Jonathan Biddle – Made in Taiwan

Tag: China

  • Beijing – Extra Photos

    There were a load of images sitting on my camera for the last month that I had not realised were still there, so it was a nice excuse to follow up the Beijing post with a few extra words and pictures.


    LiQun Roast Duck restaurant – heart-stoppingly good

    The first that is certainly worth talking about was LiQun roast duck. Quietly hiding down one of the ‘HuTong’ back streets facing imminent destruction, this unassuming place has hosted a flotilla of presidents, diplomats and statesmen in its chaotic surroundings. The number that have had severe heart problems after leaving is probably relatively high – never has such crispy, perfectly oily duck passed these lips … and almost certainly never in this quantity.

    Jade and I accompanied Pearl – a designer at Nokia in Beijing, who had been in the capital a few weeks. It was really an amazing insight to quiz her on the design scene here – fascinating.


    Chefs up front, delicious ducky destruction behind


    No Shit – No Shit!

    LiQun is probably a fair reflection on the general type of food available in Beijing – immediately very tasty, dry, oily and in many cases spicy, it’s delicious, but after a few days it does become rather too much and the incredible salt content ends up destroying your palette. Delicious, yes – but in moderation please, if only for the sake of my poor heart.

    The second of the major extra locations I wanted to document for a moment was 798 – the art district that has semi-taken over an industrial zone, and substituted manufacturing units for art galleries and concept shops. It was really quite charming to see real steam emanating from the pipes around the installations, and the hipsters reflected off the windows of galleries hosting student exhibitions. The only thing, as ever here, was the background thrum of pollution resonating in the air – sadly even the books in the arts shop were all covered in a fine layer of dusty residue – a sad detail.


    Making way for a new development


    Cruising the streets


    Hole in the wall


    I am convinced I see Lenin imprinted in fabric of the wall


    Pipe dreams – I kind of wonder if an artist was let loose on this


    Nike + Industrial Art = Concept Shop


    Mao’s Jacket – amazing how iconic it has become


    Stringing it together


    Later in the day we were passing the Audi dealership, and obviously in a drive to increase the profile of the brand in China, they had imported the one-off ‘Avus’ concept from the 1990s, along with the new R8, S5 and a range of other tasty morsels. But the ‘Avus’ – I really think I saw this as a child at the Birmingham motor show. Certainly – very dramatic… but I would not like be the one to keep it looking shiny.

    Web Gallery here:

    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…

  • Beijing

    Although I am the final member of my family to visit Beijing – I mean really! – I have finally made the jump; after spending a few days in Shanghai on business, and spending some time with Anke & Lars, I flew up to meet Jade and finally get myself acquainted with the ‘Northern Capital’.

    I don’t know exactly what I expected, but I somehow think it was a little different to what I have seen so far. I knew it was going to be big – but not quite so WIDE. 8 lanes, wherever you go, it seems, and it has this distinct feel in my eyes of Brussels, but on some kind of massive scale. And with a couple billion more Chinese people I guess. And it sound like a stupid thing to say, but it really feels like a city that has been here for a while already. Just in the same way that Japanese or European cities have that understated confidence.

    The people here are pretty friendly so far. Nicer than Shanghai which seems to attract arseholes from all the different regions of China. I also really like the way they talk with what sounds like a bee in their mouth. It makes understanding them really quite difficult, but some of them understand that foreigners can’t follow the buzzing noises. I have been complimented a couple of times on my Chinese, but I suspect that is because it is obvious I have a ‘foreign’ accent – the longer you stay in Taiwan, and the better you get, the less people seem impressed. So I have to take this with a pinch of Salt.

    What makes Shanghai cool, in my opinion, is a bunch of foreigners opening cool places. Beijing, on the other hand, is cool because it is Chinese people opening these places, driving the music scene and pushing the boundaries.

    In fact – tonight was super. I headed out (in the middle of the second biggest electrical storm of my life) and after an age managed to secure a seat in a taxi heading to SanLiTun. All it said on the map was ‘Bar Street’, so I was a little surprised that there was this amazingly little row of indy bars, wach sporting a singing act. I rolled up, had some food and beers and after an hour or so of listening, got chatting to the singer. We talked about music in Taiwan and China and Japan and Europe, and it was a really fascinating just to talk. He gave me a bunch of cooler places to go. And so it is.

    Shanghai, I think, is probably world class if you fancy getting yourself drunk, congratulating yourself that you followed the gold rush to China, and perhaps picking up an STD. But on impressions so far, I am more taken with this place.

