As China’s economic profile continues to rise and Australia’s economic future becomes increasingly entwined with that of China, a recent poll of public attitudes reveals interesting trends in Australian public perceptions of China. Each year the Lowy institute conducts a public opinion survey of Australian attitudes to the world and our major trading partners and allies – including China. In our previous newsletters we have tracked the major findings of this annual survey, which offers one of the few public insights into popular attitudes toward China.

Speaking to the media in early 2011, Lowy Institute Director Michael Wesley revealed some key results of the poll (which surveyed 1002 Australians): “Three-quarters of Australians see China’s growth as good for Australia, but at the same time almost half the adult population say that it is likely China will become a military threat to Australia within the next 20 years.” Of the 44 per cent polled who said it was likely China would become a military threat, 87 per cent said it would be because China and the US would come into conflict – and Australia would be drawn in. The Lowy poll also confirmed public unease about increased levels of direct investment from China, with 57% of respondents saying there was too much Chinese investment in Australia.

A fascinating counterpoint to the findings of the Lowy Poll is the 2010 survey of US attitudes conducted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.  The survey finds that three-quarters of Americans believe it is likely that someday China’s economy will grow to be as large as the US economy; half of Americans think that if China’s economy were to grow as large as the US economy this would be equally positive and negative – while the rest lean heavily toward the negative, thinking this would be “mostly negative.”  Americans surveyed believe that China is the second most influential country in the world after the United States and that China is the most important country to the United States.  Only a minority see the growth of China as a world power as a “critical” threat. Very few Americans are “very worried” that China could become a military threat to the United States in the future, while nearly half are “somewhat worried.”

(Sources AAP 25 April 2011, the Australian 25 April 2011, AFP 26 April 2011, The Lowy Institute, The Chicago Council on Global)

US firms are upbeat about the China market

What do American businesses think about doing business in China? The overwhelming answer from a recent survey of US firms by AmCham Shanghai suggests – “very well, thank you very much” – and that US firms in China are optimistic about the business outlook. The survey results should make fascinating reading for Australian businesses working in China or looking to get established.

Each year AmCham surveys US firms in the China market. In the 2010-2011 survey the report found that that 87% of polled firms had increased revenue – a major jump from 47% in the 2009 survey. In 2010-2011, 79% of polled firms said they had been profitable or very profitable (up from 65% in 2009) and over 60% had experienced a growth in market share. The key results of the survey suggest that domestic business and economic conditions in China have stabilised and improved since the GFC. The survey also offers an insight into how US business views the future of the China market. 71% of surveyed firms said they are confident about the future and more than 70% expect revenue growth of more than 10% in 2011.

How important is the China market in the overall business strategy of US firms? Twenty percent of those polled said China is their number one market priority, while more than 60% said China is in their top three. Importantly more than 40% said they expect to increase their investment by 15% or more in 2011.

The survey reveals that US firms are focused on winning business and competing for new market share in the expanding domestic market. And causing headaches – apart from intense competition from rival foreign and Chinese firms – the number one issue remains the problem of securing and retaining quality staff. Other problems identified include uncertainties in the business regulatory framework and intellectual property rights (IPR); over 70% of surveyed firms said they have not seen any improvement in the IPR environment in the last year. One final item from the survey is notable – US services firms generally found doing business more challenging than their cousins in manufacturing and retail.

(Source 2010 – 2011 China Business Report by the American Chamber of Commerce Shanghai www.amcham-shanghai.org )

Feng Shui dates back centuries and is a critical component of Chinese culture. Feng Shui literally translates to “wind and water”. Wind and water are both considered life essentials and the Chinese believe that Feng Shui can bring peace, harmony and prosperity to your life.

What Exactly Is Feng Shui?

Feng Shui was first practiced by the Chinese to bring prosperity to those who had passed on, for example burial sites were laid out according to Feng Shui principles. Through the centuries Feng Shui has grown and is now a way of life for many Chinese people and those who embrace it are thought to live a more healthy and prosperous life.

Chinese believe that all things are connected by an energy force that is always changing. While many outside Chinese culture might look at Feng Shui and consider it a religion or superstition, the Chinese believe it is a means of empowerment, a way to bring positive energy into your life. Feng Shui is built on the fundamental properties of the elements and when Feng Shui practices are followed, the Chinese believe you are able to remove negative energy from your life and bring in positive energy.

