ScandAsia China - June 2010 by Scandinavian Publishing Co., Ltd.

JUN 2010

China

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Coming Events Qinghai Yushu Horse Racing Festival 2010 Location: Yushu Celebrating Dates: July 25 to August 1

Your FREE ScandAsia Magazine in China ScandAsia is the only magazine that covers all the Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish residents in China. We also publish a ScandAsia magazine in Thailand, Singapore and the rest of South East Asia.

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Qinghai Yushu Horse Racing Festival is held during July 25 –October 1 every year in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. This period of time witnesses Jiegu Grassland an unimpeded sweep of meadows with blooming flowers, charming and bright. Singing and dancing will be held in flat and lush grassland, with people surrounding a circle. Tibetan people will be dressed in colorful ethnic clothing,participatinginhorseracing,yakracing,Tibetanwrestling, equestrian, archery, shooting, ethnic songs and dances, Tibetan dress show and other activities revealing national characteristics. For more information about these and other events check out: http://www.chinahighlights.com/

Tanzhisi Temple Zen Tea Culture Festival Location: Beijing Celebrating Dates: July 7 to September 10 The first Tanzhesi Temple Zen Tea Culture Festival aims at promoting the traditional tea culture. During the culture festival Tanzhisi Temple will launch a series of products “Tanzhesi Zen Tea” to help visitors pray. Moreover, a unique product “Tanzhesi prime cake” will be launched for the first time, using high-quality raw material, and cooked with Tanzhesi millennium Suzhai refined production process. It can be described as the best gifts for friends and family. During the Zen Tea Culture Festival the very traditional performance that the Emperor offers incense to Buddha will also add new content to the long history of the tea culture as well as tell the very history in a humorous way.

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Lotus Flower Festival Location: Guangzhou Celebrating Dates: August 1 to August 31 Lotus Flower Festival is held every August in Fanyu District, Guanzhou. During the festival, oceans of tourists come to enjoy the beauty of lotus flowers, taste the flavor of lotus products and watch the fantastic recreational performances. Fanyu District is a town of water, with a complicated river net, as well as numerous pools here and there. The geographical features are agreeable to grow lotus. Related products of lotus in Fanyu have gained their fame at home and abroad. Based on this, the Lotus Flower Festival aims at enhance the economical and cultural relationship between Fanyu and outside world.

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Dalian Int’l Fashion Festival Location: Dalian Celebrating Dates: September 16 to September 25 The annual Dalian International Fashion Festival is one of the most influential international theme events in China. It attracts the world’s top fashion designers, business men and models to the Garment Export Fair, fashion exhibitions, fashion competitions and a model contest. The Dalian International Garment Fair is a major economic trading event and part of the Fashion Festival. Each year, hundreds of traders and enterprises are invited here to conduct business negotiations, the level of exhibition and the volume of business increasing over the past few years. After years of cultivation,ithasdevelopedintoamajoreventhighlighting not only culture and tourism but also economy and trade.

Sweden Wins The 13th Nordic C Gathered in the Tian An Golf Club in Beijing on a cold Saturday morning in April, five national teams are intent on walking home the winners of the 13th Nordic Chamber GolfTournament. But of course, there can be only one. By Anya Palm

ven though the sun has just barely crept up on the sky, the morning of Saturday April 17, the 50 people, who are gathered on the dewy field, have been up for hours. They know each other well and often work together on projects. But today, they are divided into five national teams. And each team is set on winning The 13th Nordic Chamber Golf Tournament. “The tee off time was 7.30, and since the weather this year is a bit cool for the season, the temperature was no more than 7 or 8 degrees,” says Fredrik Ektander, vice chairman of the Swedish board of Commerce Beijing Chapter and head of the Golf Committee. He has reason to smile himself, already early in the tournament, it was clear, that his own country team was doing indeed very well.

More popular each year

It is a tradition for the four Nordic Chambers to hold a golf tournament each year, with prizes, sponsors and a good buffet at lunch time to conclude it all. It is arranged by

6 ScandAsia.China • June 2010

the Danish, Swedish and Icelandic Chambers of Commerce, as well as theNorwegianandFinnishBusiness Councils in China. Originally, this was a Swedish and Danish event, but the interest has been growing over the years, the three remaining Nordic countries have joined, and theeventisincreasinglybiggereach year. However, there is no planning for force majeure, so this year the turn-out was a bit lower than usual. We are usually about 65 people. This year, some of the players were stuck in Scandinavia due to the Icelandic volcano, so we were about 50 players, he explains. The tournament has been on the same venue for the last three years and was chosen again this year, because of the positive feedback from the previous games. The design is a modern stadium with large and very slippery greens – it mustn’t be too easy! And it isn’t. Apart from the main prize, the trophy given to the team winners, there are different competitions within the tournament itself, keeping the suspense all the way through the green.

Johan and Carina Adler at the green Swedish winners of the 13th Nordic ChamberGolfTournament.Fromthe left: Nandan Mahimkar of ABB, EllenChen,EastweiRelations,Gabriella Vondracek from Sony Ericsson and Kevin Ng of Deloitte.

Chamber Golf Tournament Swedes take home the price

Kevin Ng, Terence Wong, Dimitry Smolin The game played is Stapleford. At two long holes, there is the longest drive competition for both men and women and at two short holes,acompetitionofbeingclosest to the pin. For the individual highest Stapleford points, there is a special

prize: A SAS-sponsored ticket from BeijingtoScandinavia.Unfortunately, the winner, Peter Nielsen of the Danish team, may have to wait till Ms Eyjafjallajokull is in a better mood, to use it.

The competition itself takes about an hour – which suits perfectly with the players coming back to the club house around lunch time. This is also the time for the prize ceremony. For the different competitions, there were an even spread amongst the four national teams of taking home the prizes. But there could be only one winner. And it is prestigious - the tradition is, that all the winners will get their names engraved on the big trophy, which is then theirs to boast proudly of till next year, where it is handed over to the new winner. Each player will get a small trophy for themselves. The Swedish team, consisting of Nandan Mahimkar of ABB, Ellen Chen from Eastwei Relations, Gabriella Vondracek of Sony Ericsson and Kevin Ng of Deloitte, took home the team prize, with the Norwegian team as a runner up and the Finnish team took “bronze”. Apart from these, there were a generous overflow of different prizes, ranging from bottles of wine, gift certificatesandgoodybagstothings as specific as a Polar Electric Heart Rate Monitor from NSN, a club fitting session from Tietlest and a soft, cushy bathrobe from Radisson. Arranger Fredrik Ektander is pleased with the way the day turned out:

I think everything went well. There was a positive attitude and everyone turned up with a big smile, he says. And the trophy, now with four new names on it, has a new home – at least until April 2011 where the teams will be back on the green for another round.

