China through western eyes

Matti Meltti and his wife Kaise have lived in Beijing for the past three years. The Melttis say their experience of the booming metropolis may differ from that of most, as they had already reached a mature age before making the decision to exchange their native Finland for China.

In 2005, Matti Meltti was suddenly offered the opportunity to move to China to help start up a new electronics company. The move and the job presented Matti and his wife Kaise with just the challenge they were looking for, so the decision to go did not take long to make. The couple also had previous experience of living abroad from, for example, Saudi Arabia and several countries in Europe.

"Although it was fairly easy for us to make the decision to go, we noticed on a number occasions that our friends could not hide their surprise when we told them. Once we got here, we realized that one of the reasons for their reaction was the fact that we count definitely among the oldest people to have been sent here. We have three adult daughters who completely supported us on this, so that helped to reinforce our decision," Kaise says.

For Matti, the challenging new job made the move to a new country pass quite smoothly, but for housewife Kaise, the change did involve a certain degree of culture shock. However, frequent trips to Finland helped to alleviate home sickness.

"When I came here in November of 2005, we already had some quite dark autumn evenings here too. And I have to say that I did go through some sort of culture shock. Maybe it had to do with the language, which is quite ungraspable for westerners. In addition, leaving my job, hobbies and family, including my elderly mother in Finland was not as easy as I had thought. But we did of course go home for Christmas, which remedied the situation a bit. The spring of 2006 was a whole other thing. I spent four hours a day studying Chinese and another four doing homework, so that helped pass the time nicely," Kaise says.

Chinese language presents one of the biggest obstacles for foreigners moving to China. Matti says that he has almost all but given up on the matter. But for him, China has had plenty of other interesting things to offer.

"I've listened to language tapes in the car, but I just can't seem to grasp it, the tones are just simply too difficult. But what really surprised me here was the rapid pace of development. Really big things can happen here in a very short time. For me, it wasn't really a culture shock, but a kind of realization..."

In addition to the bustling modern cities, China offers a spade of other interesting places to visit for open-minded travelers. The Melttis have also made the conscious decision to use their time in China to the fullest by exploring as much of the country as possible.

"We have traveled quite a lot from the beginning because we really decided that we wanted to see as much as possible. And as this is a huge country and the distances are long, you really get to travel a lot here. One of the very first places we visited was Yunnan on a seven-day trip. Then we've been to Xi'an, the home of the terracotta warriors, and Pingyao, a village dating from the Ming dynasty about 1,000 km west of Beijing. Then we've been to Datong to see the 50,000 Buddha statues located there, and to Harbin. When you visit the Yellow Mountain you really realize that traditional Chinese landscape paintings really depict the nature there accurately, and the artists are not just exaggerating," Kaise says.

Matti says that contrary to what most might think, China is also the promised land of winter sports.

"You can find really great slopes for downhill skiing just 300km north of here. I would even go so far as to say that they even best those at the very popular Swedish ski resort in Åre. But they are still so new, that the area is not completely finished, so there is only one hotel there, and the nightlife is still lacking. But the hotel is a nice one at that, and the slopes and the service there is great."

Balance of power shifts to China

Beijing offers endless discoveries. (Image: Radio86)Like so many other foreign companies, the firm that Matti works for has opened an office in China. What is it that makes China so attractive to businesses?

"The consumer market. That is the main reason. China has a huge consumer base as well as a lot of highly skilled, low-cost workers. In addition, the whole infrastructure functions well here, the only thing that is lagging behind a bit is the bank transaction procedure, which is in a sense quite bureaucratic. In addition, international shipment procedures here need improvement... But what really struck me is that things can really move fast here, and new, improved regulations might be in place in a matter of just a few months. China has really made huge strides in this sense. This year we just got the new labor law, which is totally new and quite modern also. The the fiscal policies have been updated, so many things have changed within just a few years. In a way, this is a very interesting thing..." Matti says.