In ancient times, as soon as a new emperor took over the throne, one of the first things he would have to do was find a Feng Shui site and build his own tomb. This would be one of the largest projects during his rein (think Terracotta Warriors). [pic]??

Feng Shui is both physical and mental. While Feng Shui does have some very specific guidelines when it comes to designing and constructing buildings and arranging and decorating your space, it also has a strong mental and emotional component.  By placing items in certain places in your home or designing a building in a certain pattern the physical aspects of Feng Shui can be met. By mentally removing the bad “qì” or energy from your life you can replace it with positive “qì” and change yourself from within – so they say, anyway!

How Feng Shui Is Used In Your Home and Office

While many of us cannot totally reconstruct our homes or offices to fully conform to Feng Shui criteria we can do a number of things when it comes to decorating and creating good Feng Shui flow in our living and working spaces. Some people who practice and believe in Feng Shui report amazing changes in their lives when they follow its practices.

The first step to adapting Feng Shui both at home and in your office is to clear out the clutter. Getting everything out of your home or office that you don’t absolutely love is a cleansing process and is considered a therapeutic step in Feng Shui and one that changes your home or office’s energy to positive “qì”.

Next, Feng Shui calls for high quality air and light. Natural light is considered best, so large unblocked windows are highly recommended. When natural light is not available your next best choice is full spectrum lighting. When at all possible, opening the windows in your home and office every day is a critical part of practicing Feng Shui. Air purifiers and an abundance of plants can also help add to the air quality.

Practical Feng Shui Tips You Can Adapt In Your Home

Here are just a few of the more popular tips you might take on board and potentially enhance your life:

• There should be no clutter in the entrance way of your home. This means removing everything from the area especially shoes.
• There should be no TVs or computers in your bedrooms. If you must, cover it for sleeping.
• Beds should be placed on a wall and not next to or in front of a window in order to allow for good quality sleep.
• Mirrors, while considered a symbol of wealth, should not be placed in the bedroom at the end of any bed as it is believed that doing such can hurt your relationship.
• Kids rooms should not contain bunk beds as the child sleeping on the bottom bunk will not have access to fresh “qì”.
• An indoor water fountain should be present and strategically placed to bring good “qì”.
• Your stove and refrigerator should not be across from each other as they represent fire and water which will clash and might cause disharmony between family members.
• Your furniture should be placed so it flows easily in order to create harmony and good “qì”.
• Using mirrors in your home (except in the bedroom as already described) can help clear out negative energy and bring in wealth. For example, placing a mirror behind your stove is thought to bring cash flow to your family.
• Wind chimes can also be used to help protect and purify. Small wind chimes hung in the entrance way are thought to create good “qì”.

Practical Feng Shui Tips You Can Adapt In Your Office

• Just as in your home, the front entrance way of your office should be completely free of clutter. It should be inviting to anyone who visits your office.
• As in your home, wind chimes in the entrance can help to purify and protect.
• A mirror should be hung in your office to help create wealth.
• A water fountain is recommended as it can bring peace and is also considered cash flow.
• Your back should not face the door of your office as this is considered a waste of energy.
• Putting crystals on your desk can help to remove negative energy.

Stories of Tremendous Luck after Adapting Feng Shui

A quick Google search leads to numerous stories of wealth and prosperity even when just some principles are applied. You can read accounts of people who just made simple Feng Shui changes in their home, or business and how their luck turned.  At times of dire straits many people who made changes report finding a great job, getting a pay rise, receiving bonuses at work, receiving things for free and more.

Feng Shui in the Asian World

Besides China, Feng Shui is practised in other Asian countries, and is not just accepted by the wealthy or elite as some might think.

Cities across the Asian world embrace Feng Shui practices and many areas even require Feng Shui in building design. Hong Kong is known as the premiere city when it comes to buildings that are built on Feng Shui principles. In fact tourists can even take a tour of the city, stopping at many locations to check out Feng Shui designed buildings and get a better understanding of how they were designed and built using Feng Shui principles. The Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong is perhaps the best known Feng Shui building in the world.

