Shanghai

Getting to Shanghai was interesting. My flight details were in a text message on my phone in Chinese rendered in roman characters. The only way I know the name of the airline we were on is because I found a comment card in the seat pocket. One side is in English and shows the airline name--Juneyao Airlines. There are a lot of domestic Chinese airlines that never show up in the US. My boarding pass had no airline name or flight times on it. Probably good that we went directly to the gate as the flight pushed over 15 minutes early.

The flight was uneventful and Shao Yi Ping from SIEG was there to meet us.

This is the SIEG showroom. All their machines are on display for easy comparison. Also on display are a couple of their new CNC machines. That is Shao Yi Ping with me in the photo.

SIEG is expanding. They have leased space in the factory next door. There are now two large passageways between their plant and the new assembly area next door. It gives them about twice as much space for final assembly. Plus, they have opened a new plant for building their CNC machines. This is the CNC assembly area.

As usual, they are working on something new. This is a base casting for the machine that will become the X4 mill. Pretty stout.

All of the CNC machines are run in at the factory for 10 hours. These machines are moving all three axes during their run in period.

After a very productive meeting, and a tour of both plants, SIEG treated us to a very nice dinner and delivered us to our hotel.

The hotel is one block from Nanjing Road, two blocks from Peoples Square, and about a 10 minute walk from the Bund on the Haungpu River. This is where you want to be in Shanghai.

Our first evening there,we walked Nanjing Road to the river. For most of the way, Nanjing Road is a walking street with no cars. This is high-priced shopping with all the worlds luxury brands represented. Neon signs and big-screen billboards reach 5 or 6 stories into the sky.

And of course, besides the real branded items, there are plenty of fake Rolex watches and such available. You are sure to be accosted at least every 50 yards if you are over six feet tall and have round eyes.

I did take advantage of the situation to purchase a Prada bag for about $15.00. I'm pretty sure it is real. I'm getting a collection of small suitcases from Shanghai because for some reason I can't fit all my stuff into the suitcase I arrived with when I leave Shanghai. (In this case, however, it is because of the two big binders I got from SIEG. Not gifts for the kids. (Sorry girls.)

The Bund is a collection of European-style buildings along the Haungpu River. These buildings were build built by the English, French, and Germans about a hundred years ago. They are lit up at night and make an interesting sight. There are about 5 or 6 blocks of these buildings.

Across the river is Pudong. Fifteen years ago this was farmland. Now skyscrapers.

The Chinese have taken advertising to new levels. Many elevators have a flat-screen showing nonstop ads. And why waste a perfectly good river. This is a boat that's only job is to carry a floating advertisement up and down the river.

Not all of Shanghai is glamorous. This is the kind of street that we find interesting. This street has shops on the ground floor and housing above, which is the norm in Shanghai.