This is the the “great hall” of the shopping mall linked to my hotel in Hong Kong. I stayed there only long enough to check in before my trip to Shenzhen a short bus ride away on the mainland.

The open area was about six stories high with flowers and lights on the railings of each level. Most of the shops on this floor sold bridal gowns and tuxedos. This area was set up for photos of the bride and groom.

A longer stay in Hong Kong would be great. Check out the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce events if you plan to be there soon. I’m looking forward to my next trip.

Hong Kong, China

Region: East Asia & Pacific
Income category: High income
Population: 6,943,600
GNI per capita (US$): 27,670.00

Background on Taiwan: “Taiwan is located between the Philippines and Japan, 100 miles off the coast of China. It is roughly the size of the Netherlands and the state of West Virginia, USA. A number of smaller, nearby islands have had historic association with Taiwan, including the Pescadores, Green Island, Orchid Island, and Shiao LiuChiu.

About 15% of Taiwan’s residents are refugees from the mainland who came over with the KMT in 1945-1949 and their Taiwanborn descendants. The rest of the population are called ‘native Taiwanese’, who are the descendants of the settlers who arrived 350 or more years ago who intermarried with the Malay-Polynesian indigenous population. About 70% are ‘Minnan’ and speak the ‘Hoklo’ language. Another 12-15% are descended from Hakka immigrants and speak the ‘Hakka’ language. Approximately 1.8 percent of the people are Indigenous people of Malay-Polynesian descent; there are approximately ten tribes with distinct languages and cultures.

Throughout 400 years of history, Taiwan has been occupied by the Dutch, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese. Although Chinese culture has exerted a considerable influence on local traditions, Japanese and Western culture have as well. There are also some uniquely Taiwanese aspects of local culture, such as opera, folk music, literature and film.”

Some of the business people don’t have the educational background they wish they had, though they would never let you know it. Some women are still dealing with the conditioning that they are “less than” because boys were deemed more valuable. (This too could be said for Anywhere, USA/World. ) So get studying, get packing, and get busy getting ready for educational and other super-opportunities with a superpower.

I met this women shopping in the Huge mall in Shenzhen. She is a master at knowing which tea is best for what reason. She learned this from her parents and served us tea in her shop. By the way, the Shenzhen shopping mall was bursting with shops selling “Gucci” and other luxury purses, wallets, etc., clothing, jewelry (check out the jade), home furnishings, and more all at exceptionally low prices. It was a fun place for me to practice buy-ology.

There is also a photo of the view from windows of InVision, a re-organized company I am assisting in getting off the ground in Asia.They have a full range of cutting edge business seminars, as well as personal and family transformational trainings all led by world class master facilitators/trainers/educators.

Their core team’s photo is below and that’s me in the center, with the black slacks on. (More on InVision in a future post.)

The opposite of white is red. “Red, a bright, auspicious color associated with warmth, life and the Fire Element, denotes good fortune and happiness. It emerges as a sacred and vitalizing color used on festive occasions. In China, the color red not only serves to express joy, but also to ward off evil influences. The Chinese regard red as the “lucky color.” At Chinese New Year, children in Chinese families are given little red packets or envelopes packed with money or treats as tokens of good wishes. (At the office blessing I went to for the Chinese New Year, the staff and I were also given red packets with money inside.) The color red is also featured prominently in the clothing and other ritual objects pertaining to the traditional Chinese wedding. In fact, Chinese brides wear red dresses and wedding invitations are printed on red paper.” Good to know when going to a party or wedding.

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This is Shen Zhen, an economic center of China with a few million people. We arrived by bus. My hosts and I had a stress free trip crossing the HK-China border and customs. They accompanied me from Hong Kong and made it so for me and I am appreciative. I am looking forward to delivering my training. I’ve been told that the participants will be mainly business men and women which makes sense given the locale. I leave tonight for the retreat center. I didn’t bring my laptop and there may not be a business office so you won’t be seeing any more blog entries from me until…

The China that I’ve seen is bustling, about the business of business. Husbands and wives often live in separate locations with their parents and maids taking care of their children. They see their children on a weekly/monthly basis. Very different from what I’ve been used to. Getting the guilts because of the work hours may be a cause for some frustration but not the parent-noia I experienced in the States. HK is crowded, fast paced on the streets with a lot of people..from who knows where. I was in the business office of the Metropole Hotel where I stayed last night and saw a man of African descent. I thought, I wonder where he’s from? “On cue” he began speaking on his computer’s Skype and I heard the loveliest cockney accent you can imagine.

The Chinese people I’ve met have a Chinese name and an English name. I was told that the English name can be given at birth along with the Chinese name, given by the person to her/himself when older, or be a translation of the Chinese name. I thought that the English name might be adopted for business reasons but there seems to be more to it than that.

In a moment, I’ll be going shopping. And that excursion will be my first time to check out the buy-ology since either my first trip to Taiwan or this one. Time for some fun before an intense and dedicated opportunity to be of
service with my skills.