    More coherent posts to come, I hope. And Jade arrives tomorrow!


    My first pot of tea in Beijing – which turned out to be Soy Sauce


    A couple contemplate things in BeiHai


    The Wall


    The capacity for Chinese to sleep anywhere is peerless, but at least here they chose a nice location to install themselves for a sunny afternoon


    A guy practicing his calligraphy with water – which of course evaporates… rather beautiful, I thought


    The local barber watches the MaZhong game while waiting for his next customer


    The day after Jade joined me, we headed straight out for the Great Wall at MuTianDi. We arrived pretty early to avoid waves of crowds and heat, and it paid off… and just check out the seller hauling his loads up the hill in the background


    Life thru a lens


    This charming chappie was the guy shouldering the drinks and food over the great wall – the prices were pretty extortionate, but he was so friendly and dashing that I simply had to patronise him


    The watchtower


    Stretching into the distance – it really is the most amazing, crazy construction. I can very well see why the Chinese are proud of it, appearing like an English castle that has been straightened out like a roll of tape over the hills


    The Forbidden City – These urns were filled with water, and small fires were even lit under them in the winter to keep them liquid. In the event of fire, these were then available to smother any flames


    Jade struts her stuff


    Secret garden


    Beige is not an option


    The immense crowds that made the experience rather tiring. And although it sounds rather gloating to say it, after seeing Kyoto, the immense, unsubtle scale of the Forbidden City is pretty intimidating – though a perfect match for the inhuman proportions of Beijing

    Some higher res images here, too:

    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…

  • Shanghai Hoon

    Part business trip, and part extended excuse to see some more of Shanghai, visit Anke & Lars, and serve as a jumping-off point to Beijing. It was really just super to see them, and lovely to see them setting up here. Their pad, although lacking some of the very special ‘character’ of the Taipei offices, was really a delight to see.

    After two nice homes in two weekends it makes me think I want to move somewhere and, well, care about it more – I am still pretty much camping in Taipei. It is really amazing to live a ‘lightweight’ lifestyle, without any of the heavy loads of many of my friends back home, but I know at some point this is certainly I will grow to want – and especially after seeing my Sister’s frankly ridiculous place in Cambridge!

    I was here last year. It was a fantastic that time around, but my timing meant that I left one day before German designer Gerhard arrived, and three days before Anke & Lars. This time, on top of the sausage-eating crew, Rich was in town, helping a club with their promotion work to open up.

    It was really very interesting to check out the city for a second time – and really get a stronger feeling about moving here to set up shop. It certainly makes me excited – but I think I also need a bit of holiday first – it is pretty intense.

    As a break from it all, Lars, Anke and two of their Germanisch architect friends joined us for a day trip to Hangzhou. This, I have to say, is what I thought China would be like in my tourist head. Temples and lakes surrounded by nice little eateries and day tripping young romantics from the big city. Although it is stretching it to claim it really is ‘heaven on earth’, it is definitely a nice place. I often think about China developing its own New Yorks and Los Angeleses (if that is a plural), but I am unsure if these hot little creative towns will also crop up – where will the San Franciscos and Seattles and Bostons be in twenty years time? Could it be here, I wonder?


    The charming view out of the back of the building


    Their amazing balcony, pointing towards downtown – although they live on a big ‘orrid housing estate, they also manage to escape it as soon as the front door is shut.


    Enjoying a light breakfast / snack after a night out


    Love birds – Anke & Lars caught!


    People leave messages on the bamboo – though it would be great to know what they are and what the traditions are!


    Speed


    Waiting in the impressive Shanghai South train station


    Lars enjoys one of my jokes


    Anke checks some photos of me


    One of the many shadowy monks lurking in the shadows in Hangzhou – I was itching to battle!


    Wearing its hat at a jaunty angle


    I am a big fan of the Ladybird phone booths in China


    A gap betweeb buildings – that just so happened to make FANTASTIC echoes


    Loch Ness monster


    Cheesy grin – he enjoyed it too!

    And a load more images here:

    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…

  • Back to the Future

    Today, I was finally granted the future I was promised as a child. Today, I rode the Mag Lev.

    Linking the Airport and the city – or at least a parking lot in the middle of nowhere kind of near the city – it covers the 40km run in 7 minutes! Half the time is spent accelerating, and the other half braking. The most efficient way, of course – perhaps the Shanghai taxi drivers understand physics better than I realised.

