Shenzhen, China – where all of the electronics are made. Or at least it feels like it. For this trip, I was lucky enough to be hosted by an old friend from NYC, and got a view of work life within Shenzhen.
At SEEED Studio, small custom electronicsn are developed, prototyped, and ushered into mass manufacturing. Here are a few recent products made at Seeed.
The prototyping and small-run factory production schedule at Seeed.
A worker monitors a pick-and-place machine at Seeed Studio. This machine automates the production of circuit boards and other electronics.
A worker hand-solders a circuit board for a small run of eletronics.
Dressed in anti-static gowns. Trendy!
Lunch with the gang from Seeed Studio
Outsize of the Huaqiangbei electronics markets, vendors take a break with some snacks.
Each stall represents a different electronic supplier, factory, or component manufacturer. They’re divided up into sections and floors, depending on what they make or sell.
Connectors of every shape and size, sold on-site by the bundle, or shipped anywhere in the world.
Every imaginable style of flashlight – all available in Shenzhen in quantities from 1 to a million.
This is where the cases for your hard drives come from.
LED Lights of any shape and size at Huaqiangbei.
If you’ve ever ordered small electronics from China, this is probably where it ships from.
Checking out the Shenzhen 22 art district.
Checking out the still under construction Pingan Finance Center – when it’s complete, it will be 118 floors and 660m high. When it’s complete, it will be the 4th tallest building in the world.
Going for a drink at the KK100 Building – Currently the tallest building in Shenzhen.
Looking out over Shenzhen, China from the top of the KK100 Building.
After spending a few weeks in Shanghai, I took the overnight train straight to Hong Kong. And I loved it. It was refreshing to be out of China, comforting to be back in a city that felt a lot like NYC, and wonderful to connect with new and old friends. I’m certainly looking forward to returning to Hong Kong as soon as possible. A few photos of my time there.
Learning to play Chinese poker with my friends on the train to Hong Kong. This family was traveling to Hong Kong to buy baby formula.Riding the overnight train from Shanghai into Hong Kong, I made friends with my cabinmates, and ended up hanging out with them quite a bit during the long train ride. Lots of fun!
After being the more traditional cities of Beijing and Xi’an for a bit, I was ready to step into the more modern world of Shanghai. In the last few decades, like much of China, Shanghai has been on a building spree, with new buildings popping up everywhere. I took about a week to walk the city, and explore as many interesting places as I could.
Videos:
Arriving in Shanghai, this is the classic shot from the Bund, looking into the main financial district.
As the sun fades on The Bund of Shanghai, orange lights illuminate the classicically styled buildings. It’s a beautiful sight, enjoyed by masses and masses of people strolling up and down the curved walkway. The bund is beautiful now, but given the speed at which things are being knocked down and rebuilt in China, I’d be surprised if the skyscrapers of Pudong didn;t start to creep into the Bund area and the Concession areas in short time. The Chinese seem to be on such a fast and determined building spree that they’re fine with buldozing away beauty, culture, and history in favor of new soulless office buildings and factories. It’s a sad reality of the new China.
In the business center of Pudong, skyscrapers are huge, and being built as fast as possible. Looming in the back of this photo is the Shanghai tower, the tallest building in China and the second tallest in the world.
The Shanghai Tower, world’s second tallest building, rises to the sky.
The three supertall buildings of Shanghai – Clockwise from left: The Jin Mao Tower at 420.5 meters making it the 17th tallest building in the world. The Shanghai Tower at 632 meters making it the 2nd tallest building in the world. The Shanghai World Financial Center at 494.3 meters making it the 7th tallest building in the world, and the highest observation deck of 474 meters.
The view from the worlds highest observation deck – 474 meters in the Shanghai World Financial Center.
Rampant building in Shanghai seen from the worlds highest observation deck – 474 meters in the Shanghai World Financial Center.
Shanghai’s Knockoff Ghost Towns
A number of years ago, Shanghai started a program called “One City Nine Towns”, in which they sought to build nine smaller townes on the outskirts of Shanghai that emulated towns from around the world.
Thames town is a ghost town now – the town was built, and there are a few inhabitants, but it’s largely empty. The main use of Thames Town is as a backdrop for engagement and wedding photos. Everywhere you look, couples are snapping wedding photos.
