When the sun is out, most of Changsha’s youth escape the overbearing heat, but come nightfall, everyone emerges from their air-conditioned sanctuaries. Restaurants turn sidewalks into dining rooms as collapsible tables stretch as far as the eye can see. McDonald’s and KFC compete for attention in downtown areas, while the new kid on the block, Papa John’s, starts to develop it’s own fan-base.

Fortunately for the myriad mom and pop restaurants, local dishes are still the favorite for Changsha youth. Given the choice between a Big Mac and Kou Wei Xia (a heap of spicy prawns), most youth would choose the latter.

After dinner it’s time to take a stroll down Changsha’s broad walking avenue – Bu Xing Jie. If you’re into athletic apparel, you’ll have an excuse to pop into a shop or two, but most people go there to stroll hand-in-hand with friends or romances.

On weekends, creative and alternative types check Douban for event listings, then head to 4698 Livehouse or the chilled-out Freedom House in hopes of a good live show. Indie and alternative music are most welcomed, while electronic music draws much smaller crowds.

Hordes of other youth take over rooms in KTVs, or get tables at their favorite club (Soho seems to be the most popular). Once in the KTV or club, it’s time to throw down some cash on whiskey. If you are not drinking Chivas, you’re probably not going to have the most attractive girls sitting with you (mind you, most girls here don’t like whiskey). In the club, groups generally keep to themselves. There isn’t much dancing since your typical Chinese club has no dance-floor. Dice games decide who drinks. The more the guys drink, the more they chat up accompanying girls — although talking over the loud Korean electro-pop that’s been on repeat for the last two years can be quite difficult.

Come two or three in the morning, most are in a cab headed home. Still, some refuse to call it a night, but rather, they gather up the pals to go for round 2 of Kou Wei Xia accompanied by a round of Changsha’s local beer: Bai Sha.

Below are some shots I took around Changsha’s downtown. Click to enlarge.

Chandler is a recent university graduate, with dreams of traveling the world and eventually settling down in Japan. His room is littered with tokens past travelers have gifted him: a Canadian flag on his bed, maps in his closet, posters, t-shirts, and framed photos on his desk. During the week I spent at his place, we attended live shows, hung out with China’s old school punks, ate xiao kao with college students, and even went for a late night swim in the Yangtze.

During the day, we would escape Wuhan’s ferocious heat in a local coffee-shop, and talk for hours about everything and nothing. Since CouchSurfing (CS) is a crucial part of my trip, and an indicator of the changing mentality of many Chinese youth, I thought I’d share Chandler’s thoughts on the CS project.

How did you get introduced to couchsurfing?
My friend Linda — a former teacher from Canada living in Wuhan — told me about the concept. I’ve always loved travel and meeting new people, so I immediately joined the community!

Have you met many people since joining CS?
I haven’t yet had the chance to stay with other people, but I’ve hosted quite a few — people I never would have met otherwise. So far I’ve hosted 2 Polish guys, 2 Canadian guys, and you. I’ve also met up with local Wuhan people or travelers for drinks or a CS-organized party. Good times!

So were they all positive experiences?
In different ways, yes. Communicating with the Polish CSers was tough since their Chinese was non-existant, and their English wasn’t very good. But, we got along very well. Body language, spicy food, and beer goes a long way!

On the other hand, there was one surfer who had a hard time coping with the lack of AC in my living room, but when I offered my room with AC, he complained my bed was too hard and that there were too many mosquitos. I guess it’s harder for some people to adjust to more local living standards.

Any crazy stories?
[laughs] Not until you came to stay, but I suppose those stories are for another time!

Do you think CouchSurfing is too foreign of an idea to really catch on in China?
Not necessarily. When I first learned about it, I brought it up to my parents before hosting travelers. They didn’t love the idea, but they accepted it. When I speak to my friends about it, most of them are intrigued by the idea. Many people see it as a way to practice english, and learn about other cultures.

So it can catch on?
Yes, absolutely. Just look how many Chinese join CS every year… [The numbers are indeed growing rapidly. Check out figures here]

Besides foreigners, what kind of people use CS in China?
The travel community in China is growing very quickly. You have leisure travelers as well as more adventurous travelers. Adventurous travelers, like backpackers, seem especially keen on the idea. Many university students are also accepting the idea, since it’s a great way to save some money while making new friends in new places.

