China might have a slew of unmanageable macro-economic problems, on a micro-level its citizens deal with the effects of those "contradictions" in very creative ways. On a private level economic activities emerge where people make a living in ways that would be seen as rather bizar in other parts of the world.
Shanghai's successful free newspaper in its metro has, with the fast expansion of the public transport system, given life to an army of old paper collectors. On the four days the papers is published the subway stations are dotted with mostly elderly people who collect the old newspapers. Because China does not have the trees to change them into paper for newspapers, all are printed on recycled paper, making recycling of newspapers a lucrative business. While other big cities with free newspapers suffer from the consequent pollution, Shanghainese made a business out of it.
In response the Metro Express has to hire people who make sure each passenger takes only one copy per person. Otherwise the chain between the printing press and the recycling cycle would become a very short one.
A similar amazing occupation I discovered the other day in upscale fashion story Paris Printemps at Shanghai's Huai Hai Road.
The store has for the season a system of vouchers that allows you a voucher of 150 renminbi for each 300 renminbi worth of goods you buy. The idea is that customers first buy more than planned to get those vouchers and consequently have to find the same day ways to buy even more goods with those vouchers. A group of traders are cutting short that process, one of them explained when I was buying a new coat. They purchase the vouchers for 350 renminbi and sell them for 450 renminbi, cutting the process short for customers who do not want to spend doing maths for a whole evening.
This business model has only winners, the customers, the traders. I'm not sure how it works out for the stores, but they might lose some business from anyway unwilling customers. It also took away my suspicion about people standing in corners watching what you are doing in those upscale stores. They are not potential pickpocketers, but simply traders like the stalkers you find at events.
Update: Yes, please, do come back with your own examples of jobs that can only exist in China.
6 comments:
The local government here in Liuzhou, Guangxi decided that it wasn't cost effective to employ people to collect 2 mao from every public convenience user. The salaries for fee collectors didn't cover their salaries, never mind maintenance etc.
So they made all the local WCs free.
However they still employ the ex-fee collectors to make sure no one steals the fittings and fixtures!
Anyone ever wanted to steal anything from a Chinese public convenience. Apart from away!
Don't forget those who sweep the street manually...
Those same opportunists at the department stores will also buy your points during those times the big department stores like Parksons or TaiPingYang. You spend a certain amount and get these vouchers that you have to trek all the way up to the 7th floor for. You can then exchange these vouchers for prizes (usually their overstock of stuff) like a toaster, etc etc. Well, usually the guys are hanging out at the base of the escalators on the 6th floor and offer to buy the points so they can resell to others who are close to getting the huger prizes that require higher voucher points. I always found that very enterprising.
My favourite is this one. In front of and inside the China Mobile store at then-Shimen No1 station, there are guys who wait what number you get in the line, and then offer you a much lower number to save your time. The closer their number is to the moment when it is going to be called, the more expensive it is. Logically, a few seconds before the call, which will leave their number worth nothing, price plummets rapidly. I've always enjoyed this both as a game as well as a shortcut. I was only wondering, how it comes the shop and the company itself do not put stop to this activity...? Maybe the shop manager got a part of the profits, maybe the ringleader is his cousin.. you never know the inner workings in China.
china's people do a lot more!!!
i am a old man and i am forced to sweep the steet by hand!!!
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