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Steve Marshall - Source: ONE News -
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ONE News Australia correspondent Steve Marshall recently returned from an assignment in Shanghai after covering the opening of the World Expo. Here, he shares his daily diary.
April 26
Boarding NZ89 Auckland to Shanghai. Flight hostess asks me to turn
left. Brilliant, Air NZ business class bed for the next 12 hours.
Crucial, after a 4.00am start in Melbourne where I'd spent the
weekend covering the rugby league salary cap scandal.
April 27
Wake up to sound of breakfast trolley and, alarmingly, a tight
fitting pair of long johns being worn by the passenger in the next
air bed. Picked up by guide/translator Vivi. Attempt to show off my
Mandarin skills. Ni hao ma? She just laughs. Dropped off at Grand
Central Hotel in the heart of Shanghai shopping district. Room
looks inviting, but no time to enjoy. Meet Kiwi Global Baker Dean
Brett-Schneider in hotel lobby. Head to Dean's fancy bakery, to get
some shots and interview him about doing business in China.
Catch taxi to ANZ building for briefing with economist Grant Knucky about the NZ/China relationship.
Meet Dean Brett-Schneider and David Caselli from NZ/China Direct trading house for dinner. Di Shu Dong restaurant is a local haunt and famous for its spicy ribs. (Lips ringing for rest of the night.)
April 28
Got taxi to Fonterra company HQ in downtown Shanghai to interview
China MD Philip Turner. Philip shows me the Fonterra product
testing lab - a large, industrial style kitchen where new products
are approved. Philip tells me Fonterra cheese will be the topping
on 53 million pizzas this year. Cheese-tastic! Meet Suzy Fewtell, a
Kiwi who runs Shanghai shopping tours. Spent an entertaining
afternoon haggling at fabric markets. Got measured up for suit. Am
told to pay and it'll be delivered to the hotel. (Suspicious if
I'll ever see it.)
April 29
Invited to attend the soft opening of the NZ Pavilion at the World
Expo site. Impressive visual display of everything we love about
home. Rooftop garden and hotpools equally impressive. Interviewed
NZ Expo boss Phillip Gibson about the pavilion for ONE News. Could
not refuse an invitation to dinner at Hamilton House. Dined with
part owner, Kiwi, Richard Xavia who enlightened me on the
intricacies of doing business in Shanghai. He pointed out the
secret police HQ across the road. Enough said.
April 30
Went to NZ central today. It's like an Air NZ Koru club in downtown
Shanghai. Set up by NZ Trade & Enterprise as a base for Kiwi
businesses aiming break into China market and those already tapping
into the huge consumer market of 1.3 billion people.
May 1
Am told a fellow Kiwi journalist has been struck down with food
poisoning. Further investigation points to a sneaky chicken burger
from a well known global franchise. Fancy that, out of all the
Shanghai eateries we'd been to, it was a chicken burger that
brought him undone.
Great weather for first day of Expo and I head straight to the NZ Pavilion. It appears everyone else has the same idea with massive queues of mainly Chinese visitors filing into the building. Did some interviews then headed over to the Australian pavilion for a comparison. For three times the money, the Aussie house was a little disappointing until a 10 minute video extravaganza gave you the "wow" factor at the end. Walked for an hour to get to the China Pavilion where I did a live cross into ONE News that night.
A solid day's work rewarded with dinner on a balcony overlooking one of the busiest pieces of real estate in the world. It's called "The Bund", a collection of buildings designed by architects from around the world along the Shanghai river bank. An incredible amount of neon lights up huge crowds enjoying the markets and eateries along The Bund. Could be half a million people down there I reckon. Ordered pigeon, lamb and sticky date pudding. Disgraceful, but delicious. (New suit arrived at hotel tonight and it fits!)
May 2
Wake up at 0700 and call into work to discuss tonight's story for
ONE News. I script and edit a story on my laptop about the
successful start for the NZ Pavilion at World Expo. Sent the story
to TVNZ HQ in Auckland over the internet and packed my bags. Get
dropped off at Maglev train station and buy a one way ticket on the
world's fastest train to the airport. This thing shot out of the
gates like a raging bull and before I knew it I was hurtling
towards Shanghai airport at 431km/hr. A 30 minute car ride crunched
into eight minutes on the train. Now that's progress.
Phoned my wife Jade. She'll meet me at Sydney airport tomorrow morning with some fresh clothes as I'm due in Melbourne to cover the Kiwi league team preparations for the ANZAC test. Goodbye Shanghai and hello a 10 hour trip on Air China... economy class!
Read more of Steve Marshall's articles.
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