Did I mention this wonderful place called Dragon Mart?
It's the Made-in-China Central situated at the International City about half an hour's drive from Dubai. Always hard to find parking, always crowded. It's an oasis in this expansive (read: expensive) desert city for the cash strapped expat who thought his/her salary package is fab until he/she had to pay rent.
For some odd reason, the Cosco Warehouse sited right next to it features the neo-Medieval fortress aesthetic, whilst Dragon Mart itself takes design inspiration from .... (no points for correct answer) a dragon. It's essentially a long portal framed warehouse structure built to abstractly resemble a dragon. If this were in Hong Kong, some Feng Shui master would have been on TV explaining the mystical forces at play.
But, there are practical uses to the dragon iconography. When asking Chinese traders for directions, you'd usually get an answer like, "It's near the Dragon Head!" , or "Go toward the dragon tail, it's on the left..."
And inside, you'd really feel you are in China.
This is coming from someone who actually lived in China before. In fact, this place reminds me of Shenzhen. Shenzhen is a city on the south of China filled with the Chinese diaspora of the domestic kind. The majority of the population in Shenzhen is not local to the region. So in Shenzhen, it's normal to find business names featuring geographic locations from all over China, more so than other Chinese cities.
Dragon Mart has the same thing! Among the myriad of pinyin trade names, location specific names are apparently quite popular. E.g. Baoding Tianjia Trade Co, Wenzhou Jinliang Electrical, Qing Dao Electrical, Shandong Investments, Ningbo Trading, etc. etc. Or there are the China cliche ones like Golden Phoenix. My favourite is a store called Al Golden. Very fusion.
Of course, it's not just the trade names that lends the 'China' feel to me. It's the young store assistants sporting the latest in chinese hairstyles (there is a chinese barber shop nearby) idly playing with their mobile phones sitting on a stool outside their store, it's the rites of bargaining that frequently involve pretending to be from somewhere you are not, it's the sheer variety of products showcasing the sheer range of what can be made in China these days. I went in greeted by Hello Kitty, I went out staring at solar panels.
This is Chinatown of the contemporary kind. No longer a ghetto trying to retain the traditions of the old, but a salute to Deng Xiao Ping's free market reform, an immersive lesson in the China brand of socialism (aka "Capitalism" quoting me Chinese friend), and a bustling hub of international trade.
This Chinatown also has stores run by South Asians. The cafes that sprinkle the "dragon spine" are manned by Filipinos. Most of the shoppers are Arabic, and the rest would be a United Colours of Benetton mix of people from all over. According to a report in The National newspaper, people drive from Saudi Arabia and Oman to shop in Dragon Mart!
Well, not to mention the cash strapped Singaporean and her mates then :)
My friend wanted a bike rack for his hatchback. We found one, agreed on a price, and asked if we can return it if the rack did not fit. Usually, I'd expect a "yes" to this question, but the lady's answer surprised me.
We did not have to pay for the rack if we are unsure, we can try it out on his car without paying, and if it does not fit, bring it back. Now this is something new...
"Aren't you scared we'll just drive home with the rack?" I asked in Chinese.
"No" she replied.
Apparently her Arabic customers sometimes do not bring enough cash, so she lets them bring the goods home first, and deliver the cash to her later. Unless you are trading with someone you know very well, this will NEVER happen in China.
And this, is what I call Regionalization.
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