1
10
2001 was the tenth year in a row that Shanghai achieved double digit economic
growth.
Her GDP per capita rose to above US$4500, bringing her combined
economic strength to the level of middle income countries. Judging from this trend,
further development in the next two years can be expected. By 2003 at the latest, the
GDP per capita of Shanghai will reach US$5000.
In the next two or three years,
there will be major changes in the lives of the people there.
Shanghai will enter the “age of automobiles”.
In South Korea and Singapore,
family cars became popular when GDP per capita reached US$5,000.
In China,
tariff on automobiles for this year and the next will fall so that more and more
families will have their “automobile dreams” realized. Owning a car will become a
symbol of being fashionable.
2
The popularity of family cars enhances the quality of people’s leisure life.
People of Shanghai will depend less on trains, long-distance coaches and transport
“Self help travel” will become the fad.
It will take
the people of Shanghai further out beyond the Yangtze River delta.
Meanwhile,
companies for their journeys.
travel to other countries will become common.
The demand for financial services, banking services and insurance services will
grow substantially.
With the introduction of individual credits systems, such
services will become more and more part of a family’s consumption pattern.
As GDP per capita enters the zone of US$4,500 to $5,000 range, bonds, foreign
exchange, mutual funds and gold trading will become common management tools for
individual finances.
People will look actively for more investment venues.
Spending on education will likely become a new idea.
People need
“re-charging”, and they want to learn at their leisure time in order to enhance their
competitiveness in the talent market.
upon Shanghai.
Translated from:
The era of continued education will soon dawn
3
1.
As described in Source 1, what kind of changes to the lives of the people of
Shanghai will likely come?
ZHUANG Hongwei and her husband CHEN Junming were taken off their posts
in 1992 and 1994 respectively. Hongwei was only 26. She tried her hand in the
garment business and later operated a stall to sell noodles and dumplings.
It has
always been her aspiration to clear a path for laid-off worker in Shanghai so that they
can start their own business.
Four years ago, Hongwei and her husband went into business with friends. Their
team of four saw a demand from busy career women who have difficulties looking
after their families. They put together a loan of 10,000 yuan and started a food
catering and delivery service. They called it “Mama Zhuang Food Service”. On
day one, there was a lot of interest from the public. The mass media gave wide
coverage and “Mama Zhuang” soon became a popular brand name.
At its peak, the
food preparation workshop expanded from 28 square metres to over 80 square metres.
4
The team took in over 100 laid-off workers and monthly turnover reached well over
100,000 yuan.
But ZHUANG Hongwei lacked management experience and knowledge.
operation expanded, but business went bad.
business.
In August, she had to close down the
She and her husband again had lost their job.
way the cruelty of the market.
The
Hongwei learnt the hard
The reality is that once you have come into the
market, you must obey the market forces, otherwise the operation is bound to end up
in failure.
Hongwei has vowed to re-launch “Mama Zhuang”.
Shanghai may not be difficult.
2.
To survive in
But to live well, a great deal of effort has to be made.
How would you describe the spirit of Shanghai as found in Source 2?
3. Is there a similar Hong Kong spirit here in Hong Kong?
5
In almost all Chinese cities, traffic peaks at the morning and afternoon rush hours.
Shanghai is no exception except that there is currently one more traffic peak.
At 9 or
10 pm each day, all public transport become as crowded as they are in the morning
and afternoon rush hours.
The commuters are mostly people attending evening
schools. Going to evening class has become part of the daily life of many Shanghai
residents.
Today in Shanghai, the tides of learning rise one on top of the other. All kinds
of learning centres are mushrooming. They range from adult education, night school,
community school, re-employment training, to family studies, neighbourhood courses
and small group studies.
In the late eighties, China opened up to the world and many people wanted to
learn English in order to go abroad.
been more than 20 years.
going stronger everyday.
Learning English has become a fad.
It has
The tide of “learning” has stayed in Shanghai and it is
People are aware that those who do not update themselves
with learning they will be left out.
Translated from: Wen Wei Pao. 6 November 2000
6
4.
What have you learnt from the Shanghai spirit as mentioned above?
5.
Is there a similar situation in Hong Kong?