Feng Shui is Migrating World Wide

As Asians have migrated to other parts of the world, so too have their traditions and customs. Many people in the Western world for example, have embraced and use Chinese medicine including acupuncture, and martial arts is another Asian cultural tradition that is practiced in the West.

Feng Shui has also made its presence well known in the Western hemisphere and other parts of the world. Australia has also embraced Feng Shui principles and design. Numerous buildings throughout the country were designed under Feng Shui principles including the Sydney Harbour Casino and the Crown Casino Melbourne (something about casinos and luck!)

Feng Shui Trends

With information so widely available today and more and more people being open to learning, understanding and immersing themselves in other cultures, Feng Shui practices are spreading. Today, you can find a wealth of information on the internet, in books and if you want help bringing Feng Shui into your life you can hire a Feng Shui consultant or ‘Master’ for assistance.

Other Chinese Superstitions

You don’t have to travel very far to see the preoccupation Chinese have with the number 8.  Westerners have taken to it with great enthusiasm too: number plates and phone numbers being two obvious indicators.  But why number 8? And why is number four unlucky?  Not to us, we’re moving to the 4^th floor!

Both are connected to the pronunciation of the words in Chinese – in the case of 8 – in Cantonese – it is a homophone for wealth; in the case of 4 – a homophone in Mandarin for death. This wasn’t always the case. Four was traditional regarded as lucky.  Many Chinese phrases of luck are related to four.  Eight has become more widely embraced since Cantonese culture and Hong Kong business practices have strengthened.

Surprisingly, some buildings in China now do not have level 4 or level 13 (putting western superstition into Chinese culture too).

So we’re going with the traditional view of the number 4 as we move to our new office in Queen Street!

These inland cities have huge populations but their per capita incomes are still low meaning that there is a lot of potential. The next phase of growth will come from urbanisation with strength in housing for the next decade. For example, in 2010 China built residential floor space equivalent to the entire housing stock in Spain. The year 2007 was a turning point when inland cities started growing faster than coastal cities. In 2010 these second tier cities recorded growth rates of 15-17% compared to around 10% for the rest of China, so in some cases 7% faster.

30 million in Chongqing – Some members of Australia’s largest delegation found opportunities. How can you find yours?

Charles Qin, our Managing Director, accompanied Trade Minister Craig Emerson, who led the delegation, as his interpreter. We’re hearing first hand from Charles about the opportunities presented.

The cities on the agenda included China’s largest – Chongqing with over 30 million inhabitants; also visited were Changsha, Wuhan and Chengdu. Around 100 businesspeople were whisked around these cities on chartered planes and buses on a very well put together program of activities by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to explore opportunities for Australian businesses in the west.

The focus was on urbanisation, sustainability, science and technology, transport and logistics and financial services with forums, meetings and one-on-ones with the key leaders in each area. Tourism and education, which are so important to Australia, were also on the agenda. Education in inland areas is not of the same high standard as Beijing, so an important market for attracting students to high-quality Australian institutions. Residents, likewise, want to catch up with the same standard of living seen in the so called first-tier cities like Beijing and Shanghai.

Financial markets might be uncertain, but in China it’s full steam ahead as evidenced by the scale of activity in these important centres. Flush with funds, China is able to afford the best technology and drive rapid transformation like no other country.

China introduced a Go West plan about ten years ago and there are plenty of tax incentives to attract foreign businesses as these inland areas strive to catch up to the east coast. Over 200 of the top 500 companies in the world are located in Sichuan Province alone. Chongqing itself became a municipality at the level of a province in 1997 and ranks with Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin alone at this level. More incentives have been announced to encourage development in the recent 12^th Five Year Plan.

Every year about 14 million people are moving to cities requiring housing, transport and services. In fact over the last 30 years 450 million people have urbanised. The marketplace in cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou is especially crowded with competitors from all around the world where it is much harder to reach decision makers. This means second- and third tier-cities are significantly more attractive options where you’ll be given a hearing if you have something good on offer.  Not only that,  a report I read a few years ago put the cost of setting up in a first tier city at 40 – 60% more than the west – that has to be a big plus, doesn’t it!

How to get in there?

