Commentary: Auto China 2008

China is a country that's been trading its bicycles for a more modern mode of transport: the car. And while modernization as a whole can be viewed as a good thing, the alarming rate of growth can also be a severe drawback. Our recent trip to Beijing for Auto China 2008 is case in point.

Hosted in the new International Exhibition Center - which appeared to be still under construction - the only access to the venue was by taxi or private car. There are simply no subway or bus alternatives for the moment. Beijing is currently building four new train lines (to complement its existing five), but this year everyone was stuck in gridlocked traffic, causing our 45 minute journey to take more than two hours to complete. And most of our time was spent sitting in the back of a taxi driven by a pleasant Chinese lady who didn't speak any English. I'm not implying she should have; our Mandarin language skills are far from proficient. We would've settled with her knowing where the new venue was rather than indicating we had arrived when we clearly hadn't.

Though Auto China is billed as an International show, when we arrived it was still virtually impossible to find an official that spoke English, even on the information stand. And since no press tickets had been sent out following initial registration, on-site registration was chaos. This was further compounded by a leaky roof in the small construction shack spilling rain onto the computers.

When we'd finally been given our press credentials and navigated the mud and rain-soaked red carpet blocking the drains, we entered the venue and were met by metal detectors and a technologically-advanced press pass screening turnstile. The only problem was that the people responsible for the security screening were oblivious, making the devices totally ineffective and unnecessary. We once left through a side exit without scanning the pass through this device and were told we could not re-enter the show, despite having valid credentials in hand.

On the show floor we were shocked at the general state of disorganization and lack of hospitality. There were no drinks or lunch on offer, only a small water cooler near one of the side exits with a thin girl handing out paper cups. Then came the lack of toilets: there were just three for whole eight hall show! Even the roughest of pop festivals are better than that.

Though the show has been taking place in Beijing for a decade now, we found that most manufacturers had no press material available, let alone in English. And the manufacturers clearly have a lot to learn when it comes to the show stands. The countless dark colored show cars stuck closely together on inadequately spaced stands with poor lighting was abhorrent, leaving little space to maneuver and making photographing a chore. Many automakers would not provide access to the vehicle interiors either.

The Chinese seem to want to replicate the Italians with female and male models acting as 'eye-candy', glued to the vehicles. This rivals Italian automakers' stands at Western shows and also makes taking photos of the cars tricky. And why is it that the concept cars seem to be taking a back seat to the manufacturer's production vehicles?

If you made it through the day without a headache caused by the cacophony of loud music being hurtled from the various show stands, and managed to get through the numerous non-press individuals and children meandering within the halls, there was seemingly no system in place to provide transport upon leaving. The lack of taxi stands and public transport meant having to navigate the congested streets looking for a ride back to the hotel. The empty available taxis don't seem to pick up foreigners for fear of not being able to understand the destination request. We eventually found one, but not before getting soaked in the torrential downpour and mud caked onto our shoes from the unfinished sidewalks.

Other Asian motor shows such as Seoul and Tokyo are thankfully not like this. But what does this say for the influx of people heading to the capital of the People's Republic this summer? It certainly doesn't bode well for the Olympics...

Related Articles:
2008 Beijing Motor Show Highlights
Photo Gallery: 2008 Beijing Motor Show

By Eric Gallina