Off to Tianjin. Wow, if you are looking for an example of the aggressive way that China is attacking things, look no further than the Tianjin Economic Development Area (TEDA). After a quick peek at their Construction Exhibit Hall we took in the tour at Master Kong’s Noodle factory, the largest and most efficient in the world. Although the tasting that we participated didn’t put a dent in the 500 per line per minute that are produced, at least we tried. From there we had a dumpling lunch and a visit to the warehouses of Global Logistic Properties. What were your take aways from today’s activities (and I’m not referring to any symbolic meanings behind the phrase ‘happy endings’)?
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March 10, 2011 at 7:14 am |
When we think of the strengths of Chinese companies, almost everyone would think of operations. Yet the noodle tour showed us that they are taking steps to step up their marketing as well. One of their stated goals for the museum tour was to endear themselves to the Chinese consumer and use the tasting room as an opportunity for feedback from their customers. As a marketing student, it was interesting to hear that they were making it a priority in their business.
March 11, 2011 at 5:21 am |
Today was an interesting day. Once we got to Tianjin we visited the TEDA and saw a full-floor model of the city. That was really cool. When I was in 3rd grade we built our own town and developed a similar model of our town – it was really cool to see that in real life. There’s was much more extensive than ours.
I also really liked the Master Kong visit – that may have been my favorite for the day. I love food and I’ll be working for a food CPG this summer so it was interesting to see a Chinese CPG and learn how their products are made. They have efficient processes and we got to see it all from start to finish. Very cool – the taste test was a fun time too.
March 11, 2011 at 12:28 pm |
Master Kong factory was without a doubt the highlight of the day! Like Cassandra was saying, i am inclined to associate operational efficiencies with a Chinese factory, but it was particularly interesting seeing the human component integrated into the cycle. It seemed like humans were mostly involved in the quality-control aspect, which I thought was illustrative of the fact that you just can’t replicate certain human traits via technology – or at least now! My classmates and I really got a kick out of watching the people toss “bad” noodle packages off the conveyor belt and even seeing the occaisional
And someone at my table may have accidentally drank the ashtray liquid thinking it was green soup…
March 11, 2011 at 12:35 pm |
Whoops, hit “post” too soon! I left off talking about how we saw a couple of errors in the assembly line that resulted in noodle bowls flying in every direction – very entertaining.
I’ll be honest, the lunch today wasn’t my favorite, but an interesting cultural experience nonetheless. Apparently I had tripe, which I liked, and I also expanded my horizons trying dumplings that I maybe wouldn’t have ordered had I first smelled them. Insert ashtray liquid comment here. I think this just showed how relative our preferences are. To the local Chinese this was probably a delicious lunch -and the smells and seasonings all were in sync with that. I’d guess that the flip side would be true for Chinese citizens visiting America, though I don’t see how anyone could NOT like the cuisine we have in Austin. By the way, I’m dying for Torchy’s tacos and Rudy’s bbq!!
March 12, 2011 at 5:59 pm |
I thought our visit out to the Industrial park was really interesting. I will be working in the food industry this summer, so I especially liked seeing the efficiency at the noodle factory. It must be a large challenge to find ways to affordably feed the millions of people in China, which is why I think that Master Kong has been so effective. The noodles weren’t too bad and it was interesting that they even had an official tour set up for us (and others) including a train! Also, it was really interesting to see the city planning building and hear all of the plans for that location. I almost felt like I was in the twilight zone with all of the information about it basically being a mecca for companies and people to live “in harmony with nature and the birds”.
March 13, 2011 at 5:59 pm |
Visiting the Tianjin Economic Development Area (TEDA) was very interesting. The Planning & Construction Exhibition Hall was incredible– their level of pride in their economic success was apparent in their master-planned city built as a nest for industry, and they have obviously worked hard to market Tianjin to English-speaking investors since they had a tour guide and video in English.
To agree with everyone else, I also loved the noodle factory. Having a background in manufacturing, I enjoyed seeing the sophistication involved with something as simple as making noodles, and I especially liked that they had quality standards for how the web of uncooked noodles appeared. The three-hour bus ride to Tianjin was tough, but we also got to see the countryside near Beijing.
