Wal-Mart in Wuhu: A Student's Report
The city of Wuhu received further confirmation of its membership in the "China's fastest developing cities" club a few weeks ago with the opening of not one, but two massive shopping complexes with many more luxury apartments and shops to follow. One of these shopping complexes is a common name in America: Wal-Mart. Anyone who has kept up with the Chinese Economy has certainly read something about Wal-Mart's overwhelming presence and success in China.I could go on and on about my perspective on this globalizing trend in modern China, but I don't think anyone would actually care to read it. =P Instead, I've invited one of my students to share her own views.
If you've ever wondered what a typical yet thoughtful Chinese student has to say about the rapid change in China, here's your chance! The following is an assignment I had my Newspaper Students do in reflection of current events and editorial writing. Some of them have gotten really good at this newspaper writing style. I've copied it word for word to retain authenticity:
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"Wal-Mart: Welcome or Reject?
The largest retailer of the world - the Wal-Mart supermarket will open a new store in Wuhu soon. Mass medias in Wuhu all strive to be the first to report on this news. the citizens of Wuhu also have different opinions on this piece of news.
Those who in favor of the Wal-Mart argue that it can brings a lot of job opportunities to the local residents as well as a more vigorous economy. "The enter of such a competitive rival will play a huge role in Wuhu's retailing. May be it wlil become a propeller that push the city from the secondary edge to the forefront of China.", a local citizen said.
Those opposed to the new believe that the newly-opened supermarket may even break the peaceful life of this small city. Firstly, a chain of local retail shops will face a danger of going bankrupt as they can't maintain any advantages over such a powerful supermarket. "Definitely, it is a huge machine for reaping profit rather than a supermarket." another dweller said. "Wal-Mart enables to cut down the costs of the goods through all kinds of channels and sell the same articles at much lower prices but still succeed in earning a large sum of profit. You cannot image how many customers consuming i the market every day especially on weekends and holidays."
Some people also show their worriness on the probable attendant problems. As the Wal-Mart is able to provide everything needed at lower prices as well as human first services, residents of vicinities are willing to drive to the downtown for shopping. So the small city is likely to lose its calm and relaxation. In addition, more emissions discharged by more cars and the bad habits of some residents are likely to pollute the city.
In order to prepared for the challenge, the local supermarkets and some malls have newly arranged their layout such as the ShangZhiDu Mall, the ShiJiLianHua supermarket (Century-Mart) and the XinBai Mansion, etc. Nobody want to have the customers lots, customers are their lifeline.
Even though many people hold a rejection to the store, it seems an irriversable trend on the China's innovation on economy. Wuhu is an inland city that haven't opened enough. Without the violent competitions in commerce, some goods here are very expensive. A student in Anhui Normal University said, "I bought this Sony MP3 through the Internet since it is much cheaper. I have went to several malls here, the exact price of the same MP3 is 999 yuan, but through the Internet I just spend 799 yuan and the MP3 is mine." "
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So there ya have it... a bit of student reporting on latest big news in the humble, thriving city of Wuhu, Anhui.
posted by Unknown @ 9:40 PM
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