Out There

If you suffer from Mondayitis or Thursdayitis then you should read Out There - Out There is a cartoon by George and just could be the laugh you're looking for each week.

 

Post by: Mercier

Paid Leave or Bonus

We do have some paid leaves.

 

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But when boss ask me to choose between holiday or bonus

 

I choosed the later one.

Paid Leave entitlement in China

I returned from my Maternity Leave on 3rd Nov after having commenced on the 1st July. Today I read an article named Paid Leave Comparisons and realized that different countries have different policies on Paid Leave. Here, I am very glad to share our China’s Policy on Paid Leave.

We have 6 Paid Leave entitlements in total, they are:

1. Family Visiting Leave (For those employees who living in different city to their parents or spouse).
Note: Only for those employees who worked in the same company for at least one year
a) Visiting spouse: 30 days each year but can only be taken once no matter what length of time is taken up to 30 days.
b) Unmarried employees to see parents: 20 days each year but can only be taken once no matter what length of time is taken up to 20 days.
c) Married employees to see parents: 20 days each four years but can only be taken once no matter what length of time is taken up to 20 days. (For those employees who worked already three years in the same company)

2. Marriage Leave: 3 days
Note: If male is older than 25 male and female is older than 23, 12 days extra is applicable.

3. Bereavement Leave: 3 days
Note: The relatives must be your direct relatives, parents or parents in law.

4. Annual Holiday: 5 to 10 days
a) 10 years less working in one company: 5 days
b) more than 10 yeas working in one company: 10 days

5. Maternity Leave:90 days
a) Dystocia:15 days more
b) Multiple births: 15 days extra for each birth
c) Birth after 24 yeas old, 14 days extra.
d) Have One Child Certificate, 20 days extra.

6. Breastfeed Leave: one hour one day until the child is one year old

Is Understanding one another more important than accepting each other?

The discussion about teamwork in the office reminded me of a popular saying in China, Li Jie Wan Sui (理解万岁), which means “Halo to understanding one another”. The young generations are yelling for understanding them more than any other groups of people in China. I believe that understanding one another is important in our daily life, but I don’t believe “fully understanding one another” exist in the world. I have The Bible to support me on this :(Gen11:1-9)

And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar.And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

You see, if people could have understand each other fully, nothing human beings plan to do will be impossible for them, guess what will happen if human beings can achieve whatever they want? Human beings will become more and more prideful.

As a member in a team or in a family, I should try to understand others but never expect other to understand me fully. We should accept one another in a team or in a family. Eric Hoffer said, “There would be no society if living together depended upon understanding each other.” I would say: “There would be no great team if working together depended upon understanding each other.” (hopefully, people from the next century will quote this in their team work training classes,haha)


Victor

Posters of Teamwork

 

T – Trust Trust is the emotional glue that binds an organisation togetherThe ingredients needed to make emotional glue [trust] consistency loyalty delegation

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E – Economy of Energy

A relaxed attitude lengthens a man’s life - [from the Bible]
All work and no fun destroys the energy in the team

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A – Affirmation

Four ways of affirming your co-workers

1. value their ideas
   
2. appreciate their uniqueness
   
3. compliment their efforts
   
4. praise their loyalty

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M – Manage mistakes

Respond to a mistake – never react to a mistake

A good man falls several times, but he rises again – [from the Bible]

Consider why the mistake was made

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W – Weekly Team Meetings

A team meeting can be corporate or it can be one on one.

Every staff person should be able to respond to the following:

1. I made progress in ________
   
2. I had difficulty with ________
   
3. I need a decision from you on ________
   
4. I am thankful for ________

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O – Open Communication

Open communication is the cornerstone of great team work

Reliable communication permits progress – [from the Bible]

There are barriers to open communication:

1. Presumption
   
2. Impatience
   
3. Pride

Pride comes before a fall – [from the Bible]

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R – Recognition and Reward

Give honour and respect to all those to whom it is due – [from the Bible]

Recognition and reward produces more productivity

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K – Keep on Learning

If the team is learning the company will grow

The intelligent man is always open to new ideas. In fact, he looks for the them – [from the bible]

 

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TEN COMMON MISTAKES MADE BY TEAMS

1. They have a top-down attitude
   
2. They put getting the job done before people
   
3. They do not affirm
   
4. They see “mavericks” as problems
   
5. They have an autocratic culture
   
6. They delegate the hard things
   
7. They have chaotic communication
   
8. They do not share knowledge
   
9. They never plan for the future


10. They have no place for fun in their team culture

TEAMWORK

Brian reminded us about one of the trainings that we have done many years ago in our team, it is called Team Work. To my surprise, I found them very "new" to me. It seems that knowledge without practice will be knowledge of others. We are reviewing this again in the team, and, we even made posters on the wall. I don't know how along will this knowledge stay in our mind. I will upload those beautiful posts in the following posts as a memery in case I will forget them again.