March 16, 2011 at 10:08 pm |
My favorite part of this day-trip was, like everyone, the noodle factory. It was interesting to watch the entire process from start to finish and how they instituted quality control – especially when they had to stop one of the lines because they couldn’t keep up. I think we were a bit of a distraction. I liked how the tour and the tasting room allowed them to involve and receive feedback from the consumer.
March 17, 2011 at 4:40 am |
I had mixed feelings about the TIanjin trip. As previously mentioned (by everyone), the noodle factory experience was really interesting. However, while I found that the scale model of Tianjin cool in a model train sort of way, I was somewhat put off by the proganda video that they showed us about Tianjin. The concept of clean air and a beautifiul environment appeared to clash with the actual environment that we encountered in Tianjin. It seemed a lot more polluted and since we didn’t get to see the city itself ift was hard to say whether the video’s assertions about business development were valid.
March 19, 2011 at 3:15 pm |
I was pretty surprised at how dirty the TEDA area was. It seemed like all of the buildings were covered in a thick layer of soot or dirt. Despite this, the government planning dept claimed to put a huge emphasis on environmental development. I wonder if other parts of the city are similar or if these attempts have been successful. Either way I hope they solve some of the problems soon, the burning eyes and lungs can’t be good for anyone…
March 21, 2011 at 6:50 am |
In Tianjin I was struck by the fact that there is a giant city of 10 million + people that I’d really never heard of before the trip. Looking at the model I thought, “Well, I guess this is what they’re planning to build here,” only to find out this was what they had actually built already! I’d echo previous comments about the noodle factory being fun and lunch being interesting. The warehouse visit wasn’t a highlight, but I guess it was good to get a look at some of the less glamorous drivers of the Chinese economy (the floor space, not the Lamborghinis).
March 21, 2011 at 7:50 am |
By far the best part of today was the trip to the noodle factory, but i was slightly perplexed. The factory was almost entirely automated; this was surprising to me considering the level of wages. Perhaps this is indicative of the trend to move manufacturing out of China into lower cost areas such as Vietnam. On the other hand, this company could just have way too much money on hand and are trying to show “face” as evidenced by the train that took us 200 feet.
March 21, 2011 at 8:22 am |
Tianjin was an interesting experience. Although I was not a fan of the bus ride, I was amazed by how quickly the government has successfully created a city out of nothing. The government has embraced the motto from the Field of Dreams, “If you build it they will come”. It is fascinating how a city of 10 million people can be created so quickly and still be considered a small city. Today was also my first encounter with the infamous China smog. I had a hard time believing that the haze was truly smog and not some weather phenomenon. I would have an extremely hard time living in a city where this level of pollution is the norm.
March 21, 2011 at 10:41 am |
I love that Tianjin was a “small city” outside of Beijing with a population almost 50% greater than any US city. At the information center it was curious to hear how much emphasis was put on Tianjin’s relationship with nature, although we weren’t able to see much of that from our trip (and I think many of us imagined this was exaggerated).
For Master Hong’s Noodles experience, I was very interested in seeing the production facility. From my job at Target I interacted with many Chinese manufacturers and heard many stories about efficiency and cleanliness. Despite the line workers not wearing gloves, I was really impressed by how clean the factory was! I really want some master hong’s for lunch today.
March 21, 2011 at 1:54 pm |
The visit to TEDA was really interesting because one thing that I picked up on throughout our trip was the notion that once the Chinese government puts their minds to something, they do it. No matter the cost or manpower required, they seem to set aggressive goals and get them done and it seems the plans for Tianjin are no different. I thought the model was really neat to look at from above and I’m excited to see what the city looks like in 5-10 years.
Master Kong was really interesting for me because, as Alice mentioned above, I too am working for a CPG company this summer and will have to know a lot about operational efficiencies. The plant was a great front-line view of how much machinery and manpower goes into making high-quality products, and I must admit I was glad to see some of the noodle packages getting tossed off the line for not meeting quality-control standards…it makes me feel like my food is safer seeing some bad packaged get rejected first-hand like that!
