From Value One, Summer 2007 No. 17

Metal One (Guang Zhou) Commerce Co., Ltd.

Skyrocketing Number of Children Speaking Nagoya Dialect at Japanese School of Guangzhou

Guangzhou, the largest city in the Huanan region and the capital of Guangdong Province, has a population of roughly 10.5 million. The climate here is usually quite hot and humid, and rain pours down for extended periods during the April-August monsoon season. If you relax your guard, mildew will form on your clothes. The vegetation is lush, making you acutely aware of being in a semitropical region. The official language is Chinese, called putonghua, but most of the words spoken on the street are Cantonese. Places where English and Japanese are understood are limited to luxury hotels and a small number of other locations, and life is quite inconvenient if you cannot speak Chinese (although you can sometimes communicate using notes written in Chinese characters). Cities in the Guangzhou vicinity developed around the textile, electrical and electronics industries, but the automotive industry has recently grown with investments by Honda, Nissan, Toyota and other car manufacturers. The number of Toyota representatives in particular has increased rapidly, and because this brought about a rise in the number of children who speak in the Nagoya dialect at the Japanese School of Guangzhou, we hear it being spoken often. In the Huanan region (including Hong Kong and Xiamen), Metal One has 17 offices composed of subsidiaries, representative offices and business investment affiliates as well as 21 Japanese employees that it dispatched. Business mainly involves the electric, electronics and automotive industries.

Our office building (right), the tallest in the Huanan region!

Hotel Reservations Scarce during Canton Fair

Guangzhou holds the Canton Fair (formally known as the China Import and Export Fair) every spring and fall, and for the past 50 years or so, the fair has served as the main access to external trade in China. The fair held in April of this year, which was the 101st, attracted approximately 200,000 visitors from all over China and elsewhere. Hotels and restaurants are packed during these times, and hotel prices are three to five times higher than the usual lodging rates. Even so, it is surprising to discover that most hotels are fully booked! If you plan to visit Guangzhou during the Canton Fair, be prepared to pay high hotel rates. Also, be sure to make your reservations early or else it might be best to change your itinerary.

Canton Fair site.

Even ATMs Try to Pass Off Fake Products

Although there has been a strict crackdown on fake products, you sometimes come across fake bills. Most are 100- or 50-yuan notes, but there are apparently even counterfeit 10-yuan (¥155) bills. Most pop up as change from taxis, shops or restaurants or when converting currency, but it seems that they also occasionally come out of bank ATMs. In this regard, one is impressed that people there are always quick to check the picture and paper quality of the 50- or 100-yuan notes they receive to determine whether they are counterfeits or not.

Tasty Chinese Food and Tea - Grateful for Food Paradise

The people of Guangzhou are such gourmets that it is said that Guangzhou is where the food is, and even though Cantonese cuisine is rich in ingredients and taste, the price is reasonable. Cantonese cuisine is rather lightly flavored compared to other Chinese cuisine - seafood dishes and soups are especially delicious - and you can eat dim sum for breakfast or lunch. I eat very tasty Chinese food almost daily and am grateful that I live in a food paradise. Guangzhou is also famous for its delicious tea and artistic tea utensils, and most people enjoy tea.

Recommended seafood dishes. Colorful and lovely tea utensils.

Expanding Business together with Young Employees

The employees at Metal One (Guang Zhou), which was just established last year, are mostly young, very cheerful and energetic. From now on, I plan to work very hard with all the staff to expand our business and lay the groundwork in the growing Huanan region. I hope that everyone will give us warm support.

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