Shanghai, China Fall 2005

GFG Conference heads to the Orient…

Shanghai Conference News
SHANGHAI, CHINA – FALL 2005

 

 

Shanghai, the modern face of China, welcomed the GFG…

GFG Secretary Rachel Marchant reports on events at the Shanghai conference, 23rd – 26th October 2005.

The Radisson, with its impressively spacious marble foyer, was the setting for the Fall 2005 GFG conference. Set in its own beautiful gardens – quite a luxury in highly populated Shanghai – the Radisson provided a peaceful setting for the group’s events. In the evenings guests were serenaded with live music as two ladies performed duets with their harp and flute.

The Directors held their meeting on Sunday 23rd October in the perfectly suited Board Room, welcoming new members, ACSA Srl of Argentina. Jorge Benitez and Alejandro Castagnolo represented ACSA Srl.

The GFG Board of Directors meet ACSA

Cocktails and catching up…

The members circulated literally and metaphorically in the Radisson’s beautiful cocktail lounge. The circular layout with stylish flooring and pillars offered a wonderful setting for members to catch up with each other and enjoy drinks and canapes.

General Assembly and Sales Meetings…

The General Assembly was the opportunity to update members on group developments and news. The main item was the approval and introduction of Expulsion Criteria to enable the group to maintain only quality members by the expulsion of any member who did not meet certain agreed criteria.

The original criteria were as follows but they will be modified to ensure that each point is quantified and measurable.

If a member practices unethical behaviour and / or violates two or more criteria, the Board shall have the right to expel that member.

1.Unethical behaviour as deemed by the BOD
2.Monetary – repeated delays / non-payment
3.Non attendance at mandatory meetings outside the rules of the GFG
4.Communications / service failure issues resulting in formal complaints from 5 or more members
5.Soliciting business outside own territory

Any violation will result in the right for the BOD to put that member forward for a vote of expulsion at the General Assembly.

Further to this matter, a presentation was given by Corinne Dalloz of Thales Geodis Freight & Logistics (France) to illustrate the full scope of Thales’ developments and services.

Several new members, attending their first conference gave introductions to their companies. They were:

a.Alejandro Castagnolo and Jorge Benitez of ACSA Srl in Argentina.
b.Faiz Khan of Cargo Plan (BD) Pvt Ltd in Bangladesh.
c.Newton Saldaña of Continental Global Cargo SAC in Peru.
d.Richard Ming of World Air & Ocean Services Inc., in San Francisco, USA

The voting matters rounded up the General Assembly. These included the re-election of both the President, Marina Marzani, and the Treasurer, Richard Cope, the introduction of two new Directors: Romas Krilavicius of Rutherford International, Canada and Nita Palhota of ATS (Angola), Angola and membership advancements for InfraNordic Shipping & Forwarding AB, Sweden and World Air & Ocean Services, Inc, San Francisco.

Sales Meetings aplenty…

With a record attendance of members and over 700 individual sales meetings scheduled, the Monday afternoon and all day Tuesday were taken up with the all-important face-to-face meetings.

As is customary for the Global Freight Group, members wore the conference shirt, this time of Chinese style, creating a sea of red and black.

 

Closing Dinner with a river view…

The Closing Dinner on Tuesday night was held in the private function room of the Oriental Riverside Hotel. This hotel is located within the Shanghai International Convention Centre – quite a landmark in downtown Shanghai, with its two huge world globes on either end of the building. One of these globes was the location for the GFG’s closing dinner – its wall of windows presenting members with fantastic views over the Pudong River towards the brightly lit buildings on the famous Bund. As strikingly illuminated boats passed by on the river, the GFG members were treated to a display of Chinese talent during pre-dinner drinks – the awesomely flexible acrobats, musicians with their unique Chinese instruments and a very cheerful magician.

The world globe on the end of Shanghai’s International Convention Centre, visible by its white pillars, was the location for the Global Freight Group’s Closing Dinner		Views over the Pudong river towards the Bund and its stunning old buildings

After dinner the President, Marina Marzani, thanked PK Ki and the Helka team for their hard work and commitment in hosting the conference. Marina then presented awards for Operator of the Year and her own President’s Award.

The Operator of the Year was won by Berry Lee and the certificate and check were accepted on her behalf by Tony Haddad, owner of Space Link Transportation which employs Berry. Tony is quite familiar with collecting awards on behalf of his staff because Berry Lee and Ellen Su have won before. Congratulations to Berry.    The President’s Award was awarded to ARI Miami and proudly accepted by Joshua Paul. ARI Miami joined the GFG in 2000 and have built up good business with a large majority of the GFG members.

