As usual we will tie up our S3 Newsletter with news that is not specifically related to the business world.
We will continue with the two categories we have already started in previous editions; firstly, interesting books about China and secondly, large but little-known Chinese cities.
1. The 10 best books on China
After having spent some time on a not-so-serious book on China, namely about its gastronomy, on this occasion we return to more business-focused contents, yet still not too heavy.
Two Peking University professors (Jonathan Woetzel and Jeffrey Towson) have managed in ‘The One Hour China Book’ the impossible: make you in 60 minutes an expert on business in China!
This is the China book for everyone – whether an expert or novice. It can be read in an hour and gives you most of what you need to know about China business today – and its increasing impact on the rest of the world.
This small “speed-read” book is the distilled knowledge of two Peking University business professors with over 30 years of experience on the ground in China and the emerging markets. According to authors Jeffrey Towson and Jonathan Woetzel, “if we had the undivided attention of someone from Ohio, Brighton or Lima for just one hour, this little book is what we would say.”
Source: Internal elaboration 🙂
2. Large but little-known Chinese cities
After situating Wuhan in the center, Shenyang in the north east, Guiyang in the south west, Shaoxing in the east, Chengdu in the west, Fuzhou in the southeast and Hainan Island in the south, on the map, we move to the northwest of the country, where we find the capital of Shaanxi Province and the not so unknown, Xi’an.
Looking at the map, it is certainly worth clarifying the meaning of ‘northwest’ first, because for most of our Western readers, Xi’an seems to be rather in the center of the country, right?
As for with Chengdu in the ‘west’ (see Newsletter 2020/#1), China considers the most populated and economically significant areas for the definition of the cardinal points. These areas are mainly on the right half of the map. The other half would be the ‘far west’.
You understand?
And why do we call Xi’an ‘not so unknown’?
Well, that’s because that’s where the famous 8,000 terracotta warriors are. They were created and buried to protect the tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang in 210-209 a.c here.
It is currently a top tourist spot and a compulsory stop for any foreign visitor to China.
But Xi’an is much more than this. Today it is a metropolis with more than 12,000,000 inhabitants, and is the largest city in the ‘northwest’ of China.
Its economy is based on a strong, highly diversified industrial activity and the presence of a powerful software and outsourcing sector of services. The aerospace industry, which is largely invested in by the Central Government, is also based there.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/xi%27an