratulations and good luck for the newly started business :)
If I happen to be in Shanghai I will surely pay a visit and sip some milk tea.

Posted by: Fabrizio on October 30, 2009 8:00 AM

Wow! My da yi's home is close, so next summer I will give it a try!

Posted by: Greg on October 30, 2009 9:46 AM

Congrats!
Wish Wendy a booming business.
That location is "G point" of Shanghai. [ I mean golden point :) ]
If it doesn't invlove any business secret, do you minding telling us how much the rental (or price, if you've bought it) is?

Posted by: Adam on October 30, 2009 10:11 AM

Congratulations!
I am in Shanghai now, and will relocate to Shanghai Pudong with my husband. We will go to Wendy's Shop for the milk tea for sure. Are there any chance to see Your Wendy there?

Posted by: Wendy on October 30, 2009 10:49 AM

Congratulations!

Posted by: Sam on October 30, 2009 11:22 AM

JS, you should have posted this announcement earlier before the opening. I'm sure the opening will have a good crowd and you can hv another blog gathering during the opening. hahahaha...

Posted by: DC on October 30, 2009 12:42 PM

@STLPlace, thanks a lot. Next time you are in Shanghai, you can easily find the shop.

@RC, yes, to follow one's passion is a great thing. She recruited all her staff within three days on Baixing - interviewed about 10 persons Baixing. Now, many shop in that chain hire staff on Baixing. They got excited to know I am in Baixing, because they were banned on Baixing for repeated posting before. :-)

@Adam, the rental is pretty high (no disclosure), but I think it is a great location. Time will tell if it is true.

@DC, what a crazy life, and world - Both Wendy and I were exteremely busy working on our own staff. I did pay a visit at night, and had nice milk tea there.

Again, thanks all for your warm congratulations. Do drop by. You may not see Wendy there, but she is thinking about having a drawing notebook there, so you can leave a message.

Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang on October 30, 2009 6:49 PM

Congratulations to Wendy for her new venture. You are a good husband supporting her to follow her passion and to make her dream come true. I wish her lots of luck. I don't live too far away from her shop. I'd love to stop by in the near future. Do you have wireless Internet access in the shop?

Posted by: TW on October 30, 2009 7:26 PM

wow! congratulations! I would stop by there soon with my friends~
How are the prices like? I have always been drinking at RBT or Happy Lemon.

Posted by: yeeshian on October 30, 2009 8:03 PM

I heard that monthly rental for a small milk tea booth at the centre of Causeway Bay (adjacent to the gate of Times Square) in Hongkong is HK$300k, but that boss still earns a huge fortune. I think you/Wendy have made a right decision. Location is of top priority in this business.

Posted by: Adam on October 30, 2009 8:05 PM

GOOD for her!! that's great news, so cute :) I'll probably be in Shanghai sometime in the next 6 months and be sure to stop by if I'm in People's Square.

Posted by: shan on October 31, 2009 8:35 AM

"Wendy always has a dream of opening a milk shop (it seems it is many girls' dream), and I support her to do it with all my heart. Too often that people have dreams but don't have time to go for it"

I love these words ! Congratulations to Wendy.

Posted by: Balon on October 31, 2009 10:41 AM

The price ranges from 5 RMB to 8 RMB.

Now they are offering "Buy 1 and get one for free" promotion.

So the price is half of the listed price.

Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang on November 1, 2009 12:01 AM

Congratulations!! Can we, the ones who live overseas, take a rain check for "buy 1 and get 1 for free";-)... just kidding.

Posted by: GN on November 1, 2009 11:44 AM

Wah! Congratulations, Wendy!! I have been "OOBR" (out of blog reading :-) for more than a week now (we have a guest and I went on a road trip with her) so am late offering good wishes for your new venture. How exciting to have your very own place. It looks wonderful, and I feel sure you will enjoy much success.

As with anything when you are an entrepreneur, there are sure to be some headaches, but much satisfaction as well.

Have fun with your new "baby"!

