Last visit in Beijing

Took the subway to the Summer Palace this morning. The views were incredible, and the air was relatively clear.

The number of tourists was incredible, as was the number of people in the subway.

Subway

It gets a little crowded in Beijing.

CRSB - SAB Miller

One of the highlights of the trip. . . Jack Knight provided some fantastic insight into SAB Miller's Snow Beer JV with Hong Kong based and state owned CSE.

SAB is a minority partner. Their margins are lower than in their other businesses but the volumes are so massive that the business does very well for them. They've grown from 3 to 80 breweries through greenfield development and M&A, and they're fantastically positioned as a market leAder in rural areas and 2nd tier cities.

Adfaith

Afaith gave us an introduction to their Chinese consulting business today. They're styled somewhat like a Chinese McKinsey, providing a range of consulting services along with quarterly publishings (see Marine Corps book photo).

Cold Stone

In case you needed it, this is the WIFI password at cold stone creamery in the Village Shopping District in Beijing.

Meltwater

I'll have to be careful about what I say in this post since Meltwater mines Internet postings and news with their software (just kidding).

Our visit with Meltwater showed very clearly for me the vast opportunity presented by markets in China, and that good old fashioned hard-work combined with talent drives a business's success here. The local sales team was clearly very capable and proud of the business it was developing for the company.

Forbidden City

We toured the vast expanse of the Forbidden City yesterday. It was an impressive site. My favorite part was simply observing the Chinese tourists. I got a glimpse into what they must feel like coming to the National Mall in the US.

Beilun area by ningbo's port

Shipping port model before the port visit

Food!