March 21, 2011 at 4:42 pm |
The idea of being able to just redo a city, which I believe that they are doing in Tianjin, it was impossible to hear the tour guide even though she had a microphone and I was trying to get as close as possible, seems so foreign to me. Decisions in America take so long to be researched, debated, modified, approved, and finally set in to action that to build a city in ten years is just wild. We did see some of the problems with that speed of growth. At Global Logistic Properties it was difficult to focus on the presentation when a giant crack in the ceiling was demanding all of my attention. Since I watch way too many home improvement shows I know that this is a serious problem with the foundation and was more than happy to leave that office. I had assumed that this was just an old building and that those cracks were a product of age, but I was informed that this building was only a few years old. Building so quickly, and with the expectation that most building will be replaced in ten years makes me wonder what condition they will be in after 9.5 years.
March 21, 2011 at 6:48 pm |
The noodle factory was interesting. One thing I took away from the visit was the nearly complete lack of human labor required. It was interesting to see this trend taking hold in China despite their relatively low wages. Given that automated factories cost the same, and possibly less, in developed countries, it will be interesting to see how shifts like this effect China’s position as a manufacturing center for the world. Without a shift toward the creation of knowledge workers I think they could be in trouble.
March 21, 2011 at 7:02 pm |
Tianjin was an interesting stop. We visited Master Kong noodle factory and the Tianjin LED information center. It was hard to hear the guided tour at the LED information center, however, the actually LED city was incredible in size and in detail taken.
Master Kong was also pretty cool. It takes Master Kong 50 minutes from start to end to create a package of their noodles. They are extremely efficient and clean. I found their bullet train a little unnecessary given it was a one-minute walk. Overall, the noodle factory was one of the coolest visits.
March 22, 2011 at 10:28 am |
My group presented in class about Tianjin Economic Development Area (TEDA), so it was exciting to finally be there in person. While it was the busy hub I was expecting, it was interesting to see the the planning and model of TEDA. For a small city, it was looked enormous.
The highlight of the day was by far the Master Kong noodle factory. I love touring factories and seeing the efficiency and speed of the machines. I probably could have stared at the robots stacking the boxes at the end for hours.
March 22, 2011 at 12:27 pm |
Like everyone else, the Noodle Factory was definitely the highlight of this day. Just watching the sheer volume of food that is produced in such a short a time was very interesting. Along the same lines, the fact that the factory can be so productive with so few actual workers was impressive. Our little taste test at the end of the visit reminded me of ramen noodles from home and actually made me miss them a little.
March 22, 2011 at 12:49 pm |
The TEDA visit ended with a video filled with propaganda and basic facts about virtually any municipality portrayed in an upbeat and positive light as to make them sound unique to Tianjin. What I actually learned from this video was the role of government influence in deciding which cities would become most important to the economy. Its decision to make Tianjin prominent had led to the impressive displays of infrastructure we saw at TEDA.
The MasterKong visit interested me because it was free for groups to visit the Noodle Factory as long as a reservation was made in time. This is relevant because it shows the company marketing itself through factory tours. The comments above regarding the lack of exploitation of the cheap Chinese labor force show our group’s surprise at the level of automation in the company’s manufacturing. Reflecting on the factory, it makes sense that it would allow free tours because it has better working conditions for its employees than many other Chinese factories. Hence, it is good PR for MasterKong to allow free group tours of its operations.
March 22, 2011 at 1:52 pm |
I found the visit to the TEDA to be fascinating because the speed at which this ‘small’ 10 million person city will be built is not possible in the US. In about 1.5 years, they are planning to have the new city completed. In the US, maybe the permits would be completed in that period of time! It was obvious here that with a one party government, things can get done pretty quickly. It is obvious that China is a very attractive place for businesses because this new city is being built to satisfy the demand for manufacturing, shipping and tourist needs.
Master Kong was also a worthwhile destination. It was a perfect example of the efficiency and speed that is so valued in the Chinese culture. The area of the production line that seemed to be having the most problems was the area where humans were working. It seems like factories like Master Kong are necessary in a country like China that needs to feed 1.3B people. The noodles tasted very good, better than Ramen.