Posted by: Carroll on November 1, 2009 1:12 PM

:) Great, hehe, congratulations :)

Posted by: cheery on November 1, 2009 4:20 PM

HI! Jianshuo, I've just been back from the People's Square. I went to Wendy's tea shop around 6:00 pm, and happened to see her there. The business seemed to be quite good, and I had to line up to ask for one cup of jasmine milk tea there. The the service is pretty good, for the waiter even put the straw into the cup for me. I think I will have a cup of tea every time I dropped by in the future.

Posted by: Michelle on November 1, 2009 7:30 PM

Hi Michelle, around 6:00 PM, I happened to be in the shop also - I just visited there for 1 hour from 5:00 PM. It was a pity that I was not there. I tried to help Wendy when I can but meanwhile, keep a far distance from the shop - I was also attracted to be involved - it was such an interesting business. You see people's smile. I believe icecream shop and milk tea shop, just like Disney, is manufacturing happiness. It is a much happier business than hospital (I don't want to be a doctor because he has to face suffered people everyday).

It is a new shop, and the service needs improvement, and they are lack of hands now.

Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang on November 1, 2009 11:19 PM

Wow!It was really a pity that I didn't see you there. I meant to talk to Wendy when I saw her, but I didn't. I mean that she doesn't know me, and she was really busy and talking to one of her staff. I don't know whether it was the right time.Yeah, the waiters were quite busy. Please feel free to tell me if you need some help because the lack of hands now, and I'm gald to give a hand.

Posted by: Michelle on November 1, 2009 11:40 PM

Congratulations to you, Janshuo!
You life is a blossoming flower, full of hope and energy.

Posted by: Christina Hou on November 2, 2009 11:55 AM

Wow! Congratulations!

It's so cool! Wendy become a boss of her milk tea shop. I admire the peoples who have their own dreams and can finally go for it. Beside time, energy and much efforts put in, it sometimes needs much more courage, I will definitely try her pearl bubble milk tea when i am in Shanghai next time, and hope to meet Wendy also!
And i love the location also, coz it is near the Raffle's city which is my favorite shopping mall :o)

Posted by: AliceFeng on November 4, 2009 5:40 PM

I am thinking about what I can ask Wendy to help to do if my readers arrive her shop. A special discount? obviously she has the say on this.

Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang on November 4, 2009 6:07 PM

wow! sure a couple full of energy

Posted by: oncerest on November 11, 2009 4:44 PM

Post your comment

I wrote about the Real Human's Voice Behind the Internet (Chinese) more than 4 years ago. I was basically arguing the current Internet is full of people with real identity. "No one knows you are a dog on Internet" is no longer cool. People need human voice behind each website. I am obvious a good candidate for that human voice. Should I jump out and tell people that the person's identity who post most reply in the community, and doing customer service work?

I am planning to do it gradually in the next few weeks. What is your thoughts?

It's not good to reveal your true identity, just gut feeling.

Posted by: jqian on October 28, 2009 2:17 AM

don't do it. knowing that you are the CEO, people will keep bugging you and start complaining when you stop replying them.

Posted by: one on October 28, 2009 2:34 AM

once people know you are actually the CEO, they will start developing this "customer service metality"...they will take you for granted and become spoilt.

Posted by: one on October 28, 2009 2:38 AM

It seems like this post may have already outed you, if people already know who is the most frequent poster...

Posted by: Graham on October 28, 2009 5:05 AM

just check the M8 (the Meizu phone) forum which their CEO J.W. show up very often.
do you want be someone like him?

Posted by: M8 on October 28, 2009 6:12 AM

hmm, I would be mored worried that you will become the next Whole Foods CEO. See http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/07/12/whole-foods-ceo-posted-online-attacks-about-wild-oats/. I am sure your posts on Baixing as a regular community member are valuable and harmless, but it misleads other community members nonetheless.

A simple example: I log onto Baixing and see that X posts a lot and is a very active member. If I think X is a regular community member, then I might deduce that X derives a lot of value out of Baixing and that is why s/he posts a lot. However, if I knew that X is the company CEO, then I will not draw the same conclusion. Of course X would contribute a lot. S/he is the company CEO.

My gut reaction is that posting anonymously is not being very honest. Even if what you contribute to Baixing is good solid information, why do you need to do it hiding behind a curtain? And if you are trying to create the sense of community, then posting a lot as the anonymous CEO can even be seen as creating a fake community.

