11/10/2026
China - 15 years on…
It’s been almost 15 years since I was last on mainland China.
Back then, we were fortunate to be involved in delivering showcase events for Air New Zealand in Beijing and Shanghai, followed a year later by site visits with Fonterra. I was lucky enough to visit Fonterra’s farms in China, explore some incredible event venues and get a glimpse into a country that already felt enormous, fascinating and full of opportunity.
Fast forward almost 15 years and, wow… what a change.
China has grown enormously. It feels more open, more accessible and, in my experience, incredibly friendly.
I remember being told off by the police at tiananmen square for taking a selfie all those years ago.
Today, everyone seems to be photographing, filming and sharing everything! 📸
I also happened to be here during Golden Week - a time when everyone told us “don’t go to China, the whole country is on holiday!”
Well… we went anyway.
We’ve travelled by plane, high-speed train, subway and countless DiDi rides, and honestly, we’ve never encountered the crowds you see posted all over social media.
China seems to have mastered the movement of enormous numbers of people with remarkable ease. At least, that’s certainly been our experience.
For me, though, one of the most rewarding parts of this trip has been reconnecting with the Chinese clients I worked with for so many years.
Before COVID, I was producing a large number of inbound Chinese events in New Zealand. Then, as expected, that market disappeared like everything else in our industry.
It’s been fantastic to reconnect socially with so many familiar faces, hear what they’re planning for the future and get a sense of where things are heading
We visited Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen
And now it’s time to head home and get ready for what is shaping up to be a very busy end to the year for us.