A mission is always a great platform to gain access to key decision makers. Failing that, you can wait for the next one as well as try and establish linkages in the areas you are targeting and those connections must include Chinese Government officials (Australian Government offices can be a good source of potential contacts). Develop a proposition to show what you can bring to the Chinese economy and remember they are keen on technology, training and employment for Chinese. Show how your product/service can help China achieve its objectives – say for example in the latest Five Year Plan in Sustainability. Of course, your proposition must be in Chinese – well translated – we can help you there.

It is important to be mindful of different legal and business systems too.  Good legal advice is vital and an understanding that culturally, Chinese do business differently. A Chinese interpreter can be your eyes and ears and cultural ‘interpreter’ as well when having discussions or negotiations with Chinese.

Victoria’s Premier Ted Baillieu summed it up well at an Australia China Business Council Gala Dinner in August 2011: “We’ve only just scratched the surface.”

A SNAPSHOT

HUBEI PROVINCE

CAPITAL: Wuhan

Wuhan Population: 9.8 million

PROVINCE POPULATION: 57.24 million

Wuhan GDP growth from 13.7% in 2009 to 14.7% in 2010

GDP: RMB 1.58 trillion (2010); Wuhan 551.6 billion RMB

PER CAPITA GDP: approx AUD 8500.00

Usually the tenth largest economy in China, important industrial base and producer of quality grains and cotton; key automotive area and home to Wuhan Iron and Steel – China’s fourth largest; China’s largest producer of optical fibre cables and optoelectronics, and petrochemicals.

Urban renewal covers eight cities and Wuhan itself with resource-effective and environmentally friendly cities. Also gearing to growth in cars and optoelectronics towards higher value-added industries

HUNAN PROVINCE

CAPITAL: Changsha

Changsha Population 8.85 million

Province Population 71 million

Changsha GDP growth from 14.7% in 2009 to 15.5% in 2010

GDP: RMB 1,590 billion; 454.7 billion RMB (Changsha)

PER CAPITA GDP:  AUD$7700.00

Hunan usually ranks between 10^th and 13^th largest GDP in China. In 2010 it grew at 14.5% (ranked 10^th) and is known for its mineral resources as well as manufacturing construction equipment, research facilities (construction machinery technology), tobacco and culturally-related works

Sustainable development and environmental services figure strongly here too and Australian companies are already active in design, remediation and with strong education links. Also identified were ICT and emerging media, finance, insurance and legal services and higher-tech manufacturing.

SICHUAN PROVINCE

CAPITAL: Chengdu

Chengdu Population: 14 million

Province Population: 80 million

Chengdu GDP Growth of 14.7%

GDP: 1.69 trillion RMB OR 555 billion RMB (Chengdu)

PER CAPITA GDP:  AUD$5700.00

Traditionally agriculture, chemicals, textiles, fertilizer, military equipment; becoming a hub for financial and technology organisations – ANZ Bank’s global services and operations centre opened in February 2011. More than 130 of the top 500 companies have offices here; the NDRC has approved a national bio industry; also a space and aviation technology park is being developed.

CHONGQING

Chongqing population 30 million

GDP of 789.4 billion RMB

Chongqing growth from 14.3% in 2009 to 17.1% in 2010

Per Capita GDP: AUD$4043

A City that ranks at the same level as a province with growth in 2010 of 17% – China’s second highest.

An old industrial base dominated by heavy industry and major automotive; also produces iron, steel and aluminium; agriculture and tobacco

Targetting  railway, power generating equipment, new energy sourced cars, IT and energy saving materials, infrastructure, green building, urban planning, environmental services, modern logistics and financial services (a number of major banks have offices here).

Sources:

Kevin Rudd Aust-China 2.0 launch speech

China’s second- and third-tier cities Opportunities for Australia, EIU 2011

For too long Australians have assumed that ‘they speak English’, not realising the value that Chinese Language brings to our understanding of and success in the China market. Yes some of ‘them’ may speak English, but to do business you need to do it in Chinese. It’s about time more of ‘us’ attempted to speak Chinese. Australia has had a great run with our China relationship – it has kept us economically safe, but other countries our now challenging and it’s time we picked up our game instead of always expecting the Chinese to engage on our terms, and thinking that the good times will roll on.

It’s not just about language, by being immersed in Chinese culture and being in China broadens one’s understanding of the culture, gives insights into how business is done and enhances employment prospects; it is also an opportunity to establish lasting relationships with the assistance of Victoria’s Sister State linkages.

