Two for Two Done ! ……. With Update and scope creep

Number 3 managed to get hung .. so 3 done and as plans change the qty of doors on the list grew ….. along with a complete bathroom retro-fit …

Doors or no Doors .. Back on the Bus to: China and points east / UPDATE

UPDATE .. plans are made to be changed .. Now Singapore is back on the agenda … so its mid-November before I get back.

Business demands care not a jot for ones personal desires .. I’m on a mission to close the door on my door making project.

I’ve barely unpacked from my last trip .. and now have another in the hopper. … I’ll be going deeper into the “hinterland” of China on this trip,  so much of interest awaits.  Singapore had to be dropped off this itinerary, but will plan an early December trip.

Leaving the well trodden paths of the coastal metropolises, we search along the least traveled path. Long story short: much of China’s growth is fueled by the formidable prowess of: Guangdong province, Shanghai with its sprawling conurbation and their ilk. Seeking differentiation one must explore or wallow and stagnate in the over played “Shopping Basket” of how much of the west sees China. Not that I’m abandoning these high yield regions .. but one must lead or the view never changes.

During a prior trip into Hunan, if you; grow it, catch it, raise it or trade for it .. then you get to eat it.This family grows vegetables for sale in a local market, returning home with bags of rice.

Tea Business story: Taipei Times

Tea farmers dismiss tariff cuts

TEA TEASE: Although tea farmers are not interested in the tariff cuts, they are worried about poor quality tea from overseas being marketed as Alishan tea
STAFF WRITER, WITH CNA
Monday, Sep 13, 2010, Page 12

Workers pick tea leaves in Mingjian Township, Nantou County on Tuesday. A cross-strait trade pact that took effect yesterday and will bring tariff cuts next year has not cheered Taiwanese tea farmers, who are more concerned about the rising imports from China of pesticide-contaminated tea.
PHOTO: HSIEH CHIEH-YU, TAIPEI TIMES

A Taiwan-China trade pact that took effect yesterday and will pave the way for tariff cuts from next year has not cheered Taiwanese tea farmers, who are more concerned about rising imports of pesticide-contaminated tea from China into Taiwan.
Although China is Taiwan’s largest tea export market, Lin Yu-ping, one of Taiwan’s many small tea farmers, believes it is unlikely that local farmers will be able to sell their premium products in China.
“Taiwan does not produce quality tea in large amounts and cannot even meet local demand,” she told the Central News Agency in a telephone interview on Saturday.
Yeh Hsin-zhong, a tea farmer on Alishan (阿里山), one of the country’s noted tea production areas, also made similar remarks.
“There is limited production of Alishan tea due to a lack of available land. How can we export to China when we can barely satisfy local demand?” he asked.
Their remarks came just before the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) signed between Taiwan and China in late June formally came into force.
The landmark trade pact between Taipei and Beijing will kick off a first round of tariff reductions or eliminations on hundreds of items between the two countries from Jan. 1 next year.
Under the trade agreement, a 15 percent tariff on Taiwanese tea exports to China will be reduced to zero step-by-step in the next three years.
The Taiwan Tea Exporters Association (臺灣區茶輸出業同業公會) has predicted a 30 percent growth in the volume of Taiwanese tea exports to China due to the ECFA.
Taiwan exported 2,375 tonnes of tea last year, which accounted for only 14 percent of total production.
The association’s president, Yvonne Kao (高毅芳), attributed Taiwanese people’s strong demand for local tea to the low export volume.
China is Taiwan’s largest tea export market, with 791 tonnes recorded last year — 33.3 percent of the total exports — followed by the US and Japan, official figures show.
The upcoming tariff cuts, however, do not appeal much to tea farmers like Yeh, who said that local tea is already in hot demand in China.
Yeh expressed concern over the growing amount of lower quality tea from China and Vietnam being fraudulently marketed in China as Alishan tea.
“This problem is becoming ­serious. Sometimes, there are even complaints from Chinese tourists about buying fake Alishan tea,” he said.
The fake tea problem prompted sales in Mingjian Township (名間) in Nantou County to plunge late last year when tea products from the township sold by the National Palace Museum were reported to contain pesticide residue.
To counter the problem, Wang Chao-kun (王招坤), chairman of the Alishan Tea Production Cooperative (阿里山茶葉生產合作社), urged the government to impose clear labeling on the origin of ­foreign tea imports.
Another problem facing Taiwanese tea farmers is their peers, who exported high-end tea-­cultivation expertise to China years ago.
“These Taiwanese businessmen took tea seedlings, technology, machinery and experienced specialists from Taiwan to China,” Lin said.
Lin blames the government for its past failure to prevent Taiwan’s tea production expertise from going to China.

