"Finally reached China"

[Apparition]

Been ages since I checked Revscene; some of you may remember me under another name.

For the last year I've been living in China (in the Jiangsu province, about 3 hours drive inland from Shanghai). I run a factory fabricating mining equipment; we originally started it to target customers in North America but as the world economy shifted its balance so did our market and over the last year domestic China sales has almost increased 6 fold. My factory's pretty much geared to custom fabrication and machining; open to any ideas for making stuff if anyone has ideas to partner for.

Anyway, I always believe the more you see and know about different perspectives, the more open our minds are, which prevents misunderstandings (it really peeves me off reading western "journalists" writing sensational pieces stressing cultural differences when we have more things in common as human beings than differences). So I'm doing my part by sharing my album photos in China with you guys. If you have any questions about China, feel free to contact me (though I admit I might not check back on this forum that often).

In particular with car guys, I'm using an '07 Honda Odessey 2.4 and a '11 JAC Rein 2.4 (practically the same thing as the last gen Hyundai Tuscon since the Chinese makers bought the old production plant from Hyundia in Anhui province). So far both vehicles have served me well in China without any major breakdowns requiring nothing more than oil changes and scheduled maintence while I use it on highway/gravel/dirt roads.

Enjoy:

On the road in China -http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fb...4&l=2a58d3488c

Life in China in general - http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fb...4&l=c196be1ade

My work - http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fb...4&l=ad3dc102f9

My suppliers - http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fb...4&l=8013547c2a

[Meowjin]

Wait I remember you, you tried to call out hyde and then claimed you wern't hyde or met hyde up or something.

[Meowjin]

ahh neat none the less. Thanks for sharing. Judging by your photos/fb page it looks like you had alot of oppurtunity in your life and you nabbed it. Good for you.

[SkinnyPupp]

Not sure why you're upset about cultural differences...

[Meowjin]

Originally Posted by SkinnyPupp

Not sure why you're upset about cultural differences...

I can see what he's saying. Alot of people in vancouver have this perception that factor owners daughters/kids are destroying vancouver etc..

[Apparition]

well, I met Hyde in HK and confirmed he's a real person; didn't go for a drive or anything but people were pissed off I didn't take pictures of his cars and such... anyway I don't really care about that stuff anymore and all the revscene politics
Hey SkinnyPupp, you in HK these days? You meet up with ImpactX? Well I'm upset at differences that people make up just to make themselves seem knowledgeable and create unnecessary drama.

I plan to return to Vancouver one day hopefully in 3 to 5 years when I set things up in China to run itself (easier said than done as people are dynamic beings; the manager you trust today may not be trust worthy 2 years down the road). I think working in asia has changed me and really reset my priorities. It used to be that I have "dream cars" but now it's more like if I come back I'd probably get a 2nd hand pick up truck and a Prius.... damn I'm getting old... lol

So what's been new in the car scene in Vancouver? Skinny and Majin I think you guys are both 5+ year members here, has attitudes towards car modding changed? I know there's tons of these new immigrants bringing in cash to buy fancy cars (I LOLed when my cousin from China who's studying in Vancouver told me one of her friends said he wanted to get something "low profile" so he (or his parents) bought a Maserati GT instead of Ferrari or Lambo); did that push for a bigger market for shops and high end aftermarket mods?

[Apparition]

Originally Posted by MajinHurricane

I can see what he's saying. Alot of people in vancouver have this perception that factor owners daughters/kids are destroying vancouver etc..

LOL I have that perception too... also making it one of the factors to consider if I want to start my family in Vancouver or HK or China (probably not the latter) if they are going to be surrounded by a bad mentality

My company insurance provider once told me when we were chatting that I don't act like one of those people and I told her "that's because I'm NOT rich like those people" LOL Money does change people I think and when you give money to kids it just desensitizes them to needs and priorities in life. The vice mayor at my town (before he got arrested back in Jan for taking over 10mil RMB in bribes) had a daughter who was sent to the US for school; I wonder how she can adjust to her life now that daddy's in jail without any more cash flow. I'm kinda glad my parents made me get a job at Safeway when I was young.

[asian_XL]

THat is one hugh pulley! Can you make me a 1:24 version of that? maybe a custom fittment for my supercharger pulley


for those who have never lived in China or never been to China, this country is changing so quick, you can't simply use one or two sentences to describe everything there. So many amazing stories I heard in these years, as I am just a typical private banker who talks to clients from rich Mainlanders 8 hrs a day, you won't believe a guy with grade 6 education can makes 7 digits a year by selling recycle materials in a shitty looking factory building. In China, you either make big buck or you are working class at the very bottom. The so-called middle class is still very poor.

The most interesting thing about business owners in China, they typically do not know what is market share. As long as they sell their shit to 1% of the people in that region, you should become a millionaire. They get rich easy, but also spend that much. Gucci, Prada, iPhone, iPad, highend red wine, Paneri, Frank Muller, $1,000usd per person meal, VIP membership, you name it. This kind of spending habit is in their blood, that's why I don't find it surprising to see Chinese kids with a Lambo and Ferrari.

[hk20000]

yes and I saw a Chinese kid in an SLS with an N on it yesterday

[van_driver]

are you RX Titus??

Nice photos, looks like its a lot of hard work, good luck!

[$_$]

Good Luck. Very inspirational, more young people need to take risks and catch opps like you.

[kyoshiro]

Originally Posted by hk20000

yes and I saw a Chinese kid in an SLS with an N on it yesterday

and i thought the 3 R8s with an N was the end of it...

[monkeywrench]

Wow I wish I could grasp onto such a great opportunity and ditch this car modding crazy hobby.. But all in all, you've gone a long way and achieved a brighter goal!