FACT BOX Winners of the 13th Nordic Chamber Golf Tournament Team prize: Sweden 2. place: Norway 3. place: Finland Individual winners: Individual Highest Stableford Peter Nielsen won the SAS return ticket Individual Highest Stableford Iren Heng Individual lowest Gross Andreas Friis Longest drive, men Carl Christian Olsen Longest drive, women Jeanny Fabritius Closest to pin, women Gabriella Vondracek Closest to pin, men Stefan Öhstlund Sponsors of the tournament SSBA sponsor of the Trophy’s SAS/Finnair Ericsson Tetrapak NSN Radisson Blu Hotel SEB Sydbank Bestsellers Chang & Björk EAS Pinotage Snow of Sweden Tian An Golf Club Mosto Tietliest Franks Place Asian Tigers

Henrik Lundsgaard ,Stefan Ostlund , Jonas Porat, Jimmi Liu, prepared for the cold Saturday morning in Beijing. June 2010 • ScandAsia.China 7

Danish Gala Ball in Beijing Raises Money for Educating Poor Chinese Girls

he dance floor is packed. In front of the live band on stage are a number of women and men – cheering and dancing and singing loudly along to the well known tunes. 360 people in gala outfits, with their champaign glasses and canapés on theside,Saturdaynightexperienced what a real Danish party should look like. The ladies acted like they were 15, it was fantastic, Lotte Samuelsberg laughs. She is chair of the committee that arranged the Danish Gala Ball, which was held this weekend. The ladies letting loose was exactly according to plan. We have been encouraging dancingandarelaxedathmosphere, because that is how Danes party. We chose music that was easy to recognize and easy to dance to for the same reason, she says. To further ensure that, supersuave ladies’ man, the Danish rock star Thomas Helmig performed along with the popular Antonelli Orchestra, best know from the Danish hit show “Vild med Dans.” “It was just…a fantastic performance,” Lotte Samuelsberg says.

Raised more than half a million yen

The Danish Gala Ball 2010 with the theme: “Strictly Come Dancing,” is the 14th of its kind. The tradition was started in 1996 by Ambassador Christopher Bo Bramsen, who himself is very fond of music and even plays the sax, when he gets the chance. “I believed, we could use a ball,” he says today of his decision to start an annual party. And over the years, the ball has grown to be one of the most important events of the year for the Danes in Beijing. The current Gala Ball Committee has worked to pull of Saturday’s ball for a good part of the past year to make sure it became perfect. Not only, because a good ball is something that every guest will remember. But also because there is a serious side to all the fun: It is a charity event and the money collected goes to a good cause. Last year, the guestsandsponsorsdonatedalmost a million yen, which was given to Sun Village, an NGO that provides education for children with parents 8 ScandAsia.China • June 2010

in prison, and to the Lian Cun Town Center Primary School. The committee is still counting up the toll of this year. “We are expecting the total to be a bit lower this year, because of the financial crisis, but it went well,” says Lotte Samuelsberg. The collected money will go to the China Children and Teenager’s Fund and their “Spring Bud Project.” The project aims at helping povertystricken girls get an education and the Gala-money will be spent on supplying the girls’ tuition fee, boarding, food, books and other educational supply over a 3 year period.

Caroline Wozniacki’s dress from Wimbledon auctioned

Throughouttheevening,therewere different competitions and events

planned and one of the highlights was the auction. During the year, the committee has been working to get donations of different kinds to use in the auction and Saturday, the guests could secure themselves an object from the night. It was an objective for the committee that all that was under the hammer, must have a uniqueness and a value, either monetary or as a collecter’s gem. And they certainly made that

happen. A range of beautiful artwork form local artists, jewelry, lithographic prints from Danish actor Leif Sylvester, plane tickets from SAS and even the dress young tennis prodigy Caroline Wozniacki wore at the Wimbledon finals, was under the hammer Saturday night. Lotte Samuelsen looks intently on a fellow committee member, Tina, who managed to secure the Wozniacki-dress for the auction. “We have some cheeky ladies in this committee! So anything is possible,” she says.

Had to close the bar

Sunday morning a few heads were a little heavier than usual. Again exactly according to plan, the party did not stop until 5.30 next morning

Buttercookies and Fairytales in Shanghai Hans Christian Andersen, the world famed Danish writer, was born 205 years ago this year. In Shanghai, Chinese students learned more of the man behind the fairytales, on his birthday April 2. By Anya Palm

H – and only, because the arrangers took affair. “We had to close the bar to get the last ones out. It was a great party,” Lotte Samuelsberg says. The next thing on her to-do list is a very pleasant one: Donating the money. Firstly we are going to hand out the money, so these girls can get their education. They get 500,000 yen. And everything above that number, is going to the victim’s of theearthquakeintheSichuan-province, she says. And one more thing, too: Planning the Danish Gala Ball 2011.

ans Christian Andersen did not write stories for children. Sure, a few of his fairytales are sweet and innocent, but looking at the body of the man’s work, it is more blood, gore and punishment, than it is living happily ever after. Professor Svend Hakon Rossel pauses. He looks at the students in front of him. Did they understand? The Danish professor knows more about Hans Christian Andersen than most people – apart from being the author of countless books on him, he also gives lectures to different universities, mainly in Germany and the US, about Andersen and his world of fairytales. Now, he faces an auditorium full of Chinese students at Fudan University in Shanghai. It is April 2nd, Andersen’s birthday, and both he and the former Danish ambassador to China, Christopher Bo Bramsen, are here to celebrate by sharing their knowledge on the subject Andersen with the students. The message, Rossel wants to convey to the youngsters is, that beneath Andersen’s thin layer of three wishes and good fairies, lies a whole world of emotion and reflection. Something, they too, can benefit from today. One girl raises her hand: “When the girl with the red shoes dances, her feet are cut off! Why is that? That is very horrible to me,” she says.

The professor lights up in a big smile:

It is a story about vanity, he exclaims and proceeds: “Andersen himself was very vain – in fact, he would only let photographers take pictures of him from one side. Like many of his stories, Andersen puts in a bit of himself and the message here is: Don’t be like that. Keep an open mind,” he tells the girl and her peers.

He retires from stage, satisfied.

“I don’t think there is a big difference in between Scandinavians and Chinese, when it comes to fairytales. Andersen appeals to everyone,” he says. This year, Andersen is extra relevant in Shanghai. The figure of The Little Mermaid – Denmark’s national symbol made by sculptor Edward Erichsen in 1912 – is on loan to Shanghai to participate in the World EXPO 2010. The second speaker, former Danish ambassador to China, Christopher Bo Bramsen, has always been fascinated by Andersen, and in particular his little mermaid. He explains her symbolic value to the students and urges them to go see her at the EXPO in their city. “It is connected to the theme of the EXPO this year: Better City, Better Life. The Little Mermaid is here to say that you cannot live in a city, if you do not have dreams,” he says.

Amazing Andersen

After the lectures, the students gather outside the auditorium, because as well as there is no real life without some magic, there is no real birthday without cake. 21-year-old student Wu Yuqiong picks up a plate of Danish buttercookies. She does not like them. But she likes Andersen. “Amazing Andersen. I like the story of the Little Mermaid the best, it is a beautiful tragedy, which has companied me through my childhood. I think, the mermaid can say a lot of good things to us here in China,” she says. Discreetly, she puts down her platter with cookies on the table, without having even finished one. But before she walks off, she carefully packs up and puts the notes she took about the Danish writer, in her bag. Happy Birthday, Mr. Andersen.