Thames town is a ghost town now – the town was built, and there are a few inhabitants, but it’s largely empty. The main use of Thames Town is as a backdrop for engagement and wedding photos.
Couples taking wedding engagement photos are everywhere in Thames Town, a Chinese copy of a traditional British town.
Couples taking wedding engagement photos are everywhere in Thames Town, a Chinese copy of a traditional British town.
Couples taking wedding engagement photos are everywhere in Thames Town, a Chinese copy of a traditional British town.
Inside a Chinese copy of a typical British pub.
Couples taking wedding engagement photos are everywhere in Thames Town, a Chinese copy of a traditional British town. How many couples can you count?
Despite the classic looking exteriors, Thames Town is mostly deserted, with the insides of many of the buildings bare concrete.
The british motif extends outward, into huge oversized Chinese apartment buildings.
Selfie Sticks are sold everywhere – there’s no escaping.
Lots and lots of tourist traps in Shanghai.
At the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center, a scale model of the entire city. Huge!
My timing in Shanghai was perfect for the Shanghai Auto Show -which was horribly overcrowded. I lasted about an hour, and then had to leave – it was madness pushing through the masses to stand in line to see a random crappy car. And no models!
Masses at the Shanghai Auto Show.
A typical Chinese view – massive scale construction happening everywhere.
I got addicted to this pounded, breaded, fried chicken, simply called “big chicken”.
They sprinkle the chicken with chile and garlic powder. So good.
Anting is a Chinese copy of a typical modern German town. I strolled around there for an afternoon, and was completely weirded out. The town is laid out like a european town, but none of the charm, flare, or people are there – it’s almost completely deserted.
Housing areas are huge, and while there is lots of vegitation, there’s little activity.
A bar in Anting setup with German wares – but no patrons.
Anting, outside of Shanghai
Walking down the street in Shanghai, this is a common scene – building going on everywhere. In order for buildings to be buit faster, they house workers directly on site, to cut out the commute, and maximize working hours.
On Sundays, a portion of the central park in Shanghai becomes matchmaking central. Here, parents post advertisements for their kids, with hopes that another passing parent will see the ad and connect their kids. Personal ads are put on cards which are pasted to umbrellas for higher visibility, and assembled into large boards. The practice is so huge that there are now even brokers who manage listings for lots of people.
Parents trading matchmaking details about their single kids.
A hopeful parent holds up information about his kid, hoping that another parent will have a suitable match.
Personal ads in the Shanghai matchmaking market.
Weddings are a big deal, and it seemed like this ceremony was a huge disco party!
Volkswagen has a major plant on the outskirts of Shanghai. Although I didn’t have an appointment or any contact there, I showed up and managed to talk my way into a private tour of the factory.
My two tourr guides at the Shanghai Volkswagen were super fun!
I had the good fortune of Couchsurfing with Suskita – an awesome person who is kicking ass in Shanghai as she shoots photos, rides bikes, and hosts travelers from all over the world. Suskita is the best!
Suskita’s apartment is in a massive apartment complex.
Pujiang, a Chinese copy of a modern Italian town. Strange for sure.
Shanghai has the world’s fastest Maglev train, which I rode twice, for fun – 501 km/h!
A Baidu street view car! Cool!
On my way from Shanghai to Hong Kong, the Chinese smog is terrible.
After my week in North Korea, I returned to Beijing, China for a day, and then continued on to Xi’an on 2015-04-20. My friend Emily is currently living there, which made for a perfect opportunity to drop by to see a friend, and to check out the Terracotta Warriors. I only spent 3 days there, but in those few days, I saw a bit of the local expat scene, got to know a small bit of town, and saw for myself the legendary Terracotta Army.
I took a train from Beijing to Xi’an, and during the journey, the pollution and smog from Chinese industry was incredible. Visibility barely extended to the buildings next to the train track, and as I stared out the window in disgust, I could see individual clouds of pollution washing over China.
Entering the Terracotta Warriors excavation and exhibition area, I was immediately hit by a barrage of Chinese tourist concessions, vendors, and crowds – which I had come to expect. The tourist concession area was newly built, but most of the vendor stalls were half occupied or empty – another case of grand building without the business, or culture really, to fill it.