Sorry if I am being overly critical of your anonymous identity on Baixing. I don't know a lot of things about Baixing (how big is the community, what kinds of things you actually post, the ratio of your posts to those made by other members).

I think telling people your real identity (or starting a new profile with a username like jianshuo) is a good idea toward a transparent, honest, and do-good company. I encourage you to go that route.

Posted by: shan on October 28, 2009 8:17 AM

hmm, I would be mored worried that as an anonymous contributor (but really the CEO), you will become the next Whole Foods CEO. I am sure your posts on Baixing as a regular community member are valuable and harmless, but it misleads other community members nonetheless.

A simple example: I log onto Baixing and see that X posts a lot and is a very active member. If I think X is a regular community member, then I might deduce that X derives a lot of value out of Baixing and that is why s/he posts a lot. However, if I knew that X is the company CEO, then I will not draw the same conclusion. Of course X would contribute a lot. S/he is the company CEO.

My gut reaction is that posting anonymously is not being very honest. Even if what you contribute to Baixing is good solid information, why do you need to do it hiding behind a curtain? And if you are trying to create the sense of community, then posting a lot as the anonymous CEO can even be seen as creating a fake community.

Sorry if I am being overly critical of your anonymous identity on Baixing. I don't know a lot of things about Baixing (how big is the community, what kinds of things you actually post, the ratio of your posts to those made by other members).

I think telling people your real identity (or starting a new profile with a username like jianshuo) is a good idea toward a transparent, honest, and do-good company. I encourage you to go that route.

Posted by: shan on October 28, 2009 8:18 AM

Here's more information about the Whole Foods CEO: http://tinyurl.com/yur2dh

Posted by: shan on October 28, 2009 8:20 AM

I tried to follow up with a link to a New York Times blog about the Whole Foods CEO and his online anonymous persona, but I think your comment moderation kicks in whenever comments include links. You can google "whole foods Rahodeb" to read more. The second search result is the original New York Times article.

Posted by: shan on October 28, 2009 8:23 AM

Just do it!

Posted by: Jim on October 28, 2009 9:34 AM

@shan, don't worry. Comments with links will be reviewed before it is published. It is not live on this blog.

Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang on October 28, 2009 10:38 AM

Totally agree with "one"'s comments. Not a good idea.
Though it might bring some more traffic to Baixin due to celebrity effect. But IMHO, the increase will be very limited until you become a star in the entertainment industry. And I don't think you would have the interest to enroll yourself in those "Super Girls / Jia You, Good Boys" contests.

Posted by: Adam on October 28, 2009 10:48 AM

Thanks for the feedback, from both sides. Let me share some more background to this discussion.

Currently, I am identified as a Baixing employee. I reply about 100 post everyday, basically doing customer service work, like help people to recover password, explain why their account was suspended, handle reports about bad ads, and response to suggestions. That is very tough job to do. But I believe that is one of the most important thing a CEO can do - to be as intimate to their users as possible - you get the use need and pulse of the community by first hand interaction, not just by numbers, and reports. Involving in a community also helps to form opinions that is aligned with what the community want, not the company want.

There are decision for me to make is whether I should actively identify myself as CEO of the company, or I just keep the current situation, when users think I am a customer service guy. The problem with customer service identity is, there is lack of personality, and lack of personal connection, which is very key to a community. Calling a friend of a company, and calling a call center is completely two different feeling - when everyone in a call center is identified by a staff number, they are treated as a smart robot. I hear the message many times: "I want to talk to your manager..."

About "customer service mentality" @one mentioned, it is actually the CURRENT problem. They take it for granted that they deserve customer service, but a community is all about a lot of people gathering around a site for mutual benefit. No one asked for "customer service" on this blog, right? I want to turn the customer vs customer service mentality, to community member vs community member type of feeling.

@Graham, I am not hiding my identity, and I feel comfortable for people to know it. It is just about whether to let people know pro-actively or not.

Think about this blog. If it is named Shanghaiblog.com, and you never know who is behind it, what type of community will it be?

I actually already tend to be part of this community with my name (jianshuo), and title (when it is needed and if appropriate). It is a huge personal commitment to the community - you always need to be accessible, but I think it is good for that community.

Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang on October 28, 2009 11:08 AM

@Adam, it is nothing to do with ME. It is about the personal voice of a website, no matter who is running it. I am just thinking about it from a community building perspective. It does not matter what the ID is. You can call it "SmallCat", but still, when everyone recognize it as someone who can make decisions, care about their issues, and hear what they have to say, and response to them within 30 minutes everyday, the community is very different, I GUESS.

Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang on October 28, 2009 11:11 AM

Thanks for the explanation Jianshuo! That makes a lot more sense, and I apologize for having been so harsh earlier without knowing all of the information.

I would still advocate for you to reveal yourself as the CEO. It is very tough to be in the organizer position, and it is in people's natures to feel entitled to service. That's true at your successful company; that's true for a party or a trip that I organize for fellow students. I think revealing yourself as the CEO would create two extremes:

1) The people who are upset now, talking to you the customer service, will be even more upset talking to you the CEO because they will think "what kind of a CEO are you if you can't even do this for me."
2) The people who are satisfied with their customer service will be greatly surprised and very very happy knowing that the CEO of the company personally helped them solve the problem.

Those of situation (1) are not worth feeling bad about. There are just impossible people who will always feel entitled to more service, no matter how illogical. For me, I just shake my head and move on in these case. Those people in situation (2) however will greatly change their opinion of the company for the better and really feel a closer connection to the company. Wow, the CEO 一点不扛架子， 和百姓们共同生活。 Such is the point of the Baixing community, no? :)

For me, the benefits of (2) greatly outweigh (1), not to mention you're unlikely to satisfy the people in (1) anyway as a regular customer service person.

My 2 cents, and promise i'll shut up now :)

Posted by: shan on October 28, 2009 12:37 PM

@ Jian Shuo
Having re-read your post, new comments & links, I modify my comment:
It could be a good try by injecting more humanity into machinery. But I still don't suggest you appear on it as CEO Wang Jian Shuo. Just to apply this conversion on your staff will be fine.

Posted by: Adam on October 28, 2009 12:42 PM

Tell them you are the CEO if they ask for a "manager". It'll be fun... and hopefully that they were not too upset of anything.

I do think it's a great idea to let the community know that the CEO is with them... but make sure before you do it that you know you are making a commitment. It's great that people feel that they can reach the CEO "directly"... but after you set the stage... it may not be so "cool" if you can't keep it up. I think if you set the expectations right up front, it should work for your and the community's benefit.

I won't worry too much about what's going on with the Whole Food CEO. I don't know the details... but I sense there is more than just what he said about the other company before he bought it etc. This guy is out there openly opposing Obama's health care plan... and the New York Times is a big supporter of Obama... so I won't take anybody's side too quickly on this one. It is actually very disappointing that American medias are taking sides more obviously since this president took office... that's a different story.

Posted by: GN on October 28, 2009 3:29 PM

Thanks again for everyone's feedback. Let me further explain the situation.

Unlike most business, classified itself is a strong community business. Community business is, at its core, all about people. It is not like CEO of a manufacturing company joining into customer forum. Community itself is built around personal connection. It is all about a group of people and their interaction. If it was not a community business, it actually does not matter too much, but in a community, that is crucial. You cannot imagine a community without some identifiable key person, just like a Craigslist without craig, an eBay without Pierre (or later Griff)...

Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang on October 28, 2009 5:26 PM

Perhaps the most famous CEO ever is: Virgin Group Chairman: Richard Branson. At the beginning he did not know how to promote his company, make his company memorable and visible. Someone said that he should use...his face. It works quite well: we know the face and the company:) Just a thought.

Posted by: Mary on October 28, 2009 6:57 PM

Well, the bottom line is... it is your business... you should be able to operate the way you envision it... I don't think there is a rule. A face, an operating style... these are all in your hands. Donald Trump is out there no matter what you think about his hair style... he's not going to change it... for nobody.

I don't know how much Craig is out there in the community of Craigslist... though I do check that site sometimes... but as an end user, I don't see the difference between if he is available or not. The only time I got to "know" about him was when Craigslist ran into trouble (the killings) some weeks ago... and he had to come out and make statements... guess I am just not a typical user.

But in general, CEO does represent more liabilities... it is true that it is a community but it is also true that it is a business.