There are also people who don’t travel, but use CS to meet people to chat over a drink. In Wuhan and Changsha, you’ll find loads of local students who may not be able to offer a couch, but are very willing to meet new friends.

It seems most local CSers share one trait: curiosity. They’re curious to go to a new place; curious to meet people from different cities or countries.

Future of CS in China?
I think it’s bound to grow in popularity. On the one hand, CS provides a great way to meet foreigners — something many Chinese youth want to do. As we become more confident in ourselves, and our ability to communicate with the internatinonal community, CS provides a great platform for cultural exchange.

On the other hand, all forms of domestic travel are booming. Chinese are exploring their country like never before. Most of us youth dread the idea of traveling in groups — you know, the kind where we all wear the same hat, and follow the person holding a megaphone. We want to escape our studies or  jobs for a couple days, or even take advantage of a vacation to go somewhere new. CS makes it at once more affordable and more interesting.

I’ll be regularly posting articles to enovate while on the road. Check here for more stories, photos, and videos. I’ll also be posting content to my blog thesinoists.com/baronburns, and actively tweeting (@MrBaronBurns)

I’ve been on the road for a week, and what a week it’s been: playing fooseball with China’s original punks, following a local graffiti crew as they tread along a foot-wide ledge to leave their mark on a bridge, a late night swim in the Yangtze river with a group of students, and ultimate frisbee with Changsha’s team, City Storm.

Fortunately, that’s just the start. This lucky enovater will be traveling the mainland for 3 – 4 months. The purpose? Offer a glimpse into the evolving nature of China’s youth cultures. More specifically, I intend to track the growing subcultures of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th tier cities. Tourist attractions will be forsaken in favor of coffee with creatives, bumping shoulders at markets, skateboarding with locals, campus visits, and evenings at music venues. It will be a full cultural immersion.

During my travels I’ll be staying with local youth, most of whom I’ll meet through CouchSurfing.com. For those unfamiliar with CouchSurfing, it’s an international social networking site that connects travelers with hosts in cities all over the world. Already popular throughout Europe and the Americas, it’s catching on in China. Before arriving to a city, I simply search for a host, send a request to crash on their couch, and voila. It’s a great way to meet locals, get a taste of their lifestyle, and see their city through their eyes.

Despite two comfy fast-train rides — one from Shanghai to Wuhan, the other Wuhan to Changsha — I’ll be getting around almost exclusively by hard seat. Again, it’s a great way to meet people. When you’re seated for 20+ hours with the lights on all night, you get friendly with your neighbors. Hours fly by as you cheer cheap beers, play poker, and succumb to the occasional cigarette handed to you. Once people get past the “where are you from; wow, your Chinese is good; are you studying or working” stage, people are eager to tell you their stories, and ask you yours. Without fail, I am offered stays and personal tours of people’s cities, towns, and villages. The hard seat section is where you’ll find the most generosity.

The route? Below is a rough plan. However, it’s subject to change as chance encounters and recommendations may throw me off course. It also fails to account for the occasional forays into rural areas and little-known low-tier cities.

View Rough Plan in a larger map

While traveling, I’ll be frequently updating the enovate website with stories, findings, tidbits, photos, and occasional rants; so make sure to check back frequently. I’ll also be actively tweeting from @enovate and my personal account @MrBaronBurns.

And of course, if you’re in any of the above cities, don’t hesitate to drop me a line on twitter or email (nick@enovatechina.com). If you have any suggestions of people to meet, places to go, things to do, or things you’d specifically like to hear about, feel free to tweet or leave a comment below.

’til next time,

Nick

First stop: Waipo Jia! If you end up in Hangzhou, DO NOT MISS this delectable culinary experience! Great food, great price, great, great, great. Tell them enovate sent you…

Satiated, we strolled alongside hordes of tourists and locals by the Westlake. Musicians lined the roads. Old men bowed their er hu’s while women belted into low-fi mics, with other brightly dressed women dancing rhythmic interpretations of traditional-Chinese-dance-meets-1920s-swing. Truly a site to behold.

A bit more walking, and we ended up at the day’s main event: The Xihu Music Festival. Blessed with perfect weather, we spent the day laying in grass, hopping in on drum circles, chatting to locals about Hangzhou’s hidden secrets, and of course, listening to music. The highlight for many was Taiwanese headliner, Soda Green, with other acts including 声音碎片 (Sheng Yin Sui Pian), Pitch Tuner, and Angie Hart.