More pictures from the party at http://www.imaginestudio.cn/ galaball2010.htm?page=5 June 2010 • ScandAsia.China 9

Every City Needs a Little B In May, World EXPO 2010, opened in Shanghai. The Denmark Pavillion, named “Wellfairytales”, features The Little Mermaid, a bicycle lane, a 600 m sitting bench and ecofriendly solutions to city life. But more importantly, it promotes fairytales, beauty, and dreams. By Anya Palm

“E

very city needs a bit of fairytales in it”, he says. Former Danish ambassador to China and current Commissioner General of Denmark, Christopher Bo Bramsen, leans forward. “It is not enough to have a good city, a fantastic city,” he says. He chuckles, and his diplomatic, cool image vanishes. A warm, jovial man reveals himself in the grey suit. “There has to be something more”, he says. Bramsen is talking about creating the perfect city. Despite onechild policy, the Chinese population isgrowing,andpeoplemovingfrom land to city is becoming a more and more urgent matter to discuss. To face the challenge, China this year hosts the World EXPO 2010. Located in Shanghai and themed “Better City, Better Life” the aim is to find answers to how China can best prepare for the massive expansion of city population? The EXPO runs over six months, expects 70 million visitors and is the largest of its kind to date. Denmark is just one of the 192 countries, who have a pavilion at the EXPO, hoping to attract as manyvisitorsaspossible.According to Bramsen, this is a unique chance to showcase eco-friendly and green city solutions, an area where Denmark is a frontrunner. 10 ScandAsia.China • June 2010

“There are two levels at this EXPO. The first level is the exhibition, where we can show the Chinese how we do things in Denmark – our welfare society,” he explains. Accordingly, the pavilion is called “Wellfairytales” and visitors can bicycle around in it, have a picnic on the roof top of it and enjoy a Danish lunch box set on a special designed bench. The walls are covered in contemporary art, every Wednesday there will be live music and in the middle, in a small pool of water, sits the Danish national symbol, The Little Mermaid. The second level is the export opportunity this presents. Wellfairytales has a budget of a whopping 150 million kroner and seven large Danish companies sponsor the pavilion: Maersk, Vestas, KopenhagenFur,Grundfos,Arla,Carlsberg and RealDania. To them, this is a golden opportunity to network and expand their business in China in beautiful surroundings and with their products displayed fully functioning. The pavilion features a large meeting room and facilities to discuss ideas as well. “Of course, it is expected that the EXPO will have a positive effect on the export. The sponsors are not random companies, they are companies who are quite big here in China, so this is not a chance to get into the Chinese market. It is a boost, a chance for them to meet new contacts and make new deals,” he explains. But for Bramsen, the main concern is not business deals and export. The companies can deal with that themselves. It is how to attract the visitors to the Danish pavilion. “There are almost 200 countries competing here. When you visit, how much can you see in one day – maybe five different pavilions, he concludes.” Fortunately, attracting people and creating interest is his strong side. He has shown repeatedly in his longtime work as ambassador that he is a creative mind and that he thinks out of the box. So of course, he already has the answer. “The Little Mermaid! H.C. Andersen is already very well known in China and by sending the mermaid, our national symbol, we show respect for China. We show a positive attitude and that is very important, he says. The mermaid landed in China in the beginning of April and

from the start, the Chinese media has shown a lot of interest in her.” “She is definitely drawing focus our way and all we have to do is keep it that way, he says and explains how every Wednesday, for example, the visitors of the pavilion will be treated to “Mermaid music” from shifting Danish and Chinese performers.” It is important for another reason as well. As well as being a catalyst for the export out of Denmark, the pavilion is a part of Denmark’s brand. When visiting Wellfairytales, it is the hope that visitors will get an idea of what Denmark is like – and perhaps go there.

“Our main aim is that everything will go in such a way, so that the Chinese will talk about Denmark as something positive. Can we show the Chinese our vision of how a modern metropolis should look, then we have done a good job,” he says. And the brand over them all, the Mermaid, is ready to do her part in that. She is sitting in a pool of underlit water, in the middle of theconstruction,facingalargeglass window in the middle of the pavilion. Bramsen returns to his original point. “The physical frames of a city have to work, of course. But the es-

Bit of Fairytale

WellfairytalespavilionwithTheLittle Mermaid Christopher Bo Bramsen on the rooftop of Wellfairytales

sence of “Better City, Better Life” is that people should be happy in the city, too. There has to be content in the framework, a cultural character,” he says and adds: “That is how Denmark will stand out from the crowd at this EXPO. There has to be a little bit of fairytale in it.”

Five facts about Wellfairytales The pavillion is designed by architect group BIG One of the features is a 260 meter longsteelbench,designedbyJesper Hein, where visitors can sit and enjoy the mood The Danish pavilion is 3000 m2 and is constructed by 1300 tons of steel It is build by the four Danish companies:JyskSvømmebadsteknik,Exponent,PaustianogLKFVejmarkering. By the entrance, there is a bar serving cold Carlsberg beer.

June 2010 • ScandAsia.China 11

Norway: Put Nature into t At the World EXPO 2010 in Shanghai, each country brings their best solution to a better city life on display.FromNorway, the advice is: Put the nature into the city. By Anya Palm

t smells like wood. And it looks a little like a forest, made from large pieces of pine tree and bamboo.Norway’scontribution to the World EXPO in Shanghai is a construction, shaped out of 13 architechtual trees, that serves as pillars in the massive wooden pavilion “Norway. Powered by Nature.” The message is as clear as a Norwegian mountain creak: A good life has to involve nature. “The theme of “Better City, Better Life” is a bit difficult for us, because we have no cities as large as the Chinese has. You cannot live anywhere in Norway, without being close to nature, so we decided to show the Chinese what that looks like,” says Philip Loke, the communications director of the Norway Pavillion and adds. “I live in Oslo. And I live 15 minutes from the forest. So if you want to talk about a better life here in China, make sure there is nature in the city.”