    The whole experience was however slightly provincial, and rounded off with a very slow, frustrating and badly organised airport. Strange, considering the epic world class proportions of the exterior. Perhaps it is an ideal analogy of my whole China experience so far.


    Anything with red glowing lights gets my vote


    For those of you that are interested, this is a mag-lev track. Where is the dry ice and lasers?


    Fast! But not quite as smooth as I expected


    My plane to Hong Kong, and after back to Taipei and *cough* civilisation

    As an interesting note, the MagLev was constructed using German know-how and is the only commercial example existing in the world, saving the technology from becoming a white elephant. The Germans are now up in arms because the Chinese are planning their own version, but cheaper this time. However, as some observers have pointed out this may be the only way to recoup costs – by supplying key components. That the Chinese copy the system and make it cheaper, could open the door for it in other locations.

    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…

  • Henry Wilkins

    I just got back from a rather marvellous evening – a house party in Henry Wilkins’ apartment in Shanghai. Henry I went to school with so I have known him since he was about 11 years old, and although he denies it he grew up in Bar Hill, home of Tescos. I even bumped into a dutch designer that I met last night at the hoky poky thing, so it is quite clear that I have become pretty au fait with the community here, just in the space of a few days. A nice feeling.


    The view from Henry’s balcony across Shanghai

    So, a school friend in the local viscinity. And another crazy cab ride home to match the crazy journey there with the Chinese Fernando Alonso

    The Dukes of Hazard…



    What a rush!

    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…

  • Chinese Economics

    Today was the first day off I had in a week and a half, so I planned to get up, head to the train station and go and find my self of ‘real’ China.

    Unfortunately, that plan was dashed by the cleaning lady at my door this morning, indicating I had slept through my alarm by two hours. I made it to the station, bought a ticket to Suzhou, but realised that it was too late to make good use of the day. As a result, I took the opportunity to see a little of Shanghai in the day time and it certainly delivered.

    I have to say, this is a town to live in, not to visit. The Bund is marvellous and there are a few other interesting places to go, but it does not have the tourist attraction of Beijing. I went to check out the YeYuen gardens – the old town – and it was very nice but absolutely packed with yellow-hatted Chinese tourists following their respective yellow flags. Package tours take on a new meaning with the Chinese, and I would not be surprised to see more of these headpieces in Europe as their gather more disposable income.

    I had some rather forced conversations with Chinese clearly wanting to sell me something under the pretence of learning English – a ruse I got extremely tired of. The pinnacle came when my will broke and accompanied a pair of Chinese students to a café bar for a coffee. My treat, and I didn’t really mind. I was rather shocked to find they had ordered half the menu and the most expensive Whiskeys on the menu! My heart both dropping and pounding in rage, I had to control myself, pay the bill and get the hell out. I raised a stink but this was clearly not a good idea in the particular location I had chosen. You know, I have traversed Mexico and Central America, Thailand and Taiwan, and I have maintained my street wise all the way. I have never been ripped off by more than is reasonable. But today I lost out on about 100 bloody quid, but I feel like it was a very cheap way to learn a very expensive lesson. Folk lore suggests people coming here, setting up businesses and having the investments pulled out underneath them. So. Lesson learnt. Wounds licked. And a more circumspect approach to the city of sin.

    That feels better now! Now I prepare to head out one last time to meet Henry from my High School. Amazing to see him and my oldest friend in Asia. At the same time, I have lost out by days once again as my friend Gerhard (previously of Panasonic in Japan, and hailing from Germania – where else?) arrives to set up a design company on Monday (!) and Anke & Lars move their life here via India on Thursday. It seems like a bit of a German conspiracy, what with missing out on Michael & Tanja’s farewell bash last weekend!

    Shower and change. A wiser man steps out into the night.


    Bamboo sticks out into the street, providing drying space for clothes. Just thread them on and poke ’em out!


    The pond at YuYuen gardens – the ‘Old City’


    A door


    A phone recharging machine on Nanjing Street. Maybe I am the only one that found it interesting.


    The animation exhibition in MOCA – The Museum of Contemporary Art – in People’s Square.


