What a day in Qingdao. Pronounced, “Ching dow.”  First of all, the sun was out which made this gorgeous coastal city of 6 million look fantastic.  We touring the Olympic training center for sailing and other water sports.  We also ate lunch at the headquarters of Hisense, a Chinese company with American headquarters in Gwinnett County.  Lunch was incredible—about a dozen small courses…it just kept coming.  We ate it in a 25 floor room overlooking the China Sea!  This is an important city for Georgia economic development because there are a number of companies looking to expand to Georgia, and because the port here is a good link to America..and the port of Savannah.

We then went on a tour of some markets.  First we visited what is equivalent to a Super Walmart or Target…only bigger.  I’m told it was a regular, or even slow day…but oh boy!  Next we went to a traditional market.  It was just as I expected.  Raw. Authentic.  Bustling.  We got some of our best video today, with all the sights and sounds of China in its truest form.

I end with simply an observation.  The wide range of bathroom facilities in this country.  Just today…in our travels…we saw toilets that were nothing more than literally holes in the ground.  They were as nasty as you can imagine.  And then in our hotel lobby—which is absolutely incredible—we had a small waterfall as our sink, with top notch facilities.  Wide spectrum, and a good representation, I think, of the gap that still exists in China.  There is clearly a growing market for capitalism and wealth is here—I saw a Ferrari in the hotel parking lot.  But unlike in America where most of even the poorest people have simple basics, like toilets and running water…China is still working toward that.

Who knew you could see so much in toilets?  Off to dinner.  I know…I’m hungry!