Hope to see you come back to Vancouver someday

[LiquidTurbo]

So how much money do you make? You like it in china?
Posted via RS Mobile

[Nightwalker]

Very awesome. I want to go there, seriously the land of opportunity right now.

[cococly]

Originally Posted by hk20000

yes and I saw a Chinese kid in an SLS with an N on it yesterday

You would see "N" drivers behind the wheels of red LF-As very soon

[Meowjin]

Originally Posted by Apparition

So what's been new in the car scene in Vancouver? Skinny and Majin I think you guys are both 5+ year members here, has attitudes towards car modding changed? I know there's tons of these new immigrants bringing in cash to buy fancy cars (I LOLed when my cousin from China who's studying in Vancouver told me one of her friends said he wanted to get something "low profile" so he (or his parents) bought a Maserati GT instead of Ferrari or Lambo); did that push for a bigger market for shops and high end aftermarket mods?

I never modded my car, but it's not unlikely to see alot of kids who study live in penthouse suites (in richmond granted) and drive 60k+ cars. And theres alot of shops that do work on them.

[Jackygor]

How is the renewable energy sector in China right now?

[Apparition]

Originally Posted by asian_XL

THat is one hugh pulley! Can you make me a 1:24 version of that? maybe a custom fittment for my supercharger pulley


for those who have never lived in China or never been to China, this country is changing so quick, you can't simply use one or two sentences to describe everything there. So many amazing stories I heard in these years, as I am just a typical private banker who talks to clients from rich Mainlanders 8 hrs a day, you won't believe a guy with grade 6 education can makes 7 digits a year by selling recycle materials in a shitty looking factory building. In China, you either make big buck or you are working class at the very bottom. The so-called middle class is still very poor.

The most interesting thing about business owners in China, they typically do not know what is market share. As long as they sell their shit to 1% of the people in that region, you should become a millionaire. They get rich easy, but also spend that much. Gucci, Prada, iPhone, iPad, highend red wine, Paneri, Frank Muller, $1,000usd per person meal, VIP membership, you name it. This kind of spending habit is in their blood, that's why I don't find it surprising to see Chinese kids with a Lambo and Ferrari.

Agreed x 999999! I think back to those "high rollers" in HK in their suits and Mercedes and then I see one of my local customers who operates quarries for different investors who makes easily double than what a 1000+ employee HK company CEO.

With the sudden rise in income, there's a certain amount of ignorance that comes along with easy money which is understandable. Sometimes I shake my head when I see accidents with fancy cars on the road in China (I helped a lady park her big fat ass Escalade once cause she was blocking the entrance of a parking lot for like 20 mins). Driver education seems to be better in Beijing which always focused more on culture and ettiqutte (spelling?) and Motortrend China is based out of there.

A lot of times these money come from banks who in turn are told by the gov to release the flood gates and spread the wealth a bit (to their friends). My factory is a tiny one compared to the copper wiring factories near by (they claim the area supplies 30% of China's copper wires). But 90% of those companies have huge multi billion dollar loans from banks while the owner might have forked out a tiny bit of his own money. In the past, some people started companies in order to get bank loans and disappear with the money overseas (much like how people make a shell of a company to go IPO and then soak up shareholder's money). I guess there's a lot of similarities between China and the west (you can scam artists anywhere) but just due to the sheer size of China, everything's magnified.

Also, the same people who are big spenders overseas, you might not notice them in China because flashy = a visit from the tax department or anti-graft investigators or environment protection department unless you're well connected and even that only offers protection until you forget to share the benefits with any new comers.

[Apparition]

Originally Posted by LiquidTurbo

So how much money do you make? You like it in china?
Posted via RS Mobile

I am actually making less than what I made when I was working for others in HK. But I'm not declaring HK taxes so in my pocket is a bit more at the end of the day and also with the lower living expenses. I still pay mortgage to my apartment in HK and my wife is there as well so I go back once every month or so for a short break (work is 7 days a week here and I live above my office in my factory).

Sometimes I do miss working for others as the pressure is just so much lower when it's not your own money you're playing around with and the worst that could happen is that you get fired and then go find a new job. People don't seem to understand this when they see a successful business owner and just think how nice it is to be your own boss but not the burden they carry and all the other staff's livelihoods if they mess up.

[Apparition]

Originally Posted by Jackygor

How is the renewable energy sector in China right now?

It's booming and a lot of them are going IPO. But mostly they're big projects like wind farms and such. For consumer items like roof top PV panels, the government haven't launched any subsidies to boost sales (unlike in the US) so it's still mainly export focused. It's ironic how the US subsidizes people buying these solar energy products with the rationale it'll boost US manufacturing in the green energy sector, and then I see (I spent a few months looking into doing a trading company for solar panels and visited a few factories) the Chinese factories making OEM panels for US brands so basically the Americans are just sending their money to China for them to be made cheap and slap a brand sticker on them. The western media will continue to complain but sorry, that's their beloved capitalism for them.

Right now, I'm trying to help a friend I met who runs a factory making LED bulbs to hook up with an HK trading company. I don't take any cut just trying to make more friends locally.

[HondaGuy]

Thanks for photos!!

A high school friend of mine is now managing a nike/ecco shoe factory in China and its a lotta work to manage so many workers.
PPL always think its great being your own boss and up the corporate ladder but again with so much burden and pressure, it really gets to you...

[Apparition]

Originally Posted by EVOX

Wow I wish I could grasp onto such a great opportunity and ditch this car modding crazy hobby.. But all in all, you've gone a long way and achieved a brighter goal!

Hope to see you come back to Vancouver someday

Thanks, I hope so too. Well, never too late to take a new adventure; everything starts with one step, try doing a trip over here and see how you would like it!