Beijing is full of hype. Receiving by far the most news coverage recently, it has seen new waves of foreign and Chinese professionals coming to find new opportunities? Of course with 2008’s Olympics there will be more media attention to this city. And yes, many internet companies will benefit from additional exposure. However, what about the smaller guys? Well, it ain’t the hype that matters!

In fact, what matters is the maturity of the market. First of all, Beijing is great, because it has enough tech infrastructure to expose people to internet and new businesses. But then why not cities like Shanghai - aren’t they more developed and in general accessible to foreign businesses? I think you will find the answer best by asking yourself “Why not Hong Kong.” These cities are too remote in their way of thinking from overall China. Shanghai may be the central hub to China, but it’s definitely not China when it comes to marketing. I remember while working at a Silicon Valley company, we had a woman from Shanghai; every time you jokingly called her a “Chinese girl”, she would get angry and remind you that she is “Shanghais.” Simply put: Shanghai has a “different” language, different culture, and thus a different market (putting money aside).

Beijing, on the other hand, for years was stuck in its bureaucratic standstill, and thus managed to preserve its proximity to China. Don’t be fooled however, a few years was quite enough for Beijing to grow into a metropolitan city like no other. And unlike in other countries, here it doesn’t take 5 years for a 50 year old street vendor to learn how to play video games – they already know, they just don’t have the PC.

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Filed under: China Market