 

 

 

TEAMWORK

 

T � Trust

 

Trust is the emotional glue that binds an organisation together

The ingredients needed to make emotional glue [trust]

 

1. consistency
2. loyalty
3. delegation

 

E � Economy of Energy

 

A relaxed attitude lengthens a man's life -  [from the Bible]

All work and no fun destroys the energy in the team

 

A � Affirmation

 

Four ways of affirming your co-workers

1. value their ideas
2. appreciate their uniqueness
3. compliment their efforts
4. praise their loyalty

 

M � Manage mistakes

 

Respond to a mistake � never react to a mistake

A good man falls several times, but he rises again � [from the Bible]

Consider why the mistake was made

 

W � Weekly Team Meetings

 

A team meeting can be corporate or it can be one on one.

Every staff person should be able to respond to the following:

1. I made progress in ________
2. I had difficulty with ________
3. I need a decision from you on ________
4. I am thankful for ________

 

O � Open Communication

 

Open communication is the cornerstone of great team work

Reliable communication permits progress � [from the Bible]

There are barriers to open communication:

1. Presumption
2. Impatience
3. Pride

Pride comes before a fall � [from the Bible]

 

R � Recognition and Reward

 

Give honour and respect to all those to whom it is due � [from the Bible]

Recognition and reward produces more productivity

 

K � Keep on Learning

 

If the team is learning the company will grow

The intelligent man is always open to new ideas. In fact, he looks for them

�        [from the bible]

 

 

TEN COMMON MISTAKES MADE BY TEAMS

 

1. They have a top-down attitude
2. They put getting the job done before people
3. They do not affirm
4. They see "mavericks" as problems
5. They have an autocratic culture
6. They delegate the hard things
7. They have chaotic communication
8. They do not share knowledge
9. They never plan for the future

10. They have no place for fun in their team culture

 

 

 

 

China Highlights Lucky Draw 2008 Came out

China Highlights Lucky Draw 2008 was held on the morning of December 19, 2008. China Highlights invited one of on-line volunteer Kirsten to hold the activity. In the activity, the general manager, Victor Shu said thank you for those supporting China Highlights during the past years.

 

The activity chose the 16 lucky winners from those customers who completed evaluation forms at the end of their China Highlights Tour. The names were selected at random by computer.

 

Post by: Mercier

The 14th Volleyball Match of CITS

On December 14 and December 15, the 14th volleyball match of CITS (China International Travel Service) began with a whistle. There are 18 teams join in the competition including 4 teams of China Highlights, China Highlights First Team and Second Team won 4th and 7th separately. It was a good chance to practice in winter and strengthen the cohesion of China Highlights staff.

Post by: Mercier

Our Customer Service Manager Tina’s Report about How to Satisfy Clients

On December 17, our customer service manager Tina gave a report about How to Satisfy our Clients for all travel advisors. To improve our quality and offer a more satisfied China tour for all of China Highlights clients, Tina collected tips and discussed with travel advisors. In view of how to satisfy our clients, they expressed their opinions.

Mercier Zeng,

50th Anniversary of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region

December 11, 2008 was the 50th anniversary of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The region’s famous tourist city, Guilin, held a warm-hearted celebration. I just walked through Guilin Center Square, and I was attracted by the crowded people and the mascot of the 50th Anniversary. Many beautiful flowers encircled the mascot on that sunny day. With 50 years of development, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has changed greatly. Now, it is a time of success for Guangxi people and all Chinese.

Mercier Zeng

The Fake Rabbit

...so it is me to write about food again:

Yesterday morning one of our colleagues brought a big bag of candies to our office for all to enjoy.
With a bit of digging, I quickly found the object of my desire: a 大白兔 or "Big White Rabbit" Candy.

Without further looking at the packing, I opened the candy and ate it - BIG MISTAKE!!! The rice paper was not rice paper but plastic...and the candy itself...lets better not talk about it.

What happened? Candy-greed made me forget one of the major rules learned in the previous 4 years:

"Do not eat anything without checking that the product is real"

The photo on the right side shows the real "Big White Rabbit" on the top, and the fake one below.

Posted by: Julian

China Public Holidays 2009 Coming Out

The public holidays for 2009 came out today from Central Government. We are going to have a total of 27 days of public holidays next year, which is 2 days less than in 2008. They are: New Year Holiday – 3 days, Chinese New Year Holiday (Spring Festival) – 8 days, Qingming (grave tending) Festival– 3 days, Labor Day – 3 days, Dragon Boat Festival - 3 days, and Mid-Autumn Festival & National Day Holiday – 8 days. Details are as follows:

some nice pictures from the Tibet trip....

candy & #$%$^%&%^


nice landscapes along the way

Candy at the Everest Base Camp

Tibetan granny

Yomdrok Lake

Candy at Jokhang Temple

Lock Your Love Forever

My colleagues got back from Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) recently. Like most of the visitors who have been there, they were amazed by countless locks locked to each others along the iron railings. Most couples or lovers like to bring two locks up Huangshan and lock them to each other, before throwing their keys into the valley by the mountain, in the hope that their love to each other will last forever. What a beautiful wish. I wish they will live out their promises to each other.

annual test for TA

China Highlights has been working on a TA (Travel Advisor) Tests since this Monday. Every afternoon, Victor, the Director, professional marketing expert, Brian, and sales supervisor, Angela, would host a test for 3 to 5 TAs in the meeting room.