Before entering the main excavation, I saw a quick intro film – in the round! Notably, this system still used old 8mm projectors, all setup to run in synchronized loops.
The main hall of Terracotta Warriors. There are actually three excavation sites, but this one was by far the most impressive. The entire site is ringed by a tourist walkway, with lots of photos being taken at all times.
The warriors are in various states of repair, and each face is unique.
Lines and lines of warriors.
Terracotta horses, preserved in the musem.
An incredible amount of the asian tourists there had selfie sticks, which the used continuously, even for non-selfies. It very much looked like they were being led around by their selfie sticks.
Earlier this year, while I was traveling through Beijing, China, I stayed in Leo Hostel. During my short stay there, I was interviewed by a Chinese school group producing a short segment about travel in China. In the segment, I speak a little about my travel experiences, and why I think it’s a great idea to stay in hostels while traveling solo.
In short, staying in hostels is cheap, and gives you great opportunities for meeting new people, joining interesting tour groups, and enriching your travel experience overall.
The Kehillat Beijing Jewish Community, in the Forbidden City, Beijing, circa 1999.My first stop in China was the capital city, Beijing. Visiting China was a big moment for me – it’s size, population, and ever increasing role in global affairs make it a force to reckon with. I felt like it was essential to give a good chunk of time to develop an understanding at a basic level at least of China. I wanted to understand the people, the politics, the industry, and the culture.
Coming from South Korea, a flight into Beijing was the logical first step. Additionally, this put me in a good position to visit North Korea in the coming weeks. I ended up staying at combination of CS Friends places and hostels, in a number of different neighborhoods.
I split my time in Beijing between training lightly for the upcoming Pyongyang Marathon, shopping and exploring “modern” beijing, and checking off most of the major tourist attractions. I was in Beijing for Passover, and had the good fortune of connecting with the Kehillat Beijing Jewish Community group for two very very awesome Seders, as well as good new friends. Connecting with the Jewish community in Beijing made me feel so much more at home, and inspired that communities like this exist around the world. My people! :)
Got my flight to China.. AND my visa. Based on some recent renewed tourism and cooperation stimulation, Americans can now get 10-year visas for China. I can stay for 60 days at a time. Pretty good.. and it only took me 4 days waiting in Seoul to get it.
Arriving in Beijing was certianly a wakeup. As soon as I stepped out of the terminal, I was hit with dense, choking smog that could be seen from as little as 20 feet away. The air smelled like burning, and I could taste a fine grit. Certainly not great – but this was a 200 AQI day – mid-levels of pollution for Beijing.
During my first week in Beijing I stayed with a friend near Renmin University. On a clear day, the area was relatively clean and nice. Still lots of traffic, and large everything, but livable. My friend lives right across from Renmin University and next to a high end luxury mall. However, her subdivision is comprised mostly of 5-6 story apartment buildings and low single floor shacks strewn about. The area is generally fairly rundown and sort of resembles a shanty-town – but people living there seem happy. Immediately after stepping away from the gate of the housing area, high end restaurants, chain coffee joints, and luxury boutiques spring up. The contrast is striking and immediate.
Biking through the Hutongs of central Beijing. Entire families own blocks of these traditional styled homes. Some of them are actually very old, but lots of other subdivisions, like the one pictured, have been built in recent years to emulate the traditional style. They’re really brand new.
The luxry section of the expat-packed Sanlitun area. This mega mall zone has every kind of shopping convenence, including an Apple store, dark and loud Hollister, and the usual selection of mall stores.
Entering the Beijing Arts District. This wonderful area is packed with progressive galleries, public art installations, cafes, restaurants, street performers, and trendy hipsters everywhere. Strolling around is a pure pleasure, and i made multiple visits. Di and I even found a trendy sushi restaurant to stop by!
In the alleyway where my friend’s apartmen was, there were always these fun kids playing around. Fun making friends! Beijing housing subdivisions, although some more rundown than others, almost always seem like safe, fun, community-oriented places.
More fake electronics, including routers, headphones, radios, and of course, selfie sticks.
Even before the release, knockoff Apple Watches are readily available in Beijing. These cost about USD$60 a piece, and had fully functional OLED displays. THey felt cheesy, but did have a working screen that at least told the time.