"At present, about 80 percent of our products are exported, but I believe that in the future domestic consumption in China will grow considerably. The Chinese territory is like two EUs combined and the population is maybe like three EUs. China's economic prowess is getting to the point where you can see that people really do have money, and they are starting to invest more and more of it in their own country's development. I think that in time, Europe, and America maybe also, will be sidelined and the balance of power will shift to the east. In any case, China will be a significant economic juggernaut in the world. That is certain," Matti says.

Lost in translation

When people from two totally different cultures meet, you can't avoid some clashes and misunderstandings. Getting to know a new culture also requires adapting to new customs. Although many, especially well-educated young people in China speak English, language difficulties can still engender some surprises.

"Once, during our company's annual physical exam, the doctor told me that I have 'cancer.' When they added 'liver,' I was already imagining the worst... Well, after a while it became apparent, that the doctor had used the wrong word and that he had meant a cyst. What a relief it was to hear that it was nothing serious," Matti laughs.

Matti says that cultural differences can be seen in the office for example in the different interpretations of personal space, which in China often diminishes to next to nothing...

"When for example a colleague of mine comes to my office to talk about something, he or she may come to my side of the desk, lean forward and come so close that they're touching me. This is just one particularity that I've noticed here, and something that people in Finland at least are not really used to."

As for Kaise, she has made note of Chinese people's fondness for noise.

"Here there is noise everywhere. But it is a part of the culture here, Chinese people don't seem to like being in places where there is no noise or other people. Once we spent a night on the Great Wall with our daughters and enjoyed the silence of the night and woke up to watch the tranquil dawn, and when Matti told his colleagues about our experience, they shuddered at the thought of spending a night in such an unsafe and secluded environment. So the locals tend to feel most at home in places where there is a lot of commotion."

In China, Matti has also been initiated to another regular and particularly Chinese activity at the office -- team building.

Beijing can truly be called a city of contrasts. (Image: Radio86)"I've noticed that there are three important factors that contribute to a successful team building party: good food, karaoke and a lucky draw. If all those three components are present, then the party is a success. For example, last Christmas we got all kinds of small gifts for the raffle, including MP3 player and gift certificates. And the most important thing of all is that everybody wins. It doesn't really matter what the prizes are like, just as long as the main prize is good and everybody wins," Matti says.

Chinese national festivals have also provided the Melttis with interesting new experiences. And the biggest and best of them has to be the Chinese New Year.

"You wouldn't believe the amount of fireworks they have here every New Year. I personally like fire crackers and all, but what we're used to in Finland nowhere near measures up to the celebrations here. Here, fireworks are set off absolutely everywhere and it lasts almost a whole month! The Chinese invented the fire crackers, so in that sense they're an inherent part of tradition. One guy even told me that he spent his entire 13th-month pay, which is often paid here, on fire crackers," Matti says.

Unconstructive criticism

Kaise and Matti came to Beijing with the attitude that they would make the most of their time there, and make the utmost effort to adapt and understand the local culture. For them, the city has brought many new experiences, including new hobbies and the chance to watch world-class athletes compete at the Olympics. As for China-criticism, the Melttis do not sympathize with the protesters who attempted to stir controversy by disrupting the Olympic torch relay last spring.

"People should really have the common sense to not start criticizing other countries or people. I consider it a waste of time to look for faults in other places when no place is perfect. Not even Finland. Every place is different and that is what makes them so interesting. Cultures are different, even if people's daily life is basically the same. You can finds points to criticize everywhere, but it's just a waste of time to carry on and on about it," Kaise says.

"Moving here has been a great experience and I can warmly recommend it to everyone. This place has something to offer to everyone. Here you have the facilities for countless hobbies, for example, there are I can't remember how many golf courses here and many 50-meter swimming pools. And as I already said, we've been here for three years and we still haven't seen everything Beijing has to offer, so that already says something. So, if you ever get the chance to come here, you should jump at it," Matti says.