Backpack Journey 2007 - What does Made in China mean to you?
China, Travel August 25th, 2007 
Recently, “Made in China“ is the hottest news. Many made-in-china products such as toys, medicine, foods import to USA are causing some huge troubles. Few days ago, I met two travelers from other countries. They asked my opinions about products made in China. They thought “Made in China” means crap. “Made in China” sucks. I have nothing to say.
“Made in China“ used to link cheap and quality together. Now, people hated products made in China. It’s an ugly fact that some made in China products are really damaging the reputation of “Made in China“ symbol. However, I believe China government is trying their best to recover from the damage. This makes me believe that “Quality control” is one of the most important tasks in manufacture business.
I do find something interesting while I travel in Guangzhou.
I went to a place where many manufacture display their products in showrooms. I found one thing very interesting and caught my eyes. The elevator doesn’t have the number buttons. So you can not control which floor the elevator is going. There are only three buttons and once small screen in the elevator. Two open door and close buttons. One emergency stop button and one screen show you the floor you are at.
In the lobby, there is a number panel on the wall. It controls 8 elevators. The visitor will need to punch the floor they want to go on the panel on the wall in the lobby. The LED screen will then display which elevator the visitor should take. In my case, I am going to floor 27th. It shows me that elevator C is the right one. When C is full, it will direct visitor to the other elevators which is available. What a great ways to control the elevators. I have never seen that kind of elevator before. It’s very good idea and it’s made in China. In this case, “Made in China” rocks!
Well. If you are frequent traveler in China, You will agree with me on this. The hotel rating system in China is the worst things for traveler. As a backpack traveler, I like to stay in clean and cheap hotel. I try not to stay in hostel. The quality of hostel is usually really bad. In most of case, I find three stars hotel. However, many three stars rated hotel have very good and fancy decorated lobby and sweet lady at the registration desk. Well. The room is so bad and so dirty, which is not even worth to stay.
One thing interested me in the nice three stars hotel I stay is the guest book. In the US, the hotel will provide you a guest guide book, which shows you the room services and some information about the city and hotel. When I open the guest book, I saw a list of items and their cost in RMB. And nothing else. There is no room service at all. The list is telling you how much you have to pay to the hotel, if any of the items are missing. If you can read Chinese, you can see the list in the attached photos. I will give you some example, which make no sense and make me laugh so hard.
The first one on the left is the color TV, which costs $1600 RMB. The second one is air condition, which costs $2000 RMB. The last one is shower room which cost $1500 RMB. Yes. Shower Room! My question is this. What in the world that people steal or damage the shower room? Believe me! It happened! The shower room is in Chinese size. If you have football player, you can easily break the shower room door. I can hardly turn around in the shower room.
Also, you can find that the seat of the toilet is usually smaller than the toilet. So when you sit on the toilet, you are sitting on the rim of the toilet. You feel cold. I guess they are trying to save money. Again. It’s make in China.
My advice to all travelers in China is this. You should always look at the room before checking in. In China, you have the right to check the room first. If you don’t like it you can check other available room before pick the one you want to stay.
What does made in China means to you?
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30 Responses to “Backpack Journey 2007 - What does Made in China mean to you?”
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August 25th, 2007 at 3:37 pm
Made in China, been on the news far too much.
Everything or almost everything is made in china or had parts made in china.
It’s cheaper!
I don’t like it when people would complain that everything in china sucks, then tell the big business not to use them for blah blah sakes! Though I hope that China would really take this seriously and targer the groups, business or people who’s trying to earn a extra few bucks over the safety of whatever.
When look into it, im sure theres other parts of the world who does have bad products, just that China produce more stuff and got the bigger bad news of it all.
August 25th, 2007 at 7:22 pm
Terence,
I have seen that type of Lift system in Singapore government buildings and also elsewhere outside Singapore. I believe it is not a China product.
August 26th, 2007 at 5:40 am
Terence, I really scare when buy made in china product. Recently my friend introduce me a pda that make in china,(I not even heard the brand before), but it’s definately cheap!!!! Around 100 usd per pda. But the problem is, if the pda spoilt, that I don’t have any warranty! Should I buy this (the price is so attractive!), or I skip this offer (no warranty)?