Language learning and studying abroad has been the domain of the Chinese, with their long term vision. We’re now seeing other countries beefing up these types of programs to leverage the China boom and Australia has been left behind.  For example 12 months ago the United States announced the “100,000 Strong Initiative” with more than $3 million allocated and private sector support for a program dedicated to enhancing understanding of China for 10,000 US students. The Baillieu Government is to be praised for developing this program to catch up.

The scheme has been named after Dick Hamer who 33 years ago signed the Victoria-Jiangsu Sister-State Relationship – a relationship that puts Victoria into the mix for many opportunities with one of China’s most important provinces.  Jiangsu has China’s highest per capita GDP -  GDP of 4.8 trillion yuan in 2011, number 2 in China with a 12% rate of growth – great numbers and the relationship gives impetus to Victorian businesses looking for opportunities in the province. The population of 74 million and key cities of Nanjing, Suzhou, Wuxi, Zhangjiagang and Nantong – China’s most densely populated province have and will continue to bring opportunities to Victorian businesses. Jiangsu is the top recipient of foreign investment in China. We are in the right space, and we need to ensure our skills are there for the future.

Scholarships are valued at up to $10,000 for one semester of study at a Jiangsu institution.

To find out more and apply – remember the 5 April deadline: dbi.vic.gov/hamerscholarships

Who can afford to buy a small apartment in China today, he asked:

If a peasant in the Tang Dynasty (907AD) had saved all his money since then, he could; or

A prostitute – if she had 10,000 clients; or

A thief – if he committed 2500 robberies

All of these could today afford a small 100 square metre apartment in a city. You can read more of Das’s gloomy ideas: http://bit.ly/GLGOta

Today the body responsible for accrediting translators and interpreters in Australia – the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) – has been forced to suspend its Chinese testing program due to its tests being found on social media!  But why? So-called “Translators and Interpreters” wanting to enter Australia simply have to complete a short test to become ‘accredited’ as “translators” and/or” interpreters”. In the past, this was a ticket to permanent residence – the government has recently changed the rules and it is no longer so.  But I wonder just how reliable a short test is to proving that an interpreter/translator is up to the job. And now to learn that tests have been available to candidates must beg the question, how many ‘bogus’ translators and interpreters are out there potentially causing grief. Have you fallen victim to a dodgy interpreter? You may not even be aware of gaffes that cost you a deal, or have left you open to litigation down the track.

NAATI accreditation should not be the sole criterion for selecting your interpreter or translator – you’d want to check out someone you are entrusting your important words to thoroughly. Test shortcomings are many: firstly, a candidate does not require any knowledge of Australia, its legal system, institutions, practices and ethics; secondly, without training, they have no knowledge of how to translate or interpret; thirdly, as some of these tests are one-directional (into the mother tongue), the underlying competence in English is dubious.

We see the results of poor interpreting and translation on a regular basis – court cases being held up, legal documents misunderstood and company promotional materials, business cards, etc laughable in translation!

Next time you need to select a translator or interpreter – seek references and referrals, check experience and talk to the person to judge their ability to handle your important words.

Hosting businesses too can suffer in reputation by being associated with these ‘tours’.  Many have learnt the hard way, hosting site visits, speakers and giving valuable time to meet Chinese delegates and share their proprietary information and experience, only to find out later on that most of the ‘valuable information’ was lost.  You know where I’m going, don’t you – poor translations!

A Model Program

By contrast, to set up an enduring relationship, and pave the way for ongoing programs, we reckon the Australia and New Zealand School of Government’s program being run at the moment is the model. Setting a very high bar and scooping any competition, Allan Fels’s organisation has put together a perfect program – the China Advanced Leadership Program and we’re sure will lead to more business and with that comes relationships and benefits to participating organisations too.  An impressive agenda like theirs may not be accessible to all of us – receptions at Government House, meetings with Governor-General, Deputy PM and Foreign Minister, tours and functions hosted by major players in China relationships, access to Department Heads in Australia and New Zealand and presentations by leading businesspeople.