March 22, 2011 at 2:52 pm |
To echo some of the comments above, I think the highlights of the day included the TEDA visit and the Master Kong tour. Some good insight into how the Chinese government thinks about growth in the future in terms of master planned communities. Almost frightening how planned out everything is. To be perfectly honest, the Tianjin trip is something the trip ought to reconsider for next year. I personally did not think the visits in Tianjin justified a hour 6 commute (to and from). I believe students would benefit from either a free day or self sourced company visits that may have aligned better with individual interests.
March 22, 2011 at 2:54 pm |
After a 3 hour bus ride we arrived in Tianjin and saw a full-floor model of the city. It was absolutely one of the top-10 full-floor models of any city that I have ever seen. I had no idea Tianjin was such a large city. It looks like a beautiful city at night with tons of LEDs. We also visited the Master Kong factory, which is the most efficient factory in the world and home to a delicious bowl of soup. The beef/sodium flavor was really tasty. I’m definitely going to find the beef bowl in the U.S.
On the way back from Tianjin we played “Things,” which was a blast. I haven’t laughed so hard for a long time. To clear the air, what Kyle said about me is completely untrue and unfounded.
March 22, 2011 at 4:49 pm |
I think the development of Tianjin is pretty amazing. The city seems to have every form of transportation possible from a bullet train to rockets!
I really enjoyed the Master Kong noodle factory. It was amazing how well run the factory was except for when we distracted the workers and the noodles flew off! I thought it was interesting how the company uses the factory tours for marketing. They mentioned how the tasting room is one way they get more customers since many people begin buying it after they try it. I know there are many of us who will now buy Master Kong!
March 22, 2011 at 4:55 pm |
I was also impressed with the scale and design of the Tianjin model city and it was interesting to visit the economic development area that was entirely planned by the government. Unfortunately, I couldn’t hear any of the tour during our visit to the Construction Hall. I think it is somewhat of a cultural difference, but our tour guide was speaking very softly to the few people at the front and she also seemed to start without worrying about waiting for the group. I also noticed this on a few of our other visits but it seems that the Chinese tend to have a lot of side conversations during presentations. Just an interesting cultural observation.
I was also surprised after seeing the promotional video of TEDA that the parts of the city we drove by didn’t seem as clean and evironmentally “green” as hyped up to be. There were a lot of warehouses and factories that I saw, and it didn’t look as new and prosperous as I would have expected it to look.
March 22, 2011 at 9:45 pm |
It was very interesting to see how the landscape changes as you travel from BJ to Tianjin. This has to be the most industrial place I’ve ever seen. Everything is built for efficiency and there are warehouses and manufacturing plants as far as the eye can see. I thought Beijing produced a lot of pollution but this place pumps out coal 24/7. The noodle plant was impressive and it reminded me of the factories we hypothesized about in Operations class – loading zones, queing stations, bottlenecks, etc..
GLP was not as interesting as I hoped but that was due to the language disconnect. It was impressive to see the sheer size of these warehouse facilities. Our dumpling lunch was very good, but not quite as good as the place Ouyang took us in the mall a few days earlier on International Women’s Day. The biggest takeaways for me were the size, efficiencies, and volume of these production plants. It was interesting to see the place that most of the world’s low-tech products come from. And of course, the traffic in Beijing was unreal…
March 22, 2011 at 9:47 pm |
I was impressed by Tianjin’s eagerness to grow and the obvious amount of work that the city is putting in to become a Tier 1 city in China. The list of global companies with factories there was surprising since I thought that I had heard of most cities in China in which some of these Fortune 500 companies operate…I thought wrong. So while it was a pleasant surprise to learn about this new, up-and-coming city, I definitely think they have a long way to go and need to make conscious efforts to grow in a safe and sustainable way versus the typical “fast/first-to-market” way that pervades Chinese business standards. I did not see a lot of green initiatives nor did I notice much effort to incorporate nature into the landscape (it was in the model but not the actual city).