But the product nowaday mostly made in china, even dell,lenovo,acer,ipod,nike all made in china. So it’s total a common product for us nowaday (cheap). But the QC really sux for china product(for non branded product).
Sometime I really scare to travel to china, but next year I will going there, do you have any recommended hotel? I will follow up my comment here and hope to hear from you.
August 27th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
@iva:
While I am traveling in China. I have met many manufacture. They are all aware the problems of using some bad material to make product. I believe that all these will changes pretty soon.
@Jym:
Thank you for telling me about the elevator system. I believe the company of the elevator is from Australia and the elevator is actually made in China.
@Blogging Secret:
Not to much worry about the hotel. I am backpacking in China. If you are not a luxury traveler, you can find nice place to stay.
You are right, QC is not very good controlled in the manufacture. I believe it will be improved.
Thank you all for stopping by!
August 27th, 2007 at 9:33 pm
Another problem which isn’t mentioned as often is that of the documentation that comes with some of the things made in China. When a business outsources to China, and creates their own English manual or documentation, it’s okay. But, when some goods are imported and the documentation is done in China, it is frequently (from what I’ve seen) a very bad translation. Sometimes, the translation is so poor that it’s not worth even including.
I guess that could be considered a quality control issue. I sometimes wonder if they are using human translators or computer software to do the translations. Because it is difficult to believe that someone with even a basic understanding of English would be able to mistranslate some things so badly. With computer translations, on the other hand, mangled translations go with the territory.
August 27th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
You always hear people say that products made in china are bad,but so many U.S busineses are having thier products made there it is a hige joke.
August 28th, 2007 at 5:36 am
@dcr:
That’s right. I usually don’t read manual in Chinese. I guess that is also one reason that people don’t like to outsource to China. As far as I can see, Chinese starts force people to learn English. I guess they will make batter manual soon.
@Glen:
The shirts we are wearing are pretty much from China. I just hope they improve the quality. There are other countries providing cheaper labor. Made in China could be gone in few years.
September 1st, 2007 at 3:43 am
Hey Terrence! I haven’t checked in because I assumed you weren’t updating while on vacation. Then I saw you sent me a comment so I thought I’d check and make sure… I’ve got a lot of catching up to do!
I hope you are enjoying your vacation. Can’t wait to dive into more of these posts!
September 1st, 2007 at 1:35 pm
Hey Terence, since you are in Guangzhou, will you be visiting the 102nd Canton Fair 2007, dates Oct.15th -20th 2007 and Oct.25th-30th 2007? More info on my blog.
September 2nd, 2007 at 1:13 am
@Bryan:
I can see you have been very busy reaching your goal. I totally believe in you that you can reach your goal sooner than we all expect. Good job!
I wish you the best. You will be the number one motivator to others like you.
September 2nd, 2007 at 1:15 am
@JennyHow:
I don’t plan to attend the trade show. It doesn’t help me to get what I want. I am focusing on one of the product catalog for now. It’s always a good idea to see what the manufacture really provides before deal with them.
Thank you for your information.
September 4th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
In my niche, made in China generally means a lot more product for less money. There is an awful lot of European and American designed audiophile gear being produced in China, and a lot of it is quite good. There are some strictly Chinese lines that are good as well.
September 5th, 2007 at 3:04 am
I just know made in China product’s quality is very bad in my mind. All the product made from China usually can’t last long. So if you call me do purchase any expensive good from that country, I don’t do so…
September 5th, 2007 at 9:16 am
chinise products suck. I have never been to china and dont plan to go. If i could i would boycott all chinese made products but most of our manufacturing in america has been lost to china. stupid big buisness is wrecking our economy. I remember when the only time you could finthings made in china were in a chinese restaurant or a dollar discount store. those days are gone, unfortunately. But most made in china products are still of cheap quality, with safety standards ignored and corners cut in production.
September 5th, 2007 at 9:53 am
Marantz, Von Schweikert, ERA, LSA, Nuforce, Onix, Swan. Dana, Mordaunt Short, Mission, Tannoy, Wharfedale, Quad, Aurum Cantus, Usher, and many more all feature product made in China. For some of the manufacturers, only entry level lines are produced in China, with the middle and high end produced in Europe or America. Some manufacturers have completely relocated to China, like Quad and Wharfedale.