Norwegiangeneralcommissioner Arild Blixrud in front of the Norway pavilion

Re-introducing wood

On the floor, a little woman with a massive amount of blond curls and a charming gap in between her front teeth, is busy discussing with an older Chinese man. “I wanted to have the lists hidden behind the wooden panel. I told you,” she says to an older Chinese man with a helmet on. He feels like the problem is minor, grinning and shaking his head. “We can live with that, it is a small thing,” he says. Randi Augenstein, breaks into a big smile, but her eyes remain serious. “No. We can’t live with that, it has to be… perfect,” she says with a slightemphasisonthewordperfect. 12 ScandAsia.China • June 2010

The Norwegian Pavillion Architect Randi Augenberger alongwithdesignandconstruction manager Vibeke Skalaa

The Chinese construction manager nods and walks off. Randi Augenstein represents the architect company behind the design company, Helen & Hard, which is recognized as one of Norway’s most innovative architect teamsrightnow.Theaward-winning company was chosen to design the

“Norway. Powered by Nature”. Themessageisasclearas a Norwegian mountain creak: A good life has to involve nature.

the City

The solar cells that are powering the pavilion. handed out, so when thirsty at the Norway pavilion, everyone is welcome to help themselves to a very sustainable cup of clean water. Then, of course, there is the fjord, which consists of a line of upright wooden plates and a digitalized waterfall, complete with 3D salmon swimming in the virtual pool of water at the bottom. And the salmon is also present at the last landscape: The restaurant, where competent cooks are serving fine Norwegian cuisine. “I hope when people step in here, they feel like they are in the nature. And I hope that the Chinese can be inspired of the ideas, we present here,” says Randi Augenstein. pavilion, because of their creative solutions and their extensive use of natural materials. “We wanted to re-introduce the use of wood as a building material to the Chinese. So we made the pavilion out of pine tree and bamboo,” she says. “The Chinese have not used wooden houses for decades and the Chinese counterparts initially thought it was a bit odd. But pine tree is an extremely strong material, and can easily compete with concrete and steel as a building material,” explains Augenstein. Where it is used, the pine is mixed with the lighter bamboo to symbolize the meet between East and West.

“The main theme here is sustainability. Soitmakessensetouse materialthatyoucanget here,likebamboo.And I like the mixture.” Forest, Fjord, Arctic and Food

The pavilion is divided in four landscapes that all overlap. There is the city forest, where little TV-screens on slabs of wood, are constantly showing videos of different parts of Norway’s stunning nature. There is the arctic, with a self-powered water cleansing system which serves cleansed rain water to the visitors. In fact, at the entrance, cups are

Shanghai is important to Oslo

Whether the wood and nature sustainability will be adapted by any Chinese in the future is an open question. To Philip Loke, it is not of utmost importance, either. The main thing is to showcase Norway, give an idea of what Norway is and to expand an already existing relationship. In 2001 Shanghai and Oslo signed a friendship agreement and thus, the two cities already have a strong connection. In that respect, giving a good impression on the EXPO can lead to further collaboration, Lote hopes. “To research and the scientific fields, where Oslo and Shanghai exchanges knowledge, this could be very important,” he says. Norwegian research concentrates on four fields – energy, cli-

mate, environment and welfare. All of them go very well with the EXPO overall theme of “Better City, Better Life” and these are the forefront areas,” says Philip Loke. For the common visitor, it is all about walking into a little piece of nature. Philip Loke is very well aware, that in China, it is not possible to live both in the city and in the forest at the same time, like he himself does. But the solution is simple, he says: “If you cannot have the nature surrounding the city, bring nature into the city. That’s what Norway does here in Shanghai,” he says.

Five facts about “Norway. Powered by Nature.” On the walls in the pavilion there are messages written by Norwegian children to the Chinese visitors. They all say something about nature. After EXPO is over, the 13 trees are relocated to different communities as artwork Each tree has four branches and they vary from five to 15 metres in height. The water cleansing system, which provides water for the whole pavilion will afterwards be donated to a school in India. The power of the pavilion comes from the sun. Outside there are a wall with solar cells that convert the sunrays into energy June 2010 • ScandAsia.China 13

Dialogue the Keyword Richard Järvinen is the senior programme manager of Nokia China. He is a father and a husband. He is ambitious and tech savvy – he is also the Chairman of the new Finnish Chamber of Commerce currently being established in China. By Anya Palm

ichard Järvinen places his mobile phone, a Nokia N900, on the table next to him. Two minutes later, a little tone indicates he has gotten a message. Soon after, he gets another. And then another. He looks at it briefly and scrolls over the touch screen. When Richard Järvinen joined Nokia China as a senior manager in 2004, it was for a specific reason: The famous non-breakability of Nokia products suddenly mattered less than the software within the phone. To stay on the market, it had become more and more important to sport unique features, useful applications andcompatibility with other technological products, mainly computers. At his own request, Richard Järvinen, was transferred from the head quarters in Finland to the 1200-man strong daughter company in Beijing, to focus on the development of phone software. As a Master of Science, this is his field. “I am good with software, not so good with hardware. I like things to work and if they do not, I want to know why,” he says. His brown hair is speckled with a little gray, his suit tailor made and his brown eyes never flicker. But his manner is quiet, polite. He speaks in a soft voice, which he never seems to raise.

Business life is interesting

Soon after his arrival in Beijing, he started to work with the Finnish business community, involving

himself in different boards and projects, amongst them the Finnish Business Council. To him, dialogue is essential and he found himself unable to not engage in discussions about market trends, Finland’s role in China and Chinese company culture. “I enjoy the meetings in the Council and I enjoy the fruitful discussions. It is a fascinating world”, he says. His drive and interest in the Finnish society in China made him the natural selection for the job as Chairman of the Finnish Chamber of Commerce, despite his relatively short career here. He is acting Chairman today and looks forward to the job officially, if he is elected, he says. And already from the start, he has a clear idea for the future decision making process of the Chamber – this is going to work on Scandinavian, democratic values. “I am a team worker kind of person. It gives me motivation to reach decisions together and I get my energy from the teams, I am part of. I think, that is the best approach for the Chamber, to discuss things”, he says.

Family adapting to Finland

Today, he found a balance in between the Scandinavian and Chinese that fits him. “I had been in China one or two times, before I started realizing which opportunities, the country has to offer”, Richard Järvinen says. Not only in relation to his job, but also to him as a father and husband. His two sons, 12-year-

Finland Wants Chamber of Finland enhances diplomatic relations with China by forming a Chamber of Commerce. The board wishes to receive the official status this year. By Anya Palm

rom 2010, Finland is very likely going to have an official Chamber of Commerce. The paperwork was submitted to the Chinese authorities in June 2009 by the already formed board of the Chamber and today, it is just a matter of time, before the Chamber is awarded official status in China. “More and more Finnish businesses are coming to China and the need for a chamber has been growing,” the coming Chairman, Richard Järvinen, says. Up till now the Finnish Business Council, of which Järvinen serves as Chairman for the Beijing chapter, has been taking care of the responsibilities that usually lay in a Chamber. “It has been working very well so far. But now we need to take the next step further,” he explains.

Cannot grow without a Chamber

It’sbeen60years, since Finland’s first ambassador to China, Helge Von Knorring, met with Chairman Mao and sealed the diplomatic relations in 14 ScandAsia.China • June 2010

More and more Finnish businessesarecomingtoChina and the need for a chamber hasbeengrowing,thecoming Chairman Richard Järvinen between the two countries in 1950. Since then, Finland has been an expanding presence in China withalargeinfluenceonespeciallyinnovationand technology. In the 1990s, the Finnish Business Council was established as a networking platform, and as the number of Finnish citizens has been increasing, so has the work of the council. “But we cannot grow, if we do not have a Chamber. We cannot recruit people properly and we do not have the formal access to negoti-

old Vihtori and Nestori, who is 10, have now spend more than half of their lives in China and go to a British school. Every summer, they spend their holiday in Finland. “Our family has gotten used to Asia, and we frequently have Finnish friends coming to China to visit. The school is good and both my wife and I have found work, we are very involved in”, he says and elaborates. “It’s a very dynamic place, where things happen very fast. I like that very much”, he says. He stops to think a little bit. Then, very slowly, as if weighing his words carefully to not offend anyone, he says: “Also, I think living in a country as big as China expands your thinking. When you live in a smaller country… I believe, it gives a broader view to live here. You cannot plan what is going to happen. The more you plan, the less it is going to be like that. I think, you need to adapt to that to be successful in China”, he says. Behind him, the Nokia logo can be seen from the massive glass windows in the meeting room, he is in. In front of him, his phone beeps once again.