Master Kong noodle factory was the highlight for me as we got to see the factory workers in action and learn about a conglomerate that has been really successful in China across such diverse industries (from real estate to fast food chains). GLP was interesting once we tied it back to our meeting in Shanghai to gather more context around it, but my first impression was not overwhelmingly positive or negative…there were no surprises there.
March 23, 2011 at 8:17 am |
Tianjin was an interesting city to visit. The rapid growth of the TIanjin Economic Development Area is impressive. The part the government plays in planning and promoting the city was thought-provoking as it is so different in the U.S.
The visit to the Master Kong noodle factory was the best part of the day for me as it was for so many others. It’s is interesting that they have a whole tour set up and I wondered what other groups visited these facilities. It was great to see the whole production facility and their efficiency. I was also surprised to see so little human capital, and was amazed at the effectiveness of the machines and level of quality control they maintained. I most enjoyed the tasting at the end of the tour and enjoyed seeing all the different flavors that they had. We talk about differences in product marketing depending on the cultures in classes and some of the flavors would definitely not be well received in the U.S.
March 23, 2011 at 8:18 am |
I got to be honest, today was my least favorite day of the trip. I thought the noodle factory was the highlight. However, I would have preferred to actually see Tianjin rather than a model of it and a promotional video. For a 6 hour round trip bus ride, it was tough to really maximize the time in the day. The express train they bragged about would have been an awesome alternative.
However, I really did enjoy visiting the noodle factory. Its fascinating how many people in China actually eat noodles and how quickly they can make so many.
March 23, 2011 at 9:27 am |
Similar to others, the noodle factory was my favorite stop of the day. It was very impressive and fun to watch things moving along so smoothly. Another thing I found interesting was some of the sights on the drive. Blink and you could have missed it, but there were a variety of small towns that looked much more poverty filled than what we had been seeing in the city.
March 23, 2011 at 1:25 pm |
“Tia Jin, Bing Hai Area, Center for Development and Innovation, Harmony with Nature AND Birds.” The Tian Jin economic development center was a really great microcosm of the booming economy in China and the plans for rapid expansion. The floor room sized city model was an impressive sight and the corresponding tour and video was a great summary of the aggressive plans for this promising city.
Moving on to the Master Kong instant noodle factory was a really cool visit. Minus the factory train that drove along a track that was only 100 yards long, the factory was extremely efficient, mostly run by machines and robots, and a staff of what seemed like less than 30 people, that could produce 5 billion units of instant noodles a year. And with a product that is consumed 35 times a year on average by each individual in China, this is a great lesson in successful positioning for a food product that changed the instant noodle game in China.
The lunch in Tian Jin was another Lazy Susan, eat til you explode meal. Athough I will never eat Duck Liver again, the variety of dumplings kept me satisfied and gave me the energy for the bus ride back to Beijing and the most fun game of “things” I have ever played in my life. If I had a yuan for everytime I laughed during that game, I would probably be able to buy myself another fake watch. So glad Orlando came and participated in the game as well. Another great day.
March 23, 2011 at 3:04 pm |
The efficiency in the Noodle factory was very impressive. However, we did notice that certain workers were not wearing their masks until we walked by the observing window. It is clear that the oversight in China is a bit more lax than in the US. This may also be due to the desire to cut costs, which was evident in the plant. We saw about a dozen different stations throughout the noodle making process, but did not see many workers until the last 3 stations. It was obvious that in many places machines replaced the need for a large labor force.
March 23, 2011 at 5:04 pm |
I thought our Trip to Tiajin lacked some context. When we arrived to the TEDA I wasn’t quite sure what the lady was saying but it was cool to see the model of the city are how big it was. The video was interesting from a propaganda perspective and how the Chinese government views their investment in the area. I thoroughly enjoyed Master Kong Noodle factory, it was so interesting to see how long the strand of noodle really is until it finally gets cut. having worked in a factory that made a completely different product I thought it was interesting to see how automated the process was and how tightly they control quality.
The next highlight was the bus ride back and a rousing game of “things.” It really made those three hours fly by.