If you would rather own a pair of Klipschs instead of Quads, just because they are made in America, then be my guest. I’m sure everyone is quite impressed with your willingness to live with inferior hardware in support of western workers.
This sort of competition is good, because it forces western manufacturers to offer better product for less money. Remember the 80s when US auto manufacturers hadn’t caught on yet? They opened the door for Japanese and European makers to come in and take the market away from them. They finally got it, and quality of American autos improved. This benefits all consumers.
September 5th, 2007 at 6:36 pm
Terence, great advice about checking the hotel room first. It’s very common to do that here, so the hotel doesn’t mind people asking.
One thing, for both issues, is that it’s very important for things to look good here in China - even if the quality isn’t that great. So you get hotels that look great, but aren’t and you get product that looks good to Western companies buying it, but has problems when it arrives. What you see and what you get are two different things…
That’s not to say that there are not good quality products made here in China - there are plenty - but you have to check really carefully.
It’s built into the culture to try to downplay any problems and make the customer feel like everything’s okay. In some cases people may be trying to cheat you, but most of the time it’s part of Chinese hospitality - trying to make you comfortable! Of course western businesses don’t want that - they want the facts, warts and all.
Another problem with Chinese products, is the endless outsourcing. A company will promise to deliver something, but they can’t make all of it, so they outsource it to someone else, who outsources part of it to someone else and so on. It’s very hard to control quality when this happens.
Once again, this is part of the culture. On a personal level, if you go to a shop and they don’t have the right shoe size, they often go running off to a different shop to get the right size for you! Great for the individual shopper bad for companies buying product in bulk.
Let me finish by saying there are many many great things about China that most people in west don’t realise, so I don’t like people just picking up on the negative things.
Anyway, that’s my two cents. I’m no expert on this.
September 6th, 2007 at 3:27 am
@mlankton:
That’s right. Not all “Made In China” products are bad. There are over millions items made in China every days. Many more company out source manufacture to China because the cheap labor. China is the largest manufacture countries in the world. Many other small countries have the same issues. China do need to do better job if they want to be the largest in the world for the next 10 years.
@Louiss:
Talking about the life time of a product, made in Japan automobile and electronic products will last longer than anyone other products made in any other countries. When you are so big, you are very easy being targeted and criticized. However, I hate to say that many of the made-in-china products I use are not good enough.
@Jon:
It’s funny to hear how your say that words “Suck!” I don’t blame on you. I have bad experience with made-in-china products as well. I kind of getting used to the quality of their products. However, I have learned how to pick the better one. The same product for the same brand could be made in different provinces with different quality control. So you might just get the bad one.
September 7th, 2007 at 1:50 am
@Stephen:
You’ve made few very good points. Endless outsourcing, they try to give you a great first impression, and what you see might not be what you get, etc.
Overall, knowing the negative facts about doing business in China is a good thing for foreign business to understand how Chinese acts and know how to protect their business. I have learned a lot in the past few weeks. I believe I can survive in this huge market.
September 17th, 2007 at 11:18 am
[…] on her face. “See Aunty! Tings make in China not good” Dubli again. My fellow Blogger Terence Chang has decided not to make any such judgment. I wonder what he would say to […]
October 3rd, 2007 at 8:48 am
[…] After two months travel between Hong Kong and China, I am finally back to my home in the USA. It’s great to sleep on my own bed. Now, I just need to focus on my online business. I should be back on my schedule of blogging. In the past few days, I have posted some topic related to “Made in China” and “Make money Online.” […]
October 11th, 2007 at 11:44 am
Chinese products totally suck! I was so frustrated once that I wrote an essay on it for my blog. Take a look here if you want to read it…
http://estrellaeguino.blogspot.com/2007/01/dont-be-fooled-by-trade-shows-chinese.html
October 11th, 2007 at 12:43 pm
@Estrella Eguino:
Not all Made in China products suck. I have to admit that many of them are made with really bad quality. As a Chinese, I felt shame on ourselves sometimes. I hate to use some made in China products, because they do suck. As I said in my post, Chinese manufacture don’t pay too much attention on quality control. However, products made in Taiwan and Hong Kong are much better. There were many products made in Taiwan ranked number one in the world 20 years ago.