Facts about Richard Järvinen: TookabacheloroflogisticsfromJyväskyläInstituteofTechnology in 1995 Master of Science, Tampere University of Technology in Finland in 1997 He is Senior program manager at Nokia China, chairman of the acting board of Finnish Chamber of Commerce, and Chairman of the board of the Finnish Business Council He has been in China for six years 2004-2009 Head of Nokia Software Platforms China Site He changes his phone three times a year – currently he has a Nokia N900

Commerce in China ate with the Chinese government,” he says. These things are going to be the responsibility of the new chamber. In addition, Järvinen is hoping to create a hub for the about 200 companies doing business in China. “We will work to support the communications in between Finnish companies, and arrange different events for the community,” he says. He describes the Chinese-Finnish relations today as warm and good and this is another reason to set up a chamber. “Hopefully, the Chamber can be a bridge in between Finland and China,” he says.

TheScandinaviancountries are all small, and none havetoomanyresourcesto waste.Ifwecoulddosome investmentstogetherinsteadif separate,Ithinkthatwould reallyhelpourbusiness.And it would be very practical

Hoping to enhance Nordic bonds

Another – yet unofficial – quest for the new Chamber is to enhance the bonds in between the Scandinavians in China. It is Järvinen’s hope that this will contribute to tighter and more frequent collaboration in between the Nordic countries. “The Scandinavian countries are all small, and none have too many resources to waste. If we could do some investments together instead if

separate, I think that would really help our business. And it would be very practical,” he says. He points out that there are already a number of Scandinavian collaborations and crossScandinavian events in China. “I would like to have more of those in the future,” he says.

All left is the paperwork

Allthough it has been over a year, since the application for official status was sent, it is not certain when it will go through. A careful guess from Järvinen is about May this year, but there are still several documents that need the correct signature and it is unpredictable, when it may happen. However, in practical terms, the Chamber is basically functioning, but under the Finnish Business Council brand. Acting board has been appointed, a website set up – www.finchamchina. org – and discussions of the future for Finland are lively. For Richard Järvinen, it is going to be a relief, once all the preparations materialize into a Finnish Chamber of Commerce. “It is the right time now. We certainly have been here a long time,” he says.

June 2010 • ScandAsia.China 15

Finnish Eco-Furniture Finland’s café at the EXPO pavilion is decorated with furniture from the trendy Finnish company PunkAlive - ecological furniture, which fits perfectly with the green vision Finland wants to display at the exhibition. By Anya Palm

t the Shanghai World EXPO 2010, one of the main messages from Finland comes in the form of six keywords: freedom, creativity, innovation, community spirit, health

and nature. The main purpose of the Finnish pavilion, Kirnu, is to present a vision of “good life” and to show how this is obtainable in 2010. One of the points, the architect of Kirnu, Teemu Kurkela, makes is that the pavilion is a miniature model of a functioning Finnish city and that everything is somehow connected to nature from the frame itself to all the details displayed. This goes for the furniture as well and this is why the company PunkAlive was chosen to furnish the café of the pavilion. The relatively new brand which is just now trying to make its way into the Chinese market, will be displaying one of their product lines, Avanto. “This is very important to us for two reasons. First of all, because we are proud that the Avanto collection has been chosen for this important event. That tells us that we are doing something right,”saysJukkaRissanen,PunkAlive’sCorporate Development Director. “And secondly, because it means a door to the Chinese market for us. Good things happen,” he says.

ThefurniturefromPunkAliveareecologicaland made from materials within a 100 km radius of the factory, where they are made. Avanto chairs are going to be displayed in the Finnish pavilion at EXPO.

All materials within 100 km

It has been only two years, since PunkAlive decided to collect all their business under the same brand, but Rissanen and his team have worked as a subcontractor with the Finnish forest industry for over 20 years. They have a rare respect for the woods of Finland which shows in the production; All raw materials are collected within a radius of 100 km from the factory and the manufacturing site is located 1,5 kilometers from the factory to avoid long transportation. “Our working methods are based on the concept of sustainable development. And I suppose we were chosen for this, because the design itself,especiallytheAvantocollection,followsthe purelinedesignheritageofFinnishandScandinavian design,” he says. All furniture in the pavilion is in the café, which means thousands of people will be trying 16 ScandAsia.China • June 2010

and other features have been individually chosen to match the interior of Kirnu.

Café serving reindeer

For the complete Finnish experience the café servestraditionalFinnishfood.Thecountry’seasy access to clean water reserves gives a possibility to enjoy freshwater fish and this is an integrated part of the Finnish kitchen. Along with a particularly taste animal that is few other places than in the cold north or in front of Santa’s sled– reindeer. On the menu in the café are therefore courses like panfried reindeer fillet with rosemary butter, barley and lingonberry sauce or Chateubriand fried with garlic and thyme, Finnish crepe mushrooms and blackcurrant sauce. For the dessert, there are classics like fresh strawberries or chocolate mousse. All is, like the furniture, made with ecological ingredients and respect for nature.

Facts about the Finnish pavilion “Kirnu” It is the only pavilion that has a sauna

It is the designed by the Finnish team JKMM out the Avanto-pieces every day for six months. “It will be presented to the world in a complete way,” says Rissanen. For PunkAlive, the expectations are high, both to the outcome of the EXPO and to seeing the furniture functioning in the café. Although the chairs and tables are Avantofurniture, the specific pieces at the café are designed specially for the event. The color, height

The vision is a miniature Finnish city build by Finns after Finnish principles Kirnu floats on water and is accessed by walking over a bridge. The wooden floor resembles a dock and and smells a little like tar The pavilion is designed solely by using 3D technique More about Kirnu on www.finlandatexpo2010.fi

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June 2010 • ScandAsia.China 17

Martin Hedes Leaves Nilfisk to H Martin Hedes, who has for the past 5 years been the driving force behind the expansion of Nilfisk-Advance across ten countries within Asia Region, left NilfiskAdvance by the end of May, in order to pursue a career as a consultant in his own company CONZULCO Ltd. By Gregers Moller

artin Hedes left NilfiskAdvance by the end of May and is now looking forward to make his many years of experience in Asia available to small and medium sized companies in Denmark through his partnership with another Dane, Henrik Hvilshøj of CONZULCO ApS in Birkeroed, Denmark. “Henrik Hvilshøj has many years of experience as a business consultant in Denmark,” Martin Hedes explains. “My area of expertise is in expanding sales in an organized, sustainable manner here in Asia, where I have been the director and board member in ten Nilfisk-Advance related companies during the years of 2005-2010. This assures a very hands-on, bottom-line approach to what we are offering Danish companies interested in expanding in this region.”