Making the most of: Labour Day (3 days)

Sep 2nd. Thursday afternoon: Hong Kong to LAX; Home by 5:30pm. great flight no jet-lag .. a few odds & ends to square away Friday.

Saturday .. New Door Projects: Just the ticket to unwind from a few weeks in Singapore/China … I’ve outlined 5 new full size doors to build.  . Custom building and fitting a door is a bit of a chore, especially if your shop is not set-up for full size Door Making. Such are the joys of life Sunday Door #1 in final glue-up Monday morning .. Initial fit is complete. Fine finishing, glass installed (update pic) , re-hang and Robert is your fathers brother. .. new trim … after the doors are done.

Winding down in Dongguan

Last full day in Dongguan,  Time to visit Li Hong:…and other friends in the area ….

Team Dinner

James arranged our first Team  Dinner: Our WuXi based team, we have just enough for a soccer team. James !!!! NO Crazy Fingers la  

Waterways are pervasive in this area

Here in SuZhou, much revolves around the lakes and interconnecting water canals, Adjacent to the commercial barges, residential waterways service private homes and the temple grounds., People + Water equal Tour Boats!

Moving up in latitude, Central East China

Saturday Morning, along with a few thousand friends, I practiced Full Body Contact Temple Visiting. Bus loads made the most of the last weekend before children go back to school.

Reading from Right to Left: Mountain Village GateOn to a less congested area …I can't see the little girl hiding behind the plant .. can you?  Nice to see some traditional building skills being used. Not up to standards seen in Japan, but enjoyable to see. Most of the fascination with these calligraphy panels is in enjoying the hand carving with character variations .. This one is machine generated, and lacks impact, the price of proliferation in the name of progress.

Marina District

A very short 6 days in Singapore are winding down, a full day today, Thursday, complicated by the YOG, Youth Olympic Games, closing events. Then the first flight out on Friday heading to MLC.

All built on earth barged in over many years, the original Seafront has expanded, new development continues to provide Singapore its own unique skyline. On the left, the temporary stadium for the Youth Olympics closing ceremonies.

The Marina Bay Sands Hotel ..

World Wide Update: Thailand and So. Cal

From my friend in Thailand:

Hi John,

Yes, all is well here in Thailand despite some heavy rains that are causing flooding in some areas but nothing directly at where I live (a little in a few streets nearby) or where the wife and daughter are. Just last night it rained very hard here in Lamphun which is about 30km from where I live but Lamphun is where the Industrial park is located for the CM I work at. Anyway I guess the dorm area was flooded from the heavy rain last night. Attached are a few pics of many I have.

Singapore huh, too bad I'm not heading that way any time soon or we could hook up. Have safe travels my friend.

Funny you should ask about Dan, great timing as I just received an email from him last night. I'm sure he would enjoy hearing from you and the supplier as well.. I have attached his email address in the CC area so the two of you can connect..... but let me warn you, don't listen to any of his shit of how good the CU Buffs football team is as that's just a past dream he's living.....LOL

Take care and keep in touch,

Rick

A some news on a happier front ..Ben and Ashley spend the day at our home with Auntie Robin:..

Hi John, Robin, and Heather, wanted to share the cute pix from today.  I had sooooo much fun with the kids, they were great.  Ashley helped sew her scrunchy after watching me top-stitch the suit.  Ben also helped cut threads and asked great questions.

Love to all… Robbie

 

Singapore day 2 & 3: Sunday - Monday

The Youth Olympics are in full-swing here .. The bicycle road was held here in the Marina Square area .. an early morning stroll I managed to avoid the congestion.A wall of water: One of the many new exotic buildings. Sunday evening was filled with past memories when we joined; Peter and Tina for dinner, Japanese style, then later in the evening HB Chan stopped by for drinks. HB, now retired, is a legend in Singapore for his ability to start up company operations from Zero to full production in short order, during the glory days of High-Tech Mfg. in S’pore. Talk about a small world, HB’s son, now married, and living in USA-Colorado, only a few miles from our Colorado home. (now sold)

Monday brought on a full day, a heavy rain shower in the late afternoon forced us into a shopping center .. a serendipitous occurrence. In Marina Square the First Day opening for: Long Run Tea .. a lone TEA voice in the Singaporean addiction / love affair with coffee.Not quite ready prim e time, I’ll find time to stop by later in the week.  First impressions .. Favorable in that they carried more Pu-Erh than any other tea .. the prices: Truly Singaporean. At first, only used to seeing Pu-Erh priced in RMB, then Matt reminded me this was Sing-Dollars… Ouch.

A perennial favorite: The MERLION draws a group of onlookers:…