China Dispatch: Quick-thinking monks and private equity with its eye on the States
Posted on October 30, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Our third stop was Hangzhou, located about two hours west of Shanghai. Many people from Shanghai have second homes in Hangzhou, which is surrounded by mountains, has a large river running through it and a large, calm lake sitting in the middle of the city.
In the morning before meetings, Butch Eley, Rep. Craig Fitzhugh, Tom Cigarran, a few others and I took a bus to see Buddhist temple nestled in the hills just outside of town. The beautifully restored structure was one of the only temples not destroyed when Mao took power. We were told that, after being given a heads up that the Communists were on their way, the 1,000 monks who lived there hung large photographs of Mao on the walls of the temple. It convinced the revolutionary leader not to destroy it and the site is still home to several buildings containing Buddhist statues more than 30 feet tall.
From there, we drove to a tea plantation built into the hills of a steep canyon. It resembled a small Napa Valley winery. We stopped for a tasting and learned that many world leaders — including the No. 1 tea lover, Queen Elizabeth — had tasted tea there. We got a full education on growing tea plants, the drying process and then drinking it.
Unfortunately, it didn’t have any alcohol. But like wine, they have several different price levels, which we tried — and of course had to buy. The Chinese are great salespeople. We all just had to buy the tea which all of the dignitaries drank, known as the “Emperor’s Tea.” While it was good and cost the group over $2,000, I don’t think any of us plan to trade in our Starbucks coffee anytime soon. We were all glad that we took the trip. It was good to see the countryside and something other than skyscrapers piercing through smog.
Our day ended with several hours of meetings with the local city and provincial government, where Governor Bredesen signed another memorandum of understanding to work together on business opportunities. We heard from the CEO of the 700-bed hospital in which HCA’s Tommy Frist has invested more than $120 million.
We then had a reception with local business people where we talked about opportunities to do business in China and the U.S. Most were health care and energy companies, but I did speak with a young a woman, educated in the U.S., who was now with a private-equity firm looking to invest in the States. This was refreshing to hear, as most companies were still looking for Chinese investment.
Later that evening, a few of us went to a karaoke establishment. That’s the only way to describe it. It was in an office building, had marble-lined floors and walls with about 20 private, well-appointed rooms for groups to privately belt out their best “Rocky Mountain High.” While walking back to our hotel, I noticed a drunken squabble between a man and a very pregnant woman. I immediately ran over and pulled the two apart and they said a few things that I couldn’t understand. Some things are best left unsaid or uninterpreted.