ANZSOG identified very early the need for a top interpreting team to ‘deliver’ the important training to the Chinese executives. The team was engaged over 6 months prior and consulted on how to achieve the best results. Presentations were translated by the team too so that delegates would have Chinese materials to underpin their learning. Plenty of time was provided to the interpreting/translating team to assimilate all of the information across topics as diverse as Emotional Intelligence and the revolution of technology in the media.

You might say – most Chinese speak English!  Why do they need interpreters?  That is a good question, and, indeed, some educated Chinese do speak English to some extent.  A delegation of trainees will contain people who have good English and many who have none.  But factor in the Australian situation, accents and practices and even someone with good English will struggle to follow and understand the Australian perspective. With a good interpreter, your valuable information will be fully imparted, face protected and your stakeholders rewarded, such as we’re seeing in the ANZSOG program.

So what is good interpreting?

Good interpreting and therefore good results for the listening audience comes from selecting trained, experienced, professional interpreters.  Engaging them early (good interpreters are generally very busy), briefing them, passing on all information, presentations and itinerary early, and treating them as valuable team members will bring the best out and ensure happy delegates.  Happy delegates lead to more business. Good interpreting is NOT achieved by leaving interpreter choice to the last minute, choosing someone cheap and assuming that they can just turn up and know everything they need to know about complex and varied topics. We see this approach often and unfortunately the monolingual organisers don’t realise just what a disaster ensues.

There are two modes of interpreting to consider. Consecutive interpreting – many of you will be familiar with an interpreter consecutively interpreting a speaker’s words – speaker speaks for a minute or two, interpreter takes notes (watch for the good ones who get it all down), speaker pauses, interpreter interprets the words fully into the other language and so on.  The downside is that any program will take twice as long or you have to cut the content.  The other mode – Simultaneous Interpreting (SI) – is just that – done in real time, simultaneously. Simultaneous Interpreting requires special equipment, including receivers and headsets, and, most importantly, trained Simultaneous Interpreters.  Not just any ‘bilingual person’ can undertake this work – a popular misconception. So more information can be included in a program and attendees don’t have to sit through double content.

Budget and timeline will dictate which mode works for you.  ANZSOG has used Simultaneous Interpreting throughout its three week program.  At its training facility permanent SI equipment has been installed; on site visits portable systems have been taken – the result has been continuous engagement and maximum information flow. The other important decision was to engage a team of 3 interpreters. The UN and other major conferences will have 3, 4 or more interpreters on a team – we rarely see this in business due to cost constraints.  In addition at networking functions or dinners, additional local interpreters have been hired to assist with conversations between the parties.

Any type of interpreting is extremely demanding on the brain – especially SI, interpreters must rest every 20 – 30 minutes or the brain melts down! So bear these points in mind when factoring interpreting into an equation.

Another Model for long-term Engagement

The City of Melbourne and RMIT have run a ” Tianjin Government Leaders’ Program” for ten years. Enlightened leaders on both sides saw the opportunity for up-and-coming managers in Tianjin to learn business and management tools from Australia, and the City of Melbourne saw the opportunity for linkages between the two cities to be deepened.  Many, many business deals and ventures have grown from this decision more than ten years ago. Tianjin and Melbourne are the absolute model in a Sister-City relationship – one we’ve been associated with for all of this time. One of the key planks in this program is the use of capable, trained interpreters in the classroom, on site visits and networking functions.  Without good interpreters, the program would have been packed in a long time ago. This program engages Consecutive Interpreters and the long-term relationship between interpreters and presenters ensures a high-quality engagement.  Over 220 leaders from Tianjin have benefitted – some have gone on to senior roles and all have been great advocates for Melbourne and the participating organisations.  Needless to say, business has followed and will continue to flow on.

So, if you are serious about offering proper training and engagement with Chinese delegates – there are a number of important factors to consider early on – the most vital is the choice of your interpreting team. Without them you are wasting your time and jeopardising any future business.

The exhibition is a celebration of Chinese culture in Australia. Some of China’s most important 20th Century artists are featured.  One that sticks in my mind is by Shen Jiawei – an 11 metre long work titled Red Star Over China – including a cameo by Edgar Snow who appears in the painting along with many other historic figures.

