Spa Canada Magazine

Shanghai—the tip of the iceberg!

Shanghai—the tip of the iceberg!
By Danne Montague-King Copyright November 2009

I was asked to be a keynote speaker at the beauty Exhibition this November and our Chinese Agency in Beijing stressed that this was an important and pivotal exhibition, due to the general feeling in China that where Shanghai goes, so goes the nation!
I was totally unprepared for the levels of organization put behind this exhibition when I arrived. The pomp and circumstance of the opening ceremony alone rivaled any major rock star concert held on the planet.  I had to make a five minute speech on an huge and elaborate open air stage in front of thousands of people, many of whom were the general public walking around downtown Shanghai—a unique way of promotion that I have always approved of—after all, the professionals and the public are going to interact at some point anyway—why not put them all together at exhibitions at some point? (Private lectures available only to professionals of course)
Imagine being escorted down a pathway lined on one side with dozens of men in native costumes beating on drums and playing stringed instruments at top volume—and on the other side, dozens of beautiful girls in cheer leader outfits waving pom poms and cheering and a lineup of tall, professional models in the classical high necked, long silk gown with the slit up the side, all in red and gold with dragon embroidery! At the same time, someone is barking slogans into a loudspeaker after which the crowd would chant and repeat the slogans and then burst into applause. And there you are, knowing about 3 sentences in Chinese, not having a clue to where they are taking you, then being sat with a lineup of VIP’s until you are thrust up on a stage with your interpreter facing a suddenly deathly still audience waiting to hear your “inspirational” speech!



That is what I went thru—and I did not have a clue what I was going to say to all of these people who appeared to know who I was somehow. All I could think of was how  big the Hong Kong Cosmoprof Exhibition was every year with hundreds of western and European visitors coming in—and Hong Kong to me, over a 40 year period, had long ceased to be really Asian and was more like New York City.
I did not see one western face in the crowd before me, yet the ceremony was so full of excitement, over-the-top presentation and passion that I said it was my hope that the Shanghai Exhibitions would grow much bigger than Hong Kong so the entire world could experience what a wonderful and multi-cultural city Shanghai really is!
Well I must have said all the right things—because I was ushered into the private office of the organizer of the entire exhibition, Chairman Li that afternoon.
Chairman Li is a youngish man with the energy of a Jack Russell Terrier. He is a master of the “multi-task” answering cells phones, giving orders to staff members, glad handing clients, putting out fires that are always part of big events and handling a dozen other things at the same time while still being able to look at you in the eye and make you feel  you have his full attention. I admired his classic Chinese black suit—he said he would give me one— and I told him I meant what I said on the stage and would use any and all of my journalistic privileges’ to help promote his Exhibition to the rest of the world. He had a journalist in the room in five minutes- taking photos and interviewing me. I became exhausted just watching this tornado of a man. And all the while he kept smiling and smiling—his eyes sparkling with intelligence and humor. Quite unlike the tense and often cranky people behind the scenes at other exhibitions I have attended.



I must have said FURTHER things that were right, because suddenly I was invited to participate in ALL the ceremonial activities and an entourage of China’s best educators were presented to me—the people who appear to run everything in the professional arena, (all of whom attended my lecture the next day)
Chairman Lee has the right idea and the right vision—but so far the exhibition itself though huge, is a mix and match of stands offering items like candy and fruit to make up, machines, TCM items and a bit of this and that modeled after Western products but made in China. There was very little Western influence there—which is a shame inasmuch as the floor of the exhibition (both floors) were packed like sardines every day—the attendance was overwhelming. There is conspicuous consumption going on all over Shanghai, despite world economy. Every store packed with people buying, every restaurant and bar over filled and people dancing in the streets to local orchestras’ playing 1940’s dance music. Any European company or American Company booking exhibition space would do enormous business! Of course there are the major hurdles of the Chinese Government to overcome, to get all products etc, registered for import into the country—it IS a massive headache (as I well know) but worth the time trouble and expense.
I was especially proud of   Mr. Bourne Shi, our Distributor in China—his stand was a miracle of nearly space age technology and design—assisted by our Australian marketing company, mark8. Somehow Shi managed to convey airy and vast, flow thru space with his stand—focusing on education rather than commercial sales and sophisticated prestige at the same time. The DMK staff, all in their carefully tailored uniforms, were especially wonderful—each one committed and dedicated (and passionate) about furthering aesthetic education in their country. Many of them have been with us since their late teens and early 20’s, some coming from far off provinces to Beijing looking for work and advancement in their lives. Several worked nearly 24/7 for very little pay while they focused on educating themselves in the sciences, including anatomy, physiology, chemistry and histology—all the requirements to be a REAL advanced skin practitioner. I find this quite common in China—which is why their infrastructure is getting stronger and stronger.
Possibly do to the fact that nearly anything can be made cheaper in China (and their standards’ are getting much higher) Spas are getting more and more popular. Spas are natural to Chinese society anyway, in Beijing for example, nearly all middle to upper class business people meet friends at “clubs” where they have massage, herbal drinks, various methods of Traditional Chinese Medicine treatments, dinner and relaxing while socializing with friends. Some even become so relaxed they stay overnight! I have been to massive, marbled floor spas with acres of treatment rooms, salons for the ladies who want their hair done after treatments, special areas for men, huge amounts of employees who stand at attention at the door and several spas with plastic surgeons ON the premises with fully equipped operating theatres.
This does not mean that every type of treatment is effective; many are pale copies of European  Treatments where the owner of the establishment went to England or Germany and took a short course or two without any real conceptual understanding. But this is why providing education in China is so fulfilling—they Chinese are quick learners, willing to study 24/7 and have a great deal of equipment, accessories and  staff potential at their disposal at a fraction of what it would all cost here. Like the Shanghai Exhibition, they put a lot of emphasis on presentation and “face”. But behind the “face” has to be real substance and long term benefits to the clients. In a world where the internet shows everything to e everybody, the Chinese are becoming more aware of what works and what does not. This is where The Best of the West Comes in—and challenges that is well worth the effort to overcome.
In wrapping up the Shanghai experience to me, to have such a wonderful stand and team representing DMK International was more about setting standards rather than making money Shanghai, being an extremely modern melting pot of a city with all of its cross cultures, eclectic architecture and European flair is a city that could host an exhibition that would be the template of ALL exhibitions in Asia—move over Hong Kong!