Bargaining for "The China Price"

An indefinite price is very common throughout China. Many daily transactions are settled through bargaining and people pride themselves on their haggling prowess. Bargaining (jiangjia) commonly extends from daily milk purchases to business deals. Even though you might think you know the price for a certain commodity or have a business contract including pricing and payment terms, this by no means signifies that your counterpart has this amount in mind. The role of a fluid final price is extremely ingrained in the culture, and a source of pride for those who have the ability to demonstrate their lihai (powerful) jiangjia abilities.

Dietz: I often take for granted price tags on everyday items. Walking into a department store in China and viewing the price tag by no means signifies that you will pay that price. In most cases, you would be foolish to do so. However, it becomes tiring to have to negotiate for everything. There is even a market near my apartment where you can haggle for shampoo if bought in decent quantities.

Bates: The shelf price on many Chinese goods is generally marked up around 40%; paying the asking price is big mistake. The day-to-day activity of bargaining for everyday amenities becomes very tiring. However, with Wal-Mart, Metro, Carrefour, and Oushan setting up shop in China, local people's bargaining power is diminishing. Although, the greatest convenience of big super-market chains opening here is you know what your buying unlike bargaining for something that may be fake or just doesn't work.

Dietz: I got caught up in the fever once, and attempted to buy a black market cell phone on the street. It was a cool phone with a camera and the usual features. It was lacking a sim card and a charger so I thought it was just stolen merchandise. I haggled, argued, insulted the man a few times, walked away, and finally got it down to the equivalent of $24. I felt pretty good about myself and had the urge to brag to people about how cheap I got this cellphone for (a very culturally acceptable thing to do). In the end, the phone up being a fake cell phone with a functional LCD but no internal components (they can make fake everything over here). Humbled to this day.

Bates: Being a foreigner, it's easy to get ripped off on just about anything. I once accompanied a Chinese friend to the train station via taxi and on the way back home I ended up paying double the original price. Even purchasing fruits and vegetables from local markets can be a challenge. My least successful experience was paying a reasonable price for oranges one day, and paying triple the very next day from the same vendor. Perhaps she sensed my great demand for oranges late at night.

Dietz: Earlier this year, I sat in on a payment discussion with a Chinese company. They were settling the final payment of a piece of a project, and the amount was stipulated on a previous memorandum of understanding. However, in order to save face and maintain a sense of business prowess to the company's leadership, the contract was renegotiated at final payment at GREEEEAT length (at one point even negotiating the exchange rate).

Other than purchasing houses, cars, and formal business negotiations, Americans are rather isolated from the world of bargaining. It comes as a shock to some the amount of price fluctuations on all levels, and in many cases, as a foreigner in China, the price tends to fluctuate up. Unfortunately, this is one of the lessons learned, and reminder that you have to be on top of your game with every purchase. The term 'buyer beware' has never seemed more relevant.

Regional Food Specialties & Western Options

With 33 provincial regions and 80 dialects and, it’s no wonder food choices will differ from city-to-city in Mainland China. It’s enjoyable experimenting with new cuisine, but what selections do westerners have to relish from home? In this discussion, Dietz & Bates will compare specialty dishes in Beijing and Chengdu as well as western food options.

Dietz: Beijing is a hotbed of culinary craziness. The city is home to a huge range of historically famous Beijing delicasies as well as a solid representation of virtually all types of Chinese regional food. While Peking Duck is the first thing that comes to mind, North Eastern Chinese food has a wide range of flavors and ingredients. My favorite food tends to be the street snacks available on nearly every corner. Fried dumplings, egg pancakes, and vegetable pockets comprise the vast majority of my meals, all of which are under a $1.

Bates: The most famous of all dishes in Chengdu is Hot Pot (Huo Guo). Virtually, every food item is used such as vegetables, meats, pig brain; the list goes on. It consists of a large communal boiling pot of extremely spicy broth that makes the mouth numb. However, it’s not only the food items that make the dish famous, it’s also the process. Grab your friends, throw in your favorite vegetable or meat to cook and enjoy good food with good friends. Other specialties are chao shou (dumplings) and fei pian (cows’ lung).

Dietz: Aside from the common western restaurants such as McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Subway there are many western cafes and restaurants in Beijing. However, they are the last place I will typically eat. The biggest stomach problems I have had here are from Western restaurants, not Chinese. This could be a result of a lack of familiarity with cooking thick pieces of meat, however I have had difficult experiences at Western Steakhouses in Beijing. For me, eating imitations of food from back home here just makes me miss it even more, so I stick with the cheaper, better, and healthier Chinese alternatives.

Bates: Although Chengdu lags behind Beijing, the number of western restaurants is growing steadily. The most famous western restaurant is Grandma’s Kitchen. Here, one will find hamburgers, steaks, pancakes, bacon and eggs which tantalizes your mouth if it has been awhile. Another famous restaurant is Peter’s Tex-Mex which specializes in burritos and fajitas. The burritos in Peter’s are amazing and taste much like the burritos found at home. Other restaurants include Shamrock Bar & Restaurant, and BBQ.