Stay in Shanghai

Martin Hedes will continue to be based in Shanghai, where CONZULCO Ltd. is registered. This gives clients in Denmark a near perfect combination of a business consultant at home and a man “on the spot” in Asia. “We have already done some research and visited a number of potential companies in Denmark and the response was overwhelmingly positive,” says Martin Hedes.

“Especiallymanymidsizedcompanieshavea hugeuntappedpotential in Asia..” “..Most of them also know it - they just have not been able to take the next step to realize this potential. We can help them over this hurdle.”

“We focus on sales expansion and new growth in developing countries, like in China, where we are based, and also in India, Thailand as well as other parts of South East Asia. Countries where we have the specific expertise to build up and develop markets.” Martin Hedes is extremely well positioned to advise on market access across Asia, having worked over the past 17 years in business cultures as diverse as Japan and Korea, India, Thailand and China. “What matters for us is to ensure that we create high value for our customers. Our contribution should be able to be monitored and documented on the companys bottomline as profit.”

MartinHedeswiththestunningview of Shanghai behind him.

I am quite excited in my new position to be able to helpsmallandmediumsized Danishcompaniesdevelop their potential in Asia. Martin Hedes.

18 ScandAsia.China • June 2010

Help Others No short cuts

Although the bottom line counts, Martin Hedes is not prepared to compromise on his “territory management” approach to create a “quick fix”. “We don’t do short cuts,” he says categorically. “Preparation is the foundation for success. Even if our customer is prepared to base his decisions on an insecure background and with high risk, we will go very far to persuade him to create the right foundation for a successful implementation.” The first step is always an analysis of the current situation. How is theactual marketsituation,the market share in comparison with the full market, the total market potential for the company’s product lines? Do we know the full customer potential in details in the most important segments, where the company operates today? Have we identified the most optimal and right sales channels in their respective segments and geographical areas? Are these the right sales channels for the company’s products, market potential, and the capability of the sales channels or dealers? Are sales resources allocates optimally and can the actual results be measured? The next step is not the implementation, but establishing control of the project. “It is surprising, how often the differencebetweensuccessandnot having success can often be traced back to the competence in controlling a project through methods like scorecards, communication tools, etc. The aim is to secure that everybody knows the objectives, responsibility, tasks, partial goals and final goals of the project.” As for the “implementation” phase, Martin Hedes adds, that for him, this is not a separate phase but already starts during analysis and project planning, where the implementation process is usually simulated. “Good solutions are always individual solutions,” he adds. “Any solution must be adapted to the individual company and its culture,valuesandbusinessstrategy to be long term sustainable. Short term solutions are often the most easy, but not always the best long term. The trick is to see the difference,” he smiles.

Big potential

The potential for CONZULCO is big. According to DI - Federation off Danish Industries, there will be over 140 million prosperous Chinese within the next decade, and China will evolve to become Denmark’s third largest export market. Already today, China and India, along with other developing countries account for more than 30% of global GDP growth. While everything indicates that Denmark’s traditional markets will continue to have slow growth next year, notably China and India will continue to rumble forward with annual double digit growth rates. “ThefirstDanishcompaniesthat establishedthemselvesontheAsian markets have all had to accept that it is not enough with a good product and/or a local representative. You have to be active in the market and act in a very unfamiliar competitive market with fundamentally different decision structures. Possibly also accept that local production and sourcing must be incorporated in an overall growth solution,” Martin Hedes says.

Wehavesomanyunique Danishcompaniesthat are emerging on the worldarenaofbrands, and personally I see it as a privilege if I could be part of helping the bestofthemachievetheir optimalpositionherein Asia,” he says. “I am quite excited in my new position to be able to help small and medium sized Danish companies develop their potential in Asia. Restrained by their size and limited resources, they are are typically at a disadvantagecomparedtothelarge corporations which are all well established out here.” “Personally, I see a far greater potential for small and medium sized Danish companies in focusing on expanding their sales on the Asia region than in moving Danish jobs to production facilities in Asia.”

June 2010 • ScandAsia.China 19

Indonesian Navy Buys In the middle of nowhere Swedish John Lundin and his Indonesian wife Lizza are designing and producing high speed boats for patrolling and to ambush pirates with the help of some of the world’s sharpest brains in designing speedy boats. The latest project is a gigantic trimaran 60 metres long with the speed of around 150 kilometres per hour. The details are still covered as military secrets but the Swede lifts as much of the curtains as he can in this feature. By Bjarne Wildau

hrouded in military secrecy, an extremely powerful speedboat is about to be built for the Indonesian Navy by the Swedish boat builders John and Lizza Lundin at their boat yard in Sokuwidi in Banuywangi, Indonesia. The couple have already sold many smaller patrol speed boats to the navy, but this is something special. “We have a contract with the Indonesian Navy to deliver one trimaran patrol boat 60 metres long

made in carbon glass fiber and we have the option of three more boats,” John Lundin explains. “The Americans have made a trimaran 120 metres long but in aluminium. The only sort of comparable boat on the market is Kockums Visby which is more advanced - but also much much more expensive,” John Lundin adds. John and Lizza Lundin’s path into being a regular supplier to the Indonesian Navy started when John designed a seaworthy high-speed boat suited for pleasure, fishing, diving that could fit into a 40 foot container and called it X2K. Since then hehasproducedandsoldmorethan thirty of these X2K speed boats “A couple of years after we sold the first X2K we painted one grey andlaunchedatamilitaryexhibition in Indonesia”, says John Lundin. Since then him, his wife Lizza and PT Lundin have gotten stronger and stronger.

Military Suppliers

“The entrance to be a supplier to the military was a whole new ballgame for us,” John Lundin concedes. John Lundin with his wife, Lizza. “Without her, I would never ever have been able to do what we did,” says John. 20 ScandAsia.China • June 2010

“The importance of Lizza’s part in this can never be overestimated. Without her I would never ever have been able to do what we did,” he says. “It’s common knowledge that friendshipandbusinessgotogether. But with the military that business culture is much more developed. For us, Lizza became friends with the navy decision makers at the navy. They never talked business, but she made the important socializing with the wives of the generals”, says John Lundin. While Lizza was busy making contacts with the navy, John made his design department create an almost seventh wonder in the world of patrol boats. The X2K became first X2K Fast Interceptor and then the additional X2K RIB was born which has a combination of a fibreglassbody/hullandaninflatable part. “Plus night vision, special chairs designed in Sweden and so on,” John Lundin adds. “The Indonesia navy was happy with what they got. Since the first delivery we have sold more than thirty to different military units or police units in Indonesia. Today, MalaysiaandSingaporearealsoamong our customers.

s Swedish Speed Boats Together the two neighbouring countries bought more than 40 boats. Then Brunei followed, the same did WWF Indonesia. “And we are still developing on the original X2K concept,” John Lundin laughs. The latest PT Lundin product at the market is X-38 Patrol and combat Catamaran whose design was commissioned in-part by the Swedish Search And Rescue Service. The boat reaches a speed of 40 knots or approximately 100 kilometres per hour.

