When doing fieldwork in a new city, one of the first things I do is try to bond with taxi drivers. They make the best informants and have such a rich sense of the city's informal and formal layers. They help me create what I call "consumption maps of the city. I buy a big street map and hang it up on my wall. Then I try to map the following onto it:
Read MoreWhen I was in Beijing, I met with a well known VC. She retired from her work in the US and now lives in China managing a fund. During our conversation about investing in start ups, she said something that really stood out to me.
Read MoreXin Kai (psyeudonym) is a wholesale clothing seller. I stopped by his story today and he told me about an incident that happened today with the chengguan
Read MoreCoins are falling out of the slots. There is a loud play-a-long drumming game with Hotel California blasting. Three people are hitting the congos. We are surrounded by people driving, and yet still these three men in a row are able to fall asleep at a game arcade during the middle of the day. This is on a week day when the arcade is not as busy. They found the most comfortable seats in the place - the driving car games. The workers here do not seem to mind at all. There are still plenty of seats left.
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