    Spinning LED installation – quite cool – reminded me of a guy from my old time at ideo in London


    Bruce Lee Fried Chicken. I’m Not Joking. Actually they take his Chinese name ‘Lee Xiao Long’, or ‘Little Dragon’ Lee

    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…

  • Design Speed Dating

    I just returned from a great evening meeting many creative types at a series of speeches as part of a “Pecha Kucha” – Japanese for Chit Chat. You get 20 seconds per slide, and 20 slides and it is really strict. We had speakers from fields as diverse as architecture (Shanghai is full of ‘em) design, photography and fashion and it made for a really stimulating evening. At long last, it felt like a gallery opening in London surrounded by people faintly cooler than you. But still, everyone maintains there is no scene here, and the nearest beach is three hours away. By aeroplane.

    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…

  • Taiwanese Ex-Pats

    I already wrote a little about the different behaviour of the Taiwanese in the office, but I was lucky enough last night to be invited out for dinner once again by some of the China operation’s directors last night for a meal. The restaurant was in the west of the city where there are extensive communities of HongKongese, Japanese, Korean and Japanese. The whole thing was shiny and neon’d, interspersed with Japanese titty bars, Karaoke and stores full of overpriced food. And all the time, there were ramshackle houses built next to the fountains, full of tiny rooms. Who for? The maids? Workers?

    Once into conversation, It felt like I was looking at myself amongst my foreigner friends in Taiwan bitching about the taxis, social protocol, level of professionality, work environment, food and a million other things. This is what we do too, semingly as some sort of natural reaction to a new environment. I hate doing it – it feels like I am talking behind my friends’ backs – but somehow this is the release valve that we need to vent steam.

    So there I was last night, listening to the Taiwanese Ex-Pats talk about life in China – their body language once again more confident as they watched the girls bring in food and leaned back on their chairs. Half of me felt horribly superior, as I imagined all the locations that the British have settlements. The other felt some kind of minor pride for Taiwan – this is their little empire right inside China. Of course, there are other major Taiwanese communities, and I guess most of them are in the USA. I wonder if they talk about the US in the same way. Probably.
    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…

  • Chinese Driving

    Taiwanese drivers could never be noted for their skill. It’s erratic and dangerous, but this could not prepare me for the driving here.

    If the Taiwanese drive cars as if they were driving scooters, the Chinese seem to regard safety and regulation in the same was a Cambridge University cyclist would. It’s chaos. Cars reverse back to missed exits on the motor way, silent and deadly electric scooters scythe through lines of pedestrians and taxis behave as if the drivers really badly need the toilet.

    My guess is the horn is also connected to the break pedal, and is always used to greet oncoming traffic with a friendly hoot as buses and taxis career down the middle of the highway straight at each other. I have even been witness to freely flowing traffic break into cheerful symphony as soon as one car makes as much as a hoot.

    And in the middle of all of this are the thousands of bicycles, somehow oblivious to the war between the motorised members of the club. Why there are no dismembered limbs and bleeding wounded by the side of the road I do not understand.

    I never thought I would say this but I feel safer on the roads in Taiwan.


    The taxi drivers are separated from their irate passengers by plexiglass


    Motor scooters are being phased out and replaced with electric vehicles. There are some advantages to Communism.


    The bicycle parking lot at the office. A missed the photo of the cyclists riding along with their umbrellas open. Lovely.

    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…

  • Taiwan & China

    Taiwan and China, along with their neighbours Japan and Korea, have a turbulent history. I did not know what to expect when I arrived here, working for a Taiwanese design house, for a Taiwanese company, with Taiwanese bosses, but work colleagues here from China.

    Certainly, the first day was a little strained, and by day two I was getting the impression that they resented their Taiwanese bosses to some degree. Talk to locals here and more often than not if they work for a large technology company their seniors are from the rogue province. As a result, the feeling on the street is that Taiwanese are arseholes. Even meeting foreigners on Saturday they had heard the same thing.

    I am clearly not Taiwanese, but with the project being imposed by HQ in Taipei I was surely seen as ‘one of them’. I have to say that, over the course of these days my views have changed as I get to know the team here better. Like I believe I said before (I can’t check this post because of the restrictions) the initial impression was a little cold, but now they are offering the odd bad cup of coffee or biscuit. Rather like working in old Newmarket!

    I am used to dealing with Taiwanese now, so the two occasions that I met with Taiwanese directors here were doubly interesting. Their interaction with their Chinese ‘underlings’ was akin to seeing an American barge into an English pub and order a Philly Steak. Suddenly they become assertive and decisive. It left me chuckling after the head of ID warned me that the Chinese do not speak their minds ‘like the Taiwanese’. Hilarious.
    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…