Whew, What a Week & the art of the Chinese Conference

Just finished a week that saw me attend 2 conferences in 2 different cities (Xiamen & Beijing).  It was a blast although again very surreal as the only (and I am not exaggerating here) white person and almost the only English speaking person at both conferences.

The first conference was in Xiamen for the Chinese Chain Store & Franchise Association (CCFA) and was focused on HR issues in the market.  I also got to attend two "Salons" on cooperation between enterprise and vocational schools to train future retailers.  It was action packed and I actually learned a lot, thanks to my trusty translator Gail.  I even squeezed in a day of store visits.

The second session was hosted by MOFCOM - I am not sure what that stands for but it is a Ministry of the Chinese Government and involves cooperation between Enterprises and Vocational Schools (yep, there was a theme to my week).  This was set in Beijing and was an introduction to so many aspects of the Chinese culture my head is spinning - of course that may also be residual effects of air pollution poisoning.

Some things I learned:

1. It is appropriate to sleep in meetings - the head bob, the chair lean back mouth open or head on the table method are all acceptable - even in the presence of a high ranking government official
2. It is also appropriate to take a telephone call during said meeting.  And talk loudly while doing it. As long as you cover your mouth in an attempt to hide what you are doing.
3. Picking your nose, ears, teeth, pimples, scabs, feet, nails etc. is common practice during meetings - and seems to increase in frequency during boring speeches (a good visual clue for the speakers)
4. Be quick to get the free conference gifts as they will sell out quickly.  In fact, get up during the conversations to go get yours - you don't want to be left out.
5. When you are the only white person in a room or at a conference and/or you represent the largest retailer in the world (I am not sure if these are mutually exclusive) everyone wants to take your picture and will walk up to you during the meeting and take said picture.  This makes being subtle about #2 important if you don't want it caught on camera.
6. Every meeting ends in a group photo.  And people also like to have their picture taken with the only white person/representative of the largest retailer in the world.  So be prepared.
7. You will give out more business cards in 1 day in China than you would in a whole year in Canada/US.  And there is a specific ritual to the whole thing.  I am starting to get the hang of it.  You present and receive the card with two hands.  You bow and make reverential noises while scanning the card.  And then you present your card to the other person.  
8. If you get invited to the dinner after the conference be prepared...but more on that in another blog.

I have to say I was so privileged to participate in these meetings over the last few days - and I really did learn a lot.  Mostly I learned that the Chinese are much more open and friendly than people give them credit for - and they love to LAUGH - which is always good in my books.  Now if I could just figure out if they were laughing at me.