The following day, our former intern / Hangzhou-extraordinaire, George, showed us around and introduced us to some friends, including the guys responsible for Charm Cafe. Read more about their efforts in promoting Hangzhou’s creative culture in today’s earlier post.

But rather than take you through a step-by-step narrative, I asked a couple people around the office to offer an anecdote, an observation, or something memorable. This has been our cooler-talk these past 3 days:

John

During our recent weekend visit to Hangzhou, there was one thing that really blew me away–the apparent level of government involvement in building the creative scene in Hangzhou. Speaking to Shu Chang, he indicated that it was the government who encouraged them to open up the cafe and creative space as the local government was interested in providing a space to support the various artists. Although funding and investment in the arts happens throughout China and also in the US, I was surprised that it was happening more at the grassroots level. I can see more of this happening in cities throughout China in the near future.

Joey

“Hangzhou is a place to live, Shanghai is a place for opportunities.” This was a statement from enovate’s Hangzhou street team leader, George, who is entering his senior year, majoring in Fashion Marketing and Engineering. “I will definitely be looking for work in Shanghai after I graduate,” George continued.

I love Shanghai. I live here, work here and the city’s energy keeps me focused and motivated like a higher power. However, I could not help but imagine living in Hangzhou, a wide-side-walked relaxing, creative hub where tourists come to frolic and over 7 million people reside. For George, Shanghai represents a city of opportunity, future possibilities and an escape for work. For me, Hangzhou also represents a city of opportunities and future possibilities, yet more of an escape from work. A world of difference.

Simon

One experience especially sticks out. I met a guy from Beijing at the festival who had just relocated to Hangzhou to work in the “Chinese culture business,” i.e. selling tea and Taichi to foreigners. I thought this is ironic since Beijing is widely considered as China’s cultural centre.

He said that he could enjoy his life much more in Hangzhou as he didn’t feel like he was working and spending all his time on public transport. He liked the weather and the more manageable size of the city. I wouldn’t exactly call this reverse migration, but maybe smart migration. I am not insinuating that Hangzhou will surpass Beijing in terms of culture. Rather, Hangzhou is a bit of an anomaly in China’s tiered ranking system. It does not qualify as a first tier city, but it stands apart from any other second tier city. Let’s call it a Tier 1.5.

Jermaine

I have found that Hangzhou is a city that cares for its travelers and citizens. For instance, during one of our taxi rides, Cola pointed out large awnings installed on intersections that were intended to keep cyclists protected from the elements while waiting for their lights to change. No more burning under the sun — no more getting drenched by torrential rain. It turns out these awnings were installed as advertising space. The local government cover their expenses by selling advertisement space. It is an action that benefits both the society and commerce. Hangzhou’s emphasis on environmental protection and a sustainable lifestyle has fueled a noteworthy biking culture. It’s great place to live, and a shinning example for other cities!

Leon

Hangzhou is defining itself as a main hub for China’s creative culture. Its relaxed, almost Bohemian, disposition makes it a perfect hotbed for the creatives. The yearly festivals like Xihu Music Festival, now have a nationwide reputation as a good event. More and more people are making the trip to see it for themselves. The city’s population is also becoming increasingly stylish. People everywhere were well dressed. Plus, as we learned from the guys over at Charm Cafe, the local government is taking bold steps to promote creativity in Hangzhou. The city surely holds a bright future.

Fabio

First, some thoughts about the independent brand “odi et amo.” Seeing Chinese kids be proud of the ancient quote of Catullo, a major Latin poet, made me quite nostalgic. I’ve studied Latin literature and language for five years, and as I delve deeper into China, I’m finding many similarities between the two cultures. Yet I still believe there is a lot of room in China to import more Italian and Greek culture. For now, it’s limited to Sinicized Italian restaurants with an inauthentic feel (i.e. Saizeriya). Speaking of food, I loved the Xihu Music Festival, but found the total lack of food and beverages unfortunate. People were getting McDonalds delivered to the entrance and sneaking in beers!