It was finally my turn this afternoon. Angela firstly gave me five envelopes to draw one piece of paper from each envelope, and after 5 minutes preparation, I stepped into the meeting room, a bit nervous! They were sitting there and smiling at me, I started to answer my questions one by one and here are the questions I had:

1. What are the special notes for Tibet and the Silk Road?
2. What should you do if customers lose their luggage?
3. How long can you get a visa for?
4. Offer a humanities culture itinerary.
5. Handle a complaint case.

The special notes for Tibet tours are: customers with heart attacks and hypertension should not go to Tibet; if you get a cold, you should not go to Tibet; necessary medicines should be prepared to help one get used to high altitude; sunscreen and sunglasses should be brought to protect skin and eyes; do not touch anything in a monastery; do not take pictures without permission; do not each fish with Tibetan people and others.

For question 2, Angela acted as a customer who could not find one piece of her luggage in the airport, my suggestion for her is that she gave her boarding pass to the guide. The guide would then help her track down the missing luggage with the airline company, after taking her back to the hotel. If the luggage is re-located, it would be sent to the hotel without delay. If it needed more time or it proved to be gone, basic necessities are suggested to be bought in the city. If the customer had bought insurance to cover missing luggage, she should get a certificate from the airline company and work on getting compensation immediately.

Usually for getting a visa, take a Hong Kong agency as an example, it takes about 4 working days to get a visa, but the agency offers emergency and same day rush services at extra expense.

A Humanities culture itinerary should include home and market visits for the customers to get closer to the local people. Some special programs would be interesting, e.g. making dumplings with a Hutong family, hanging around in an antique Sunday market or paying a visit to a village where local people paint simple but nice paintings. Victor tried to make it more “off-the-beaten-track”. I suggest a trip into the minority villages in Guizhou province, but surely not many customers have the courage to try very basic toilets along the way, most hotels are less comfortable than the ones in big cities and some hotels are not star-rated, but definitely the landscapes along the way are rewarding!

Last, but not least, Brian “ring ring” called and pretended to complain about his pervious stop in Guilin, he complained that the guide was missing when he and his wife were ready to get ashore (from a Li River cruise). They had to get to the hotel on their own and finally found that the guide was waiting for them there. What made the experience worse was that the show that night was cancelled! I expressed my heartfelt apologies for the unpleasant experience that happened to him, and promised that I will get back to him with a workable solution when I had confirmed everything with the guide. Finally, he decided he would still like to use our service to arrange two half day trips in Hong Kong during his stay.

Though it is a palm-sweating experience to take a test, it is very good to practice “at-the-scene” situations to solve possible problems for customers. My thanks for Victor, Brian and Angela’s hard work!

China Highlights Staff's Winter Activity

Last weekend, the marketing team of China Highlights held a winter activity at Yao Mountain, which is a famous forest park, and also the highest mountain in Guilin Municipal Area.
They took the cableway up and down Yao Mountain. At the top of the mountain, it is a perfect place to have a bird's-eye view of Guilin. Many big and small mountains encircle Yao Mountain. Different seasons have different sights to be experienced on the mountain. They also had a great meal in one of the local family restaurants. Delicious local delicacies, such as "Chicken in spring" and "Duck in vinegar blood", left a deep impression in their minds.

Mercier Zeng

Amazing Smiling Face in the Sky in South China

When I went out of my office this evening I was astonished by the scene I saw in the sky. Two shining stars sit right at the top of the crescent, forming a cute smiling face in the west of the sky. The face lasted about one and a half hours from around 7pm to 8:30pm local China time (GMT+8).

Photo taken in downtown Guilin, S. China.

Pingle Trip

This weekend, the English Team (21 people) went to Pingle Town (3 hours drive from Guilin City) for the 2009 planning meeting

During the 3.5 hours of hot discussion, everyone shared and talked about the challenges and chances in 2009, the development and targets of the English Team, and even the whole of China Highlights. It was not formal, but more like a brain storm, to gather more ideas and thoughts.

In the evening, all changed into swimming suits and went for a dip in the hot spring.

Sunday, luckily, I got up early to see the village awake. It was peaceful and beautiful.














Karen

Don't skip breakfasts

Quite a few colleagues in our office have become used to skipping their breakfasts. A warning post has been sent to every one with the title "Six types of harm resulting from not eating breakfasts and why we need to sleep earlier and get up earlier". The six types of harm are: increased risk of hypocalcaemia, gallstones, cerebrovascular disease, tummy bugs, weight gain and brain deficiency. It is recommended that one sleeps between 11pm and 7 am, because this is the ideal time. Some things in your body need sleep in order to function.

A colleague from Germany said:

Eat breakfast like a

eat lunch like a

and eat dinner like a