Dietz: One of the benefits of living here is the food. You can eat out very frequently and not break the bank. Also, the sheer number of restaurants in Beijing gives one a host of opportunities for trying anything and everything. You can eat out for every meal of the day for a few weeks and not frequent the same place twice, in your own neighborhood. While, on occasion, I do need a Subway fix or whatnot, every time I return to the States after a stint in China, I've lost 10 pounds and my blood pressure is lower. I chalk that up to the frequent use of fruits and vegetables in everyday foods.

Bates: For a quick fix, I often hit the local Metro or Carrefour (western supermarkets). Cheese, bread, are always on my shopping list and I often experiment with Chinese wine. Since Starbucks is so far away, I have since adopted a new drink called Coffee Cola (Kafei Kele), it's a version of coke black that tastes more like cola than coffee. Not bad, but not great either.

Dietz: I broke down and bought a drip coffee maker from a specialty store. That is one thing I cannot live without.

Some say that the best part of living in another country is the food. You get to experience tastes, smells, and flavors that you have never encountered. On the other hand, you're deprived of your comfort foods that you have grown to love your entire life, which makes them so much sweeter when you return back home. For those who have been here, this country can be a gastrointestinal nightmare for some, an absolute dreamland for others.

Language: The ultimate entry barrier?

For most people who come to mainland China from the outside, one thing is blatantly clear in most places: there is not a whole lot of foreign language. English is by far the most widespread of the foreign languages here, but in most cities, English won't help you much on a day to day basis. For many who lack the necessary language skills, the first time period here is a true test of your body language and charades skills. However, with English education starting in primary school, and a flood of foreign English teachers, things are starting to change considerably.

Dietz: Language is a huge barrier at times. When I first came to China, most restaurant experiences consisted of the 'point-and-hope' method, which was to point to something on the menu and hope it doesn't have pig's stomach as a main ingredient. However, I guess this place forces you to learn the language, and once you do, it’s a lot more fun and you eat much better.

Bates: Definitely, the language barrier either forces you to eat pre-packaged items or forces the point-and-hope method which isn't a mentally healthy way to enjoy life in China. The first time eating hot-pot (Sichuan specialty) with my classmates was a huge fiasco. We expressed what we wanted in Chinese but for some reason nobody could understand us?-very depressing moment. We were thus forced to walk around the restaurant looking at other patrons choices; how embarrassing and it does get worse. I personally have been very lucky in my choices but I have also been curious to try new foods: Turtle, Chicken/Duck Stomach, Duck Neck, Chicken Throat, and Cow Lung!!

Dietz: There is a subtle difference in tones and pronunciation between the words for classmate (tongxue) and bedmate (tongshui) that I could never seem to figure out. Embarrassed a great many of classmates that way back in college.

Bates: I too have experienced awkward situations in which my Chinese was skewed from normalcy that ended up expressing rude comments to my friends. It is a common expression after departing from an acquaintance to say, "I'll see you next time" (sha ci jian). However, I happened to leave a very key word out of the phrase which honestly isn't a very suitable thing to say to a friend. Luckily, my friends took what I said with a grain of salt. Mistakes happen and humility makes you learn fast.

Dietz: However, I have worked in offices here that run completely on English. If there is one thing that China has a lot of, it's people who can study really hard and memorize some of the most technical English imaginable. I moonlighted teaching English for engineers Lenovo here in Beijing during college at nights, and some of the answers I got to questions were absolutely amazing.Example:Me: "So what are you doing this weekend, Geeves (they all picked their own English names: Tiger, AK47, Forrest)"Geeves: "I assessed the capacity for the following weekend holiday." (translation: thinking about going somewhere next weekend).

Bates: Absolutely amazing and sometimes out right funny. I asked one of my friends whom is an officer for SIFE and an economics major how she was doing. Her response was, "chillin like a villain". She was curious why I snickered and didn't understand why, but slang when used unknowingly becomes quite comical. Apparently, someone told her to respond in this manner and didn’t mention that it was slang.

Dietz: If you have absolutely no idea how to say something, and are completely lost trying to explain it in Chinese, a good trick is to go up to a group of kids or teenagers. At least one of them usually speaks conversational English pretty well.

Bates: I have yet to use this method but this situation arises for me quite often. To survive around this I have integrated my Cell phone to contain English speaking friends, business cards to get from point A to point B, and so I've been told, finding a significant other to put up with language inadequacies in situations that are beyond ones ability helps too.

Although, China is developing its English language resources quite quickly, especially in time for the 2008 Olympics, there are still many challenges and boundaries when conducting business. No matter how well China adopts English as a second language there will always be great respect to those who can communicate using Chinese. In a business world that is dominated by "guanxi" (relationships), knowing the language and business culture will give huge precedence to those that understand these elements. Preferential treatment will be given to those who can respectfully and skillfully navigate their way in China.