“Something Truly Special!”

The latest secret speed monster started with another lunch appointment which John Lundin had three years ago with the head of the Indonesian Navy. “At that meeting I was asked to come up with something truly special.Somethingworthycomingafter a proven success as X2K,” says John Lundin. John tries to explain as much as he can about the creative process of thismilitaryprojectwithoutbreaching any military secrets. At first, he looked around for a design with lots of speed. It was obvious that it had to be a trimaran At that time some designers in New Zealand were designing a speed ghost called EarthRace. The boats later won the around the world race. EarthRace has been proven the fastest boat ever designed and built. “Lizza and I plus seven other staff went to New Zealand where we got the attention from day one. I asked them what would happen if we more the less made EartRace

three or four times bigger. The answer was that the result would be much much better. The people behind the EarthRace were very ready to take part in the development of a super patrol boat witch would almost be a competitor to the much more expensive Swedish patrol boat. Three years after the Lundins’ first trip to New Zealand the couple has spend more than 5 million US dollars in design and development. Lesser than half of that amount has been sponsored by others. Today the production facilities are ready in Banuywangi. A 63 metres long hall has just enough space for the new project. Workers already prepare wood to make the skeleton for the carbon fibre boat. The carbon fibre witch is also used for production of air planes and Formula One cars are 20 times stronger than steel. Upstairs at the offices some of the world’s best on design of speedy boats do their best to make a difference. “We have done almost whatever to hire the absolute best available designer and engineers on the market. We have designers with experience from The America Cup, Volvo Ocean Race and have also

hiredexperienceddesignersspecialising in Patrol boats from Sweden”, says John Lundin. While this big project is progressing, John Lundin and his staff also have their creative fingers on some of the smallest boats John has ever had his hands on - patrol boat designed for rivers. “The need of patrol boast is huge. The new product is for small rivers. You just put it into a container and off you go to the river, you need to patrol,” says John Lundin. Read the full story of John Lundin and his life in Indonesia on the website www.scandasia.com

June 2010 • ScandAsia.China 21

SAS Expanding in China Lars Olofsson is not an old Asia hand. He is not even old. He has been in Beijing for only eight months but he is already putting his mark on the Scandinavianflagcarrier.

routeShanghai-Copenhagen,andif everything goes well it will be back in April next year,” says Lars. Lars Olofsson’s vision of extending SAS China’s activities in the region also includes increasing the number of weekly flights between Scandinavia and Beijing. Increasing the number of China - Scandinavia connections can be done in two ways, either by more flights between Copenhagen and Beijing or by reopening of the route to the Swedish capital of Stockholm. But for now the new connection to Shanghai is the top priority: “Shanghai has a great deal of Scandinavianbusinessinfrastructure, and it is very attractive for tourists as well,” says Lars.

By Niels C. Jensen

ars Olofsson had been GM for SAS Australia/ New Zealand for less than two years, when he was appointed General Manager for SAS Greater China. The 44-year old Swede started his career in SAS’ office in Sydney, where he was assigned the GM for SAS for Australia/New Zealand, when Lars Sandal, at the time Commercial Director of SAS, put him forward as the only local candidate for the position as GM there. And now he has been General Manager for SAS Greater China in Beijing for eight months. Lars Olofsson’s family is still back in Sydney planning to move to China in August. But Lars is glad that he could have the first time in China alone: “My family hasn’t moved yet. Which is good because then I had the possibility to really get into the business. And focus 100 percent on the job,” says Lars Olofsson. As General Manager for SAS Greater China, Lars’ main dayto-day job is to oversee sales and marketing efforts, and basically to achieve as high a sales volume as possible. His current contract is for four years.

More SAS flights to China

SAS has been in China for 21 years and is one of the oldest European airlines in the country. Today, SAS operates only one daily flight betweenScandinaviaandChinawhich servesCopenhagenandBeijing.Previously, SAS also operated a route betweenBeijingandStockholmand betweenShanghaiandCopenhagen as well. “When I started here in October I quickly realised we were missing opportunities and soon after I started working on reopening the 22 ScandAsia.China • June 2010

Flying to China with tourists, making money on businesspeople

Shanghai has a great deal of Scandinavian businessinfrastructure,anditisveryattractive for tourists as well. Lars Olofsson

Most of the passengers between Scandinavia and China are tourists. However, it is no secret that SAS mainly focuses on their service for businesspeople and that the major revenue for SAS comes from corporate passengers. On flights from China to Scandinavia the passengers are a mixed group. One third Scandinavian expats returning home for holiday, one third corporate customers, and one third Chinese visiting Scandinavia. And there is coming more of them, actually the amount of local Chinese passengers travelling from China to Scandinavia doubled last year. Which also made SAS China’s revenue grow exponentially.

Ended conflict about Chinese cabin crew

In the past couple of years SAS has beeninconflictwiththeScandinavia crew who wouldn’t accept Chinese cabin-crew to work on Chinese working conditions and salaries. But according to Lars Olofsson all problems are now solved in a common agreement between the cabin crew’s union and SAS: “We are all one happy family once more,” he says. The common agreement between SAS and the Cabin Attendants Union states that on every single flight between China and Scandinavia there will only be allowed two Chinese cabin-crews, the rest will be Scandinavians.

Becker Acroma

June 2010 • ScandAsia.China 23

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Stonebridge in Super Vibrant On a Thursday evening in late April, it was impressive to see how the helicopter pad on the top of Southeast Asia’s tallest hotel, Swissotel The Stamford, was filling up with guests in large numbers. Enjoying the welcome drink and inviting Singapore skyline, they had come for the night’s guest entertainer at level 71’s New Asia. Sweden’s most prominent and well-known house music producer and DJ, Stonebridge, was back in town. The last time he had played the same venue was during the Formula 1 weekend the year before. By Joakim Persson

i Nu ävenika! er Nordam

tonebridge is one of those disc jockeys who have been in the game for over 20 years, working hard to entertain with his infectious, sexy house music style. He has got one of those jobs you cannot really apply for, but which is entirely based on inspired and persistent hard work in the studio and in the DJ booth of nightclubs. And for the rare few who really gain success it can pay off big time – which eventually it did for Stonebridge around six years ago. Thus his career is rather different since he hadhisbigbreakthroughaftermore than 15 years in the business. He recently launched his third artist album, ‘The Morning After’, containing club anthems for the global club music crowd and is clearly by now also a draw in Singapore, since the night attracted a huge crowd and the club promoter told him afterwards that it was their “best night ever”. His reputed ability to move a crowd, numerous remixes and also own albums probably helped to attract attention. Indeed Sten, or Stone, as he prefers to call himself, confirms that the own tracks and top-selling albums has been a main factor in boosting the career. It changed everything and the world opened up after ‘Put ‘Em High’ was a big hit. I got bookings in Australia, Asia and the US as opposed to UK and Sweden only before. Every time I release a new album, I get lots of bookings across the globe. I notice this when I do my mix albums as well and I think people are coming to my gigs to see and hear me play the singles and other music I make. He started getting busy around