I was privileged to work as the Official Interpreter for the visit by executives from the Museum including an introduction, which brought the works to life, by the Chinese Director.  He also delivered a lecture on art which played to a full house. Sometimes the work of an interpreter brings wonderful insights, as opposed to the day-in-day-out business deals, disputes and desires that pretty much sum up the various stages of interaction businesses go through with China. Here is an opportunity to break away and gain an understanding of Chinese history through art

Find out more: http://nma.gov.au/exhibitions/a_new_horizon/

The Chinese Moon Festival, or Zhongqiu Jie, which translates literally to Mid-Autumn Festival, is an annual event and the second most important Festival in Chinese culture (after the Chinese New Year). It happens to fall in spring time in Australia!

The Chinese Moon Festival occurs on the 15^th day of the 8^th lunar month in the Chinese calendar. The date is parallel to the autumn and spring Equinoxes when the moon is at its fullest and roundest.

How People Celebrate

The festival is a holiday in China and several other countries. Farmers traditionally use the holiday as a celebration of the end of the summer harvesting season. Chinese families will use the occasion to organize family reunions. When the full moon has risen the family members will gather to watch the moon and eat moon cakes.

Other celebratory customs include carrying brightly lit lanterns, bringing incense to pay respect to deities, planting trees, collecting and distributing dandelion leaves, and performing Fire Dragon dances. Eating red foods during the Mid-Autumn festival is said to bring good luck. Salmon, lobsters, apples, pomegranates, cooked soy beans and roasted peanuts are just some of the foods typically enjoyed during the festival.

Where do Moon Cakes come from?

Legends around the Moon and Moon Festival abound. One that I like tells of the origin of Moon Cakes.  During the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty (1280 to 1368 AD), the Mongolians conquered the majority Han Chinese and ruled China. A rebel Han leader called Liu Fu Tong wanted to overthrow the Mongolians and return China to Chinese rule.  He gave gifts to honour the Mongolian emperor.  The gifts, you guessed it, were round moon cakes.  Inside Liu’s moon cakes were secret messages with the details of the planned rebellion to take place at mid-Autumn.  The rebellion was successful, of course, and the Ming Dynasty overthrew the Yuan. The tradition continues today, minus the secret messages.

There are many types of moon cakes but the most traditional are made with lotus seed paste. Other moon cakes can be made with traditional ingredients such as red bean paste or black bean paste but today you can find moon cakes with nuts, fruits, icecream, Chinese sausage and ham and even ingredients for western cakes. For Cantonese style moon cakes, the inner part of a moon cake is very salty and considered to be an acquired taste. The yolk is present to represent the moon. Other versions of the moon cake may contain four egg yolks which represent the four phases of the moon.  They are typically about the size of the palm of your hand and can be very filling and are very high in calories. They are cut in quarter sections diagonally and are meant to be shared with family. In the past, it may have taken up to four weeks to make a moon cake but today, many prefer to buy them instead.

What gifts should I give?

Before the Moon Festival, it is customary for Chinese to give gifts to relatives, including at least one box of moon cakes per family. The moon cakes with the most yolks are considered to be the better, more expensive, and most presentable gifts in the south of China. For other parts of China there are hundreds of varieties with prices ranging from a few yuan to a few thousand yuan per box with other delicacies like wine, wine glasses and watches thrown in. Other gifts include food items such as meat and seasonal fruit.

Moon Festival in Australia

There are many countries that celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival around the world. Australia is one that embraces the tradition and every year over 600,000 Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese descendants celebrate. Moon cakes are sold at prominent places as well as Asian grocery stores. In Chinatowns, there are many celebrations in the weekends leading up to the Festival that include fireworks, dragon and lion dancing. Local businesses often sponsor celebrations that feature street markets, craft tables, and stages for traditional entertainment. In addition to the plentiful public celebrations, people also celebrate at home with smaller groups of family and friends where moon cakes and fruits are served.

Doing Business with China or Chinese People

If you are already building relationships or doing business in China or with Chinese people anywhere, don’t forget to acknowledge the Moon Festival. Your staff and business contacts and their families will appreciate your wishes. You can even give a traditional Moon Festival gift to honour the traditions, such as Moon Cakes. Some of our clients hold Moon Festival receptions for their clients and staff. We also translate Moon Festival greetings for clients into Chinese to show respect.  Just take care with those ice cream varieties, won’t you!