יום חמישי י"ח באדר ב תשפ"ד 28/03/2024
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  • The Mission Continues

    As in the past so it remains today - we were and still are under the selfsame commitment to adhere to the directions of the Gedolei Yisrael, who stand guard against breaches of purity threatening our camp. When we were required to ask – we asked. When we were instructed to depart – we left. The moment we are summoned back to raise the flag, every other consideration is pushed to the side and we answer: We are ready!

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  • Harav Yisrael Friedman zy”a, the Rebbe of Husyatin

    מוטי, ויקיפדיה העברית

    The ancestral chain of Harav Yisrael Friedman, the founder of the Husyatin chassidic court, originates with the holy Baal Shem Tov. The Husyatin chassidus has its roots in Galicia and eventually came to Tel Aviv, during the turbulent years between the two World Wars.

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  • Maccabi'im Gravesite

    In honour of Chanukah, we will discuss a fascinating, ongoing investigation attempting to establish the place of burial of Mattisyahu Kohen Gadol and his family.

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A Jew in China Diary- Chapter 4

A Jew in China Diary- Chapter 4

On my first day of work, I am exposed to thousands of products belonging to more than 1900 different categories.

Dov Glanz 27/08/2009 08:23
When Shabbos ended, I flew to Hangzhou, in the Zhejiang Province, and then went by car to the Jinhau, the location of a large exhibition. In my opinion, the permanent exhibition there may be the largest in the world, as more than 10,000 Chinese factories display their merchandise. (While the exhibition does not offer a complete and detailed representation of every singe product on the market, it does give a very good indication of what is available. If "Etrog" decides one day to add an economic column to its site, I will try to write an in-depth explanation of how trade and business works in China, and of the advantages of such exhibitions.)

[Click on the links to read earlier entries from this trip: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3]

In this city, the gap between the rich and poor socioeconomic groups is blatantly obvious. The differences are so extreme, they are hard to fathom. In the photo gallery at the end of this entry, you can see images of luxury cars and the life of economic ease. Then there are sights of people dragging heavy wagons bearing behind them with the last of their strength, bearing wares for sale – or little children sleeping on the sidewalks, with pieces of cardboard for their beds. It does not seem fair for me to criticize the Chinese government regarding the extreme wealth that is flaunted in the face of such dire poverty, as I am not well versed in the social and welfare policies of the country.

Every place in the world has its own mentality, and the same goes for China. Many people who visit the exhibition or factories complain about the ignorance of the local population. But in fact, the Chinese are usually quite intelligent and learned, and are very knowledgeable about economic markets and trade conditions.

The Western world, in its own state of ignorance, does not want to learn the Chinese mentality, since from the perspective of a Westerner; the United States is the leading world opinion, and the country that sets the standards for every facet of life: entertainment, fashion, and even political relations. However, there are one billion, three hundred some million people in China who think otherwise. Another important point to keep in mind: there are more people in the world who speak Chinese than who speak English…

Chinese business practices are fascinating, and much wiser than those that are common in the Western world. While in the West, businessmen are very single-minded and inflexible, the Chinese are flexible and know how to adapt themselves to their client's needs. While in the West, it is unacceptable for a competitor to open shop within a radius of 10 kilometers from a similar business establishment, there are huge areas in China populated by factories and stores all producing and selling basically the same product. The different companies don't fight with each other, but rather offer each other assistance. On more than one occasion, the manager of one factory would refer me to a competitor, in order to help me find exactly what I was looking for.

There are still many disadvantages of doing business in this part of the world, but most of the difficulties can be credited to a lack of knowledge about the local mentality. The many businessmen that I have encountered in the course of my trips have developed various theories about the Chinese people, but those theories are not at all based on reality. Those businessmen are fortunate that there is nobody to disprove their theories, and they are free to voice their opinions about the Chinese anywhere and everywhere, to whomever they like.

Here is a story that illustrates this phenomenon. We visited a huge display room in this particular business district, and did not see any product that really interested us. But we didn't get discouraged, and with the permission of the supplier, we opened all the doors of the storage closets at the exhibition, in order to see if perhaps there might be something of interest hidden away somewhere. Unfortunately, we didn't find anything that we hadn't already seen among the items on display.
We, of course, had been ready to explain the Chinese ignorance with regard to business, by pointing out that they hadn't displayed whatever special item we are looking for. But in fact, the real reason the item wasn't on display is because most of his business in conducted in China, with other Chinese businesses. He has no reason to put Western merchandise on display – nor does he have room to store what the Americans just happened to want.

The day of business dealings exhausted us, and when our work was finished, we went to eat at the kosher l'mehadrin restaurant. You guessed right…at Beit Chabad. Once again, we encountered those same people who make personal sacrifices, and put their own lives on the side, in order to provide Jewish travelers with kosher food and offer whatever other help is needed.

Rabbi Yossi Goldstein and his wife weren't at the Beit Chabad when we arrived, as they had gone on a trip for several days on personal business. But in the manner of true shalichim, the Goldstein family made all the necessary arrangements for receiving guests, even in their absence. The establishment was open for business, and the employees welcomed us warmly, hurrying to serve us food and drink as though we were royalty. Once again, I want to express my thanks and appreciation – thank you and yashar koach.

Incidentally, while this particular Beit Chabad has only recently opened, there are already regular minyanim during the week days and on Shabbos.

In the days to follow, we went on exhausting trips to the Guangdong province, where the world famous "Canton City" exhibition is located in Guangzhou. We were not very happy during the time we spent in this province, as we encountered numerous difficulties. But more about that later, in my next entry.
סין. צילום: דב גלנס
A notice board. N. Leiberman, knew how to explain in her column about the first “pashkevil” in history, put up by a resident of Rome. The Chinese may actually have a longer history of bulletin board postings than the Romans. I haven’t contradicted anything written in the “pashkevil” article, but it’s something that should definitely be researched.
סין. צילום: דב גלנס
In this city, the differences between the rich and the poor is very blatant. In this picture, and in the picture after it, you can see two cars, which are commonly seen in the city. There are hundreds of expensive cars here, of every make you can imagine.. צלם
סין. צילום: דב גלנס
Another fancy car צלם
סין. צילום: דב גלנס
And here is the opposite side of the coin – this is also a very common sight in the city. Hundreds of “taxi drivers”, in their bicycle carts, on the lookout for customers. For the equivalent of 5 shekels (just over a dollar), they will take you for a ten minute ride. צלם
סין. צילום: דב גלנס
An old gas tanker, delivering fuel for the luxury cars. צלם
סין. צילום: דב גלנס
A guard at the entrance to the permanent exhibition, the largest in the world. Try to think about how different the guards in Israel look… This guard is stationed at one of the entrances to a building that is so large it can take an hour to walk from one end of the building to the other. And I am talking about walking straight through the main hallway of the building. צלם
סין. צילום: דב גלנס
A “little street” inside the building. צלם
סין. צילום: דב גלנס
Look what the Chinese did to surprise me. We have heard about a Yemenite etrog, a Moroccan etrog, a Chabad etrog, and a Chazon Ish etrog. But I never thought I would see a Chinese “Etrog”! צלם
סין. צילום: דב גלנס
We finished our day of work, at around 4 in the afternoon. The exact hour that the taxi drivers change shifts, and it is impossible to find a single driver in the streets. Then a driver finally shows up – wearing a straw “helmut”, which is perfectly legal in China. צלם
סין. צילום: דב גלנס
One last picture for this album: We should all keep in mind that the old-fashioned straw broom can often get the job done much better than all the modern versions available in the stores. צלם