2002, doing Hed Kandi (‘the world’s most glamorous house music and lifestyle brand’) gigs. “The real madness has been on since 2004, so six years on the international circuit.” It all started with the Swemix crew back in the 1980’s in Stockholm and he has been producing and remixing other artists within

dance, pop, R&B and soul every since. Often he was referred to as the remixer of Robin S and the track ‘Show Me Love’. And Sten clarifies that it was NOT the Robyn tune, the well-known Swedish music export success. “This is a common mistake in Sweden as they both have a ‘Show

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t Singapore

Me Love’. Yes, it used to be my name tag until I had my first hit under my own name, ‘Put ‘Em High.’ I would say I’m often introduced as behind that remix or something related to Hed Kandi. I’m very pleased that my three albums and the label are gaining recognition as the Robin S thing was so long ago. It made it in 1992.” During the past two years, Stonebridgehasremixedtopselling artists such as Ne-Yo, Paradiso Girls, PussycatDolls,JenniferHudsonand JazminSullivan.Morerecentlyhedid Basement Jaxx and Yoko Ono. Having gained worldwide recognition as a “name DJ”, Stonebridge is nowadays a frequent visitor to prominent clubs in Asia, coming here on tour at least twice per year and also playing perhaps less apparent cities such as Surabaya in Indonesia. The Swedish ‘beats-chef’ is in particular a fan of the crowds in that country. “My favourite DJ destination in Asia is a tough question, but I pick Seoul as the crowds there are phenomenal.” As for Singapore he played at several occasions, where a Ministry of Sound gig was the first when that club was up and running for a while. ”So far I’ve done two in New Asia. Never did Zouk here, but in

Kuala Lumpur. The same goes for Attica, which I did in Shanghai, but not Singapore. I’ve grown to really like Singapore actually.” As a business city he compares it to Dubai and Moscow, but sees things moving towards a really healthy scene.

The first time I played in Asia, things were totally different and peopledidn’tknowhow toactintheclub.Itwas morelikeaconcert,but nowit’sprettymuchthe sameasallotherplaces asit’sbecomeaglobal thing.Mainlybecauseof theinternetandtheway peoplecanfollowDJs and music. Stone on the progress of the nightclub scene.

And Asia’s significance for him asaninternationallytouringDJcompared to other parts of the world? ”It’s very important and placed in between Europe and Australia. Also the recession didn’t hit as hard here so I’d say very important.” Stonebridge who has played on all continents today finds the most vibrant club scene – believe it or not - in South America. “It’s where you will find the best crowds even though Australia in their summer can be totally mad too. It appears like Europe is waiting for something new. House music and clubs have been around for over 20 years so it’s not as exciting anymore, it seems. I think the recession also took a lot of fun out of the equation.” “We need to put the fun back in clubbing and I see this happening more now. Miami [Winter Music Conference] was fantastic this year and pretty much all parties played a more uplifting sound,” he says on the state of scene. On the Internet’s effect he says: “It was amazing in the beginning, with MySpace and Facebook as phenomenal tools to promote music and parties. As things progressed, clubs stopped doing flyers and posters and used only social media, which in turn has resulted in less promotion as people tend to

delete the hundreds of invites they get every week. I think we need to go back to old school promotion, especially word of mouth, but also new ideas like decor, themes and festival-like parties.” Meanwhile digital media, all the download stores on the Internet andtherapidlyincreasingvolumeof electronic music producers is resulting in a flooded market. ”It’s crazy and really hard to find the good stuff as it gets lost in the 2000-tracks-per-week flood. It can take one or two years to build a really big hit now, but I also think it puts more pressure on us to produce better music, so it may be a good thing.” Except working on songs for some artists in L.A the other most exciting thing for Stone in 2010 is of course his new artist album from which he will release several singles. If living in any of Asia’s big cities or when visiting one and keen on nightlife,doscantheentertainment calendar and you might find Stonebridge visiting! As for Singapore, he might be back for the Formula One weekend.

June 2010 • ScandAsia.China 25

Easy

The Great Wall

he Great Wall is the grandest stone defensive construction in ancient China. Located in North China, it stretches from Shanhaiguan Pass in the east and stretches to Jia Yu Guan in the west. With a total length of 6700 kilometers (over 10000 li), it is also known as “A ten-thousand-li wall”. Initially built in the Warring States Period and rebuilt in later dynasties, the Great Wall is an ancient defensive project with the largest workload and longest duration of construction in China or even around the world. It has been included in the List of World Heritages and rated as one of the “Seven Wonders of the World”. The Qin Great Wall and Ming Great Wall (the great walls built in the Qin and Ming dynasties respectively) are the most famous in history. The Qin Great Wall is featured by stone structure and its majesty and magnificence. A comparatively integral segment of Qin Great Wall sites is preserved in the area of Baotou City. The most integral and magnificent segment of Great Wall in history is the Ming Great Wall which was built for the purpose of guarding against invasion of Mongolian troops from North China. The Great Wall is comprised of various defensive buildings including rampart, watch tower, oasis town, fortress, commanding station, Balefire stages.Itisanintegraldefensiveprojectsystem.Thesebuildingsareinvested with distinct features of Chinese traditional architecture in terms of its layout,construction, decorationsandpaintings. Theyreflecttheextraordinary engineering techniques of ancient China. The Great wall is also a reservoir of brilliant literature and art works in ancient China. A variety of artistic forms regarding Great Wall has come to existence continuously and spread far and wide. They include ancient poems, poetic essays, folk literature and dramas. The Great Wall has served as a symbol of the spirit of Chinese nation, precisely as what the saying goes, “He who has never been to the Great Wall is not a true man”

Hard

Are you done?

hen you have completed the above puzzles, please send your solution by fax to +66 2 943 7169 or scan and email to puzzles@scandasia.com. We will make a lucky draw among the correct answers and five lucky winners will receive a high quality ScandAsia polo shirt. Deadline for submit your solution is 15 August 2010 Name:

___________________________________________________

Age: ________________________

Mobile:

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Address: __________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

Email:

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26 ScandAsia.China • June 2010

Serial performance

Chinese man arranged for a hooker to come to his room for the evening. Once in the room they undressed, climbed into bed, and went at it. When finished, the Chinese man jumped up, ran over to the window, took a deep breath, dove under the bed, climbed out the other side, jumped back into bed with the hooker and commenced a repeat performance. The hooker was impressed with the gusto of the second encounter. When finished, the Chinese man jumped up, ran over to the window, took a deep breath, dove under the bed, climbed out the other side, jumped back into bed with the hooker and started again! The hooker was amazed at this sequence. During the fifth encounter, she decided to try it herself. When they were done she jumped up, went to the window and took a deep breath of fresh air, dove under the bed to find 4 other Chinese men.

June 2010 â&#x20AC;˘ ScandAsia.China 27

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