GFG Golfers…

There were two leisure options for Wednesday after the conference and one of those was playing golf.

The GFG golf group sampled the greens and fairways of Shanghai.

GFG Culture Club…

The second leisure option was taken up by a 34-strong crowd of culture hungry GFG members who climbed on board the Shanghai Day Trip.
Before lunch, the tour took in the famous Oriental Pearl TV Tower, the Jade Buddha Temple, with its hundreds of red prayer ribbons fluttering like butterflies amongst the branches of the trees lining the pathways.

After lunch in Shanghai’s old town, the afternoon tour included Yuyuan Garden, with its Dragon Wall, People’s Square, the Bund and Nanjing Road.         The members enjoyed a mix of culture and shopping, heading home with tired feet but minds full of memories of Shanghai.

 

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 Xi’an and Beijing Trip

The intrepid GFG exploration team set off from the Radisson to start their 6-day trip to visit two of the most globally known ‘must-see-in-your-life-time’ sights – the Great Wall of China and the Terracota Army.

Accompanied by PK Ki, owner of the conference host company, Helka Express International, the group started their trip by flying to Xi’an. On arrival they enjoyed visits to the Medieval City Wall of Xi’an and experienced the mad driving in central Xi’an on their way to a traditional dumpling dinner.

The following morning saw an excited group gathering in preparaton to visit the Terracotta Warriors and Horses. The drive to the site through the countryside set the scene in that the warriors were discovered by farmers simply working in their fields. That morning one of the founding farmers was present, signing copies of the official book. After obtaining the prized signed books and watching the information film, members set off to see the actual warriors.

Nothing can prepare visitors for the sheer enormity of the discovery and its restoration. Row upon row, column upon column of life-size warriors await – some restored, others lying in piles of broken pieces, some still buried deep in the ground. The excavations and renovations continue today – possibly the world’s biggest and most difficult jigsaw.

The GFG team, suitably impressed and over-awed by the spectacle, continued onwards to the Huaqing Hot Spring within a beautiful park where the trees, flowers, lakes and beautiful temples and buildings offered a serene respite from the busy traffic and haggling out on the streets.

Following the hot springs, the members moved on to view the historical relics laid out at Ban Po Neolithic Village Museum, which offered an insight into the life and culture of the times.

That evening members appreciated modern China’s vibrant colours and energy with a trip to the Chinese Ballet.

On Saturday the members visited the famous 1000-year-old Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Set in laid out gardens, the Pagoda is used on a daily basis with many Chinese visitors burning incense and offering prayers.

Next came the intriguingly named Stele Forest, a museum of stone tablets, engraved with the entire works of Confuscius, drawing to an end the Xi’an portion of the holiday.

After a flight to Beijing and a night’s rest, the following day started with a visit to the Jade Store, followed by a visit to the Dingling Mausoleum. However, this was only the build up to Bejing’s main attraction – the Great Wall of China. The winding approach enabled full apreciation of the huge task of building this vast wall in such mountainous terrain.

GFG Great Wall Team

Before setting off we assembled the ‘Great Wall GFG Team’ for a photo and then members set off at their own pace, going as far as they wished or felt able.

The Great Wall follows the contours of the mountain ridges and, with some parts being incredibly steep to simply walk, one could only imagine the task of actually building the wall.

The views from the wall were quite incredible, with the mountain range stretching away on all sides, with peaks rising and falling and finally disappearing into the hazy distance.   The numerous offshoots of pale-stoned wall caught the sunshine, glinting like spiderwebs across the landscape. That evening the Beijing Duck Dinner restored the calories expended during the day, leaving everyone with sticky fingers and full stomachs.

Monday morning offered another wonderfully sunny day for a walk through Bejing’s main park where many Chinese enjoy the great outdoors, joining in activities such as Tango dancing, card games, musical performances, tai chi, ribbon dancing, and other social exercise and past-times.

Next was a visit to the Forbidden City with its beautiful architecture. On the way the vastness of Tian An Men Square contrasted greatly with the busy streets. Then followed a tour of the Temple of Heaven with its spacious courtyards, stunning marble staircases, brass sculptures, ornate buildings and colourful painted rooftops. Later that evening members were treated to an incredible display of skill, training and strength at the Acrobatics Show. Tuesday saw members visiting the Lama Temple and the Hu Tongs (backstreets) of Beijing, followed by some free time for shopping. Although only a six day tour, the days had been packed with contrasts and interesting sights and the members had wonderful experiences to treasure.

As the various international flights whisked members off to their homelands, the Great Wall still stood and the Warriors still waited…life goes on.

 

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