Mike

For one shining weekend it seemed like Hangzhou was the place to be in all of China. The weather was perfect, the tunes were rocking, libations were plentiful… Finally I understood at least half the statement of old: “The sky has heaven, earth has Suzhou and Hangzhou.” I’m still not completely sold on Suzhou (although I am a fan of at least of I. M. Pei’s New Suzhou Museum). But Hangzhou? More than once our band of enovators wistfully pined: “can we move here?”, “what if our new office was in HZ?”, and “this is the LIFE”. The lake, the festival, the bicycle friendly city planning, and most of all the food conspired to trap us all in its net like Oz’s poppy fields…

enovate is happy to announce our first-ever giveaway. From May 27 – 30, Shanghai will be host to the world’s best skateboarding, inline skaters, BMX, and MotoX riders. We’ve decided to offer you, our faithful readers, a chance to check out China’s action sports scene first-hand by offering up a set of X-Games tickets for Saturday (May 28).

Rules & regulations: Just enter your email below. Come Wednesday, May 26, we’ll contact the winner to pick up their tickets. Simple as pie.

Update: Congrats Tyler! See you by the halfpipe on saturday!

His artillary consists of a Nikon FM3A, an Olympus Miu 2, a Yashica Electro35GT, a Canon 1Ds MarkIII, and his favorite camera, the Mamiya RB67. We’ve certainly picked up on his nostalgia for traditional photographic practices now considered vintage. In the local Chinese photography scene, he cites Chen Man (陈曼) and Li Qi (李奇) as sources of inspiration, but also refers to works of international figures like Tim Walker, and the black sheep of photography: Terry Richardson.

His impassioned involvement with local underground cultures — especially Shanghai’s indie music scence — is spawning a body of work, sure to one day be called iconic.

Be sure to check out the rest of Chihmin’s work here.

Students don’t necessarily dislike the idea of a uniform. Following the trends of popular TV shows like Gossip Girls and Meteor Garden (Taiwan), many appreciate the preppy uniforms associated with American and European private schools, as well as schools in Taiwan. However, Chinese students find their own uniforms to be mundane, and lacking style. Can you blame us? Others get to dress up, we have to dress down. Essentially, the only variety in uniform is color. Schools either have a green, red, white, or blue uniform.

Girls especially hate this uniform, as it obscures one’s personality so much as to sometimes make gender indecipherable: an adolescent girl’s worst nightmare!

Despite a generally strict dress-code enforcement, we do have our personal, day-to-day victories. In our quest to express individuality, we’ve come up with several ways to “beat the system,” with some of the more common ways being:

• Leaving a couple buttons undone, or zipper low on your jacket to give attention to other layers you may have. We’re generally limited to white t-shirts, but depending on the weather, we can sometimes add a vest or sweater.
• If the weather is cold enough, we can get away with another layer on-top of the jacket because classrooms don’t usually have AC / heaters. Cold days tend to be our more “fashion forward” days.
• Boys who are after an edgier, more unruly look rely on the international bad boy’s call sign: the Popped Collar. The popped collar is also a great way to hide longer hair, since teachers will usually force you to get a cut if your hair hangs below your collar.
• Accessories help. Scarves, belt, glasses, watches, and occasionally necklaces are permissible ways to express one’s individuality.
• Shoes! Converse, Nike, Adidas, Clark’s, etc… that one’s up to us to decide. If you’re a cool guy, you’re going to be wearing LeBrons or Air Jordans, while girls still love their Converse.
• And if your really feeling lucky, you can tell your teacher your uniformed suffer some irreparable damage, and that you are forced to wear something in the meantime. Worked once for me, but got sent home the second time…

Fortunately for younger generations, the powers-that-be are showing signs that they’ve picked up on our discontent. Word has it that students will be given incremental fashion freedoms. For one, students in certain districts will be given multiple options for uniforms. In some schools, students will be allowed to collaboratively design their own uniforms. Others are talking about a possible “no uniform friday.” Lucky!

Who knows… if our dress code is relaxed enough to permit us to where branded apparel like Nike, Adidas, Kappa this may turn into a lucrative market for sports brands.

This is from an event called “Annual Radio & Television Correspondents’ Dinner.” Chinese netizens were pleasantly surprised to see Chinese comedian, Joe Wong, make an American audience burst into laughter, despite his strong Chinese accent.