Checking out fake watches at the Beijing Silk Market. This market caters mostly to Tourists, and has floors packed with knockoff clothing, jewlery, electronics, and textiles. Most of these watches they have on display are low-mid range fakes, but they’re quick to bring out briefcases of high-end fakes on request.
I love these rickshaw mopeds. They come in lots of varieties, ranging from crappy home-made ones like this, to pre-manufactured slick metal ones that resemble am airstream trailer. A friend of mine and I play an iOS game called “Pako”, and this one looks exactly like the one that can be driven in that game. Cool!
On our bikes cruising along the outer wall of the Forbidden City.
I took a bike tour around Beijing with Bike Beijing. I was joined by a very nice German family, who lived in Beijing. Our tour guide was a local girl who was super nice and enthusiastic about showing us her city. What a great time biking through the large and small streets of Beijing!
Folks playing in the central hutong area of beijing.
Playing cards in a public park.
Entering the Forbidden City
Finally, I made it inside the Forbidden City! I remember watching the film “The Last Emperor” in middle school, and seeing shots of this space. (as well as learning about it in history class) Cool to finally be there.
Orange tiles protecting the roofs of the Forbidden City fro m the afternoon sun.
I was fortunate to join up with the Keiliat Beijing community, and had a great Passover Seder with a group of 150. I love celebrating the holidays with different groups, and it’s a joy to be able to be amongst immediate friends with a similar background. Although I do love traveling and meeting new and different people, sometimes it’s nice to feel like I’m home for a minute.
Exploring the great wall. I hiked for a few hours, up and down and up and down.
A very sweet Italian couple. I took this picture of them, and then caught up to them a few minute later and traded email addresses, and sent it to them. Hope they had a great trip!
Hiking all day up and down. Good thing I havd my Salomon XA-Pro-3D-Ultra2-GTX trailrunning shoes, Darn Tough socks, and Black Diamond Modernist Rock Jeans!
Beautiful flowers bloom at the great wall.
Springtime means lots of beautiful blooming trees.
These meat skewers were really great! I’m still not sure what kind of meat, though..
World Guide List Item – Investigate the Magnetic Tuned Mass Damper of the Shanghai Tower
From Gizmodo: https://gizmodo.com/how-a-121-storey-building-uses-a-giant-magnet-to-preven-1692540759
This is where the ‘tuned mass’ damper system of the 2,073-foot Shanghai Tower comes into play. The physics of the damper work exactly as normal — a 1,000 ton weight hangs from steel cables. But two systems prevent the weight from moving too far or two fast: hydraulic rams, and a ‘tunable’, self-generated magnetic field.
The iron weight hangs above 10m x 10m copper plate, which is studded with 125 powerful magnets. As the iron swings over the magnets, it induces an electrical current in the copper plate, which in turn is enough to limit the motion of the mass. The beauty is in the simplicity: there’s no outside power source, and it’s a completely self-regulating system. The faster the weight moves, the stronger the magnetic field containing it.
On December 30th, 2014, a Russian-made, Chinese-operated Kamov KA-27 Helicopter made a brief stop by New Zealand’s Scott Base, Antarctica. The helicopter is operated by the Polar Research Institute of China, and was flying from its supporting research vessel, the MV Xue Long, China’s only polar research vessel.
The helicopter was picking up a slingload of fuel, for deposit at a remote fuel depot at Cape Adare, Antarctica, in support of a Kiwi research project.
Video of the fuel pickup, and a photo of the chopper coming around to Scott Base.
Reference Photo “Ka-27 orthographical image” by FOX 52 – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ka-27_orthographical_image.svg#mediaviewer/File:Ka-27_orthographical_image.svg
Reference Photo
Reference Photo From https://www.avionslegendaires.net/wp-content/uploads/images/post/Ka-32_Chine_SAR2.jpg
On December 30th, 2014, a Russian-made, Chinese-operated Kamov KA-27 Helicopter made a brief stop by New Zealand’s Scott Base, Antarctica. The helicopter is operated by the Polar Research Institute of China, and was flying from its supporting research vessel, the MV Xue Long, China’s only polar research vessel. 