The fact is that American company try to save cost and make more profit on selling made in China products. It’s all about business operation. It’s the same things that American company out source to India for software development. Does software run well?
I do have some bad experience with made in USA products as well. So there is no doubt that China make more products than any other countries. The chance is that there are more bad items from China.
Thank you for stopping by!
November 12th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
Mostly it means crap. There’s a few companies (like say, Logitech) who seem to be able to produce acceptable goods, but mostly if I have a choice between two comparable items, I’ll always buy the one made somewhere else.
November 12th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
@Jimbo:
Logitech makes good products? Not 100%. Most of their products are still made in China. Made in China products does need be improved and need much more quality control. However, does made in USA automobile better? If you look at the new car parts made in China. Many of them are much better and much more durable than the same one made in USA.
A crap product does means all products are crap. There is no doubt that products that are made in countries other than in USA should be improved. However, made in USA doesn’t means better quality. Especially the technique used to produce plastic products for automobile. China has better technology with lower cost.
Thank you for visiting.
November 13th, 2007 at 9:52 am
Well actually, Logitech was my point, their stuff (made in China) IS generally reliable. Unfortunately, a lot of other stuff isn’t, or is counterfeit, thus tarring everyone’s reputation (eg: pet food scandal).
And no, Made in USA doesn’t always mean better, the corporate executives have seen to that, but they’re very quick to collect their corporate bonuses.
Everyone has quality issues, even Honda (2007 CR-V with an oil leak from the rear mail seal at less than 100mi, Japanese made, known issue).
Instances such as those listed on the following site are an indicator of some sort of greater endemic issue oveall though:
http://www.who-sucks.com/business/made-in-china-2007-danger-timeline
If manufacturers and govenment can get their act together and clean things up, it will be an improvement for everyone involved.
November 13th, 2007 at 10:56 am
@Jimbo:
Thank you for sharing the link. That’s an interesting list. Yes. Japan made products don’t mean a good quality too. I also have problem with my Honda Accord.
I think my points is that we don’t stop driving American car because they are not as good as Japanese car. It’s the same thing to Made in China products. We need to choose the good one. I hate made in China umbrella. It’s only good for once time use.
However, it won’t stop me using made in China product. I will probably check out that site and see what stuff are still not listed. 
thanks!
June 29th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
I bought a mini-bike from a company out of china. It broke after 2 months. Every piece of metal and plastic snapped and it basically self destructed. A 3mm piece of metal that had a 4 ounce load snapped under its weight from the vibrations. Chinese products suck. Also, LOOK UP CRASH TESTS ON CHINESE CARS ON YOUTUBE!!!
June 29th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
@Sam:
I am sure there are many poorly made products in China. Like I said in my other posts, the quality control in Chinese manufactures are not good enough. However, the same thing happened in the USA and many other countries. I am hoping to see a better quality control in the near future. Thank you for visiting and sharing your experience! Sorry to hear that you were having issues with the product you purchased!
September 8th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Made in China only means one thing to me…..higher gas prices! The United States buys more items then any other nation in the world. We are fueling China’s economy. Hence, China is in demand for more oil because we keep buying and buying. And because of this oil keeps going up. Quit buying from China and then watch what happens to the price of oil and China’s economy. Vicious circle.
I for one has requested information on where the products are made before buying, even over the internet. All Americans should try NOT buying China products. for one year and see what happens.
Thebum
September 8th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
@Thebum:
Thank you for stopping by. Unfortunately, you are wrong. US is not the only countries buying goods from China. China is not the only sources of goods for US. US buy goods from India, Japan, Korea and South Africa. If you just want to express your concern about gas price and blame on China, you are totally wrong. I guess you have never been to China, so you have no idea why exactly China need a lot of oil.
If you want to ask people not buying goods from China in order to reduce the gas price, why not ask everyone in the US not to buy from other countries as well? You should just buy anything that is Made in USA. You should also ask the President candidates to produce oil in just USA. I guess that you won’t be able to watch TV, get on Internet, brush your teeth and do a lot of other things. You will end up pay a lot more than you can afford.
Goods made in China are not all bad. Blame on those US corporations which out source to China, India and third world countries. Business is business. Stop buying good from China or any other countries will not crash the country’s economy. If you don’t buy from China, other countries will do. It may hurt the country a little, but they will move on.