Based on the 1000+ comments the video has already received, you can tell many Chinese viewers don’t understand his jokes. Fortunately, some english-speaking netizens have helped out by translating, or explaining a joke’s cultural context. After viewers finally come to understand his roast, many are compelled to laugh and feel a sense of pride that a Chinese comedian has been up at the podium at such a prestigious event to crack jokes on American politicians.

In my opionion, his sense of humor doesn’t come from his Chinese background, but rather his experiences in America. I’m not sure how well it went over with American audiences, but here’s what I say: Joe Wong for president!

Official estimates suggest that counterfeit products account for 15%-20% of products made in China, representing 8% of China’s US$2.6 trillion GDP.

In Western medias, shanzhai is typically used when referring to electronic goods, but in China, just about anything can be “shanzhai-ed.” Semi-proficient designers make shanzhai advertisements by photoshopping Barack Obama with a “Blockberry” (shanzhai overdose). Last week, one of our research analysts accidentally stumbled into a shanzhai restaurant, which except for several minor details (including price and quality of ingredients), exactly resembled a popular hotpot chain. A while back, Adam Schokora posted images of an obviously shanzhai Ferrari. The list goes on…

Mobile

Since the enovate office has dutifully been focusing its secondary research efforts on China’s mobile landscape, it’s only right that I steer this article back on track: shanzhai Mobile.

This story is not as simple as fake iPhones and Blackberries in shopping centers. Rather, it’s a complex issue that touches on a wide range of topics, one of which has recently received a lot of coverage: shanzhai innovation.

Much literature exists chronicling the shift from an imitation to innovation model. In short, mounting competition in the counterfeit market meant shanzhai producers were forced to give their product some additional market value. In the case of cell phones, that once meant adding a flashlight, colorful led lights, and extra-loud speakers that turned phones into portable boom boxes. Competition continued to heat up, so these phones continued to improve. Features like touch screens, translators, e-book capability, and projectors were added so that you now have wildly multi-function phones. If you look hard enough, you’ll find a mobile device that serves as phone, mp3 player, and electric shaver. In many cases, your average Chinese mobile user has a more advanced phone than their richer American counterpart.

Essentially, most new features that manufacturers like Nokia and Apple release will soon-there-after be replicated and combined with a multitude of other features. The shanzhai versions are not without problems of course. Low-end shanzhai mobiles (indeed, there’s a complete high to low end spectrum of shanzhai) will be glitchy and unreliable; yet, for the more than 90% of China that can’t afford a genuine iPhone, shanzhai might just be China’s great socialist equalizing force breaking down socioeconomic barriers to various technologies.

We are in the midst of a massive proliferation of advanced mobile culture in China. Keeping up with rudimentary cell phone usage here will soon be outdated — much more important is the penetration of “online mobile” (internet-ready mobile devices). As 3G technology matures in China, people are flocking to internet ready phones. Here’s yet another astounding China statistic: in 2009 users accessing the internet via mobile devices increased from 120 million to 233 million! When you consider that China has an approximate 384 million internet users, that means 60% of China’s internet users can connect from mobile devices. And as with any stat in China, expect this one to be outdated sooner rather than later.

The question is not whether Chinese consumers will make the transition to internet-ready phones. Taking into account the “equalizing force” of the shanzhai industry, we expect to see an astounding proliferation of these mobile devices throughout most of China’s socioeconomic segments. With that in mind, the question now becomes: will necessary infrastructure be able to keep up with the growth of mobile online use?

And since we’re posing all these questions, here’s another one:
How will your brand / agency take advantage of this new mobile network of internet users?

Our friends Greennovate at just alerted us to their Earth Day activities, here’s the release:

Earth Day 2010 — A DIY Event by Greennovate

For the third year running, Greennovate will hold an exciting Earth Day event on April 22nd! This year’s theme will be DIY – Do It Yourself. We’ve gathered some of Shanghai’s brightest environmental and artistic minds to insipire and share some great ways to integrate cool green ideas and trends into your everyday routine to develop a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle. The night’s workshops and activities include:

1. “Bring it Back” Fashion Show
2. Cool your Bike Workshop
3. Concert by Jammala
4. Green Voices of Shanghai
5. Plant your own garden
6. Become a GECKO Trainer

The event will start at 6:00 PM at 528 Kangding Road and will be FREE for all. Everyone is welcome to drop by, learn and share new green ideas, and have an awesome night! More info at earthday.greennovate.net