Air Conditioning--The Chinese Way

Since my internship spans in both India and China, it's hard not to compare every single differences among these countries and the U.S. While culture, religion, or food are worlds apart among all three cultures, I find comparing minuscule yet very noticeable things very interesting. Since almost summer is grilling with heat and humidity in almost everywhere in Asia (Bangalore being the nice exception), air conditioning, especially in the public space is a big deal--directly impact the quality of work/life.

In India, while auto-rickshaw and restaurants would not have air conditioning, subway and offices are typically very soothing if not chilly. In contrast, subway and train in China has very weak air conditioning (very noticeable when it gets crowded). Not to mention the U.S., we cannot survive with out air conditioning.

It may seem that Chinese government is saving energy by regulating air conditioning (seems logical considering the amount of energy China use). But that's not really the case until I witnessed taxi drivers drinking hot tea during a grilling 90 degree day with no A/C in the taxi, or seeing my colleagues from different part of China drinking room temperature beer, I started to realized how deep the yin and yang, or the balance of warm and cold (not just temperature, but also the effect that wind or food would bring to your body), are ingrained to people's life. Just as Indian are used to drink boiling hot chai in mid-afternoon, both Indian and Chinese are not that comfortable with putting cold things in your face or body. We would drink Starbucks--but with air conditioning.

While Chinese people would still complain about the heat and occasionally drink cold orange juice at the restaurant, often they drink hot tea and sit outdoor even though indoor air conditions are widely available. However, when you visit China, DO NOT order ice water in a traditional Chinese restaurant. They will pour boiling water and scramble to find ice cubes for you.

Sharing path with cows in the Silicon Valley of India

Hello everyone! I just spent five weeks in Bangalore for GE Healthcare. While working at a multinational thinking BoP is an interesting yet odd experience, living in India is simply amazing!

As the IT capital of India, Bangalore is a fast growing city with both city and villages mixed together. In the last ten years, the city radius from 12 km to 20 km (12 miles). On my daily walk to work, I bypass a village where mud built houses are commonly found and people wash clothing at the nearby lake. And cows--they are everywhere! There is probably no other country that has cows more integrated to people's life (and not eating them) than India does. Most interesting among all, this village is located between two technology parks.

Village nearby work

Western mall with busy traffic at any given time

Even though the city is going through growing pain (India's rich culture, thousands of dialogs, and traditions such as class system make things even more difficult,) people there are active and hopeful. At a local social enterprise meet-up, entrepreneurs and NGOs are eager to change. While the city doesn't have a good trash collection infrastructure nor recycling system, an environmental NGO has been successfully teaching people to compost. On the other hand, a group of young people spend every weekend at a rural village to build ultra low cost, locally accessible house to see whether there's a better housing solution for farmers. At India, social enterprise is not a buzz word but apply innovation or change at every direction.

Test out new housing solution with using all local materials

At GE, my internship is to create a market entry strategy for a mid-end medical device from India to China. GE India has been developing innovative medical devices for hospitals that require high quality yet can't afford nor have sufficient training to use these complicated equipments. Even though the challenge is less significant in China, the gap between urban and rural is still significant.

Meanwhile, Compare to most of WDI my fellows who are directly impacting the base of pyramid (BoP), my work is yet at the BoP Plus environment, as many multinationals do not have the simplified infrastructure to deliver a quality solution affordable to the BoP... Yet! Witnessing a number of GE initiatives to tackle rural challenges, It's hard not to get excited about what technology and business innovation can bring scale solutions to the BoP!