Posted by: GN on October 29, 2009 11:51 AM

Post your comment

• A Car Plate = 27200 RMB in Sept 2009 September 19, 2009
• Shanghai Car Plate is NOT Investment January 20, 2008
• Seat-Belt? Oh. No. Thanks! October 29, 2007
• Congrats Victor for Getting Car Plate - at 46500 August 19, 2007
• Shanghai Car Plates IS Investment August 6, 2007
• Controversy Car Plates July 24, 2007

Bid for a Shanghai Plate

On Saturday, Wendy and I joined the bidding for a Shanghai plate. The price turned out to be 33900 RMB. We failed in the bidding. Our price was 34400 RMB at the last second, but it is out of the +-300 RMB range, and was rejected.

The Way Bidding Works

The procedure of the bidding is like this:

• You need to go to the government agency office to buy a bidding permit. That cost 100 RMB with 2000 RMB deposit to guarantee that you will pay the money if you win.
  
• You install the software on PC and join the bidding at 10:00 AM on the last Saturday of the month.
  
• You are allowed to place a price during the first hour (10:00 AM to 11:00 AM). At 11:00 AM, the first phase of the bidding closes. The system will broadcast the lowest winning price based on the bid it received. If you don't place a bid, you give up this bidding, and can join the next month.
  
• In the second phase, from 11:00 AM to 11:30 AM, based on the current lowest winning price, you can place your bid once or twice. It requires the offer must be within the +300 RMB and -300 RMB range of the current price. With the bidding going on, the lowest winning price goes up, and so can you raise your bid along with it.
  
• At 11:30 AM, the auction closes, and announces the lowest bidding price

At 33600 RMB, we entered 34400 RMB (the lowest bidding price + 800 RMB) hoping that we can be sure to get it. But finally, when we hit enter, the price didn't go that high, and we were rejected.

We will join the next bidding the next month and report back the result. It is a combination of strategy and luck - with luck as a very important fact.

Auctioning the local plate as a measure to control the growth of the vehicle is unfair to Shanghai drivers, the authority should consider the electronic road toll to control the usage of the road and not the number of vehicles.

Posted by: stephen on October 27, 2009 1:36 AM

hehehe got it year ago for same price, but dollar was stronger

Posted by: Max on October 27, 2009 8:39 AM

it's a rip-off, period.

Posted by: cookie on October 27, 2009 9:38 AM

What is the advantage of the Shanghai car plate over other car plates?

Posted by: Realclearchina on October 27, 2009 12:11 PM

But Why we need a local plate? I think a 苏E is OK.

Posted by: Sherwin on October 27, 2009 3:55 PM

In the car category (click car at the top navigation of this page), I explained the difference. The key difference is, you cannot access the elevated highway and middle ring at rush hours (7:30 to 9:30 and 16:30 to 18:30). I have used a Hangzhou plate for five years, and feel it is the time to pay more and buy more freedom for myself.

Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang on October 27, 2009 4:47 PM

You don't need pay any tickets if your license plate is not Shanghai local, since the fine is collected by Shanghai local gov, no one cares when you renew your license outside Shanghai.

Posted by: Car on October 27, 2009 11:38 PM

I admire your courage to evade the judiciary system in Shanghai, someone have to cut his finger off as to vindicate himself from a offence that was wrongly accused.

Posted by: stephen on October 28, 2009 2:10 AM

What a maddening process. But it makes for great posts. I've enjoyed your blog for a while. I remember teaching in Shanghai, a student told me that his car plate was stolen. I thought about license plates in America, easy to get, maybe 25 bucks... so it's annoying yes, but if someone stole the plate... WHO CARES! I'll just get another one. Little did I know that car plates in China are the way that you describe. I was shocked... and it was a great racket that those thieves were doing. Anybody would give them money, and a lot of money, because the alternative is to get back into the same maddening process again! UGH!

Posted by: Magnus on October 28, 2009 2:12 AM

I'm just wondering, why u didn't win the bid? You gave a price that was way over the winning price. I don't get it?? can anyone explain this to me? Thanks.

Btw, this blog is awesome!!!

Posted by: Justin on November 20, 2009 10:06 PM

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