Blogs November 12, 2012 2 min read

A Trip to Jinan, China

In Shandong province, I had the opportunity to visit the provincial town of Jinan — a town of 8 million. Jinan is known for its springs — underwater aquifers feed 72 named artesian karst springs at a public park in the middle of downtown Jinan called Baotu Quan Gong Yuan. The most famous of these springs is the 3,500 year old Baotu Spring. The park is also the ancestral home of one of Shandong’s most beloved poets, Li Qingzhao (1084 – 1151). Her life story is presented through life-size dioramas in the rooms in her home. The waters of the Jinan springs are said to be “softer and sweeter” and contain health-affirming properties.

While in Jinan, I spent an afternoon meeting with HLB colleagues at HLB Baicheng, a large tax consulting firm with offices in both Jinan and Shanghai. In addition to learning about Baicheng’s practice and preparing for a conference the next day, we were treated to a “Chinese Banquet.” I was honored to be received by the head of Shangdong ‘s institute of certified public accountants as well as two members of the international division of the Chinese Tax Authority. The evening began with toasts (4 by the host, 3 by the co-host, 2 by the protégés of the hosts and then 1 by each of the guests). The meal included all measure of Chinese delicacies — seafood soup with sea cucumber, eel, chicken (including the head, comb and feet). How lucky was I to sit next to the host and not have to chose what to eat, but to merely eat what was put on my plate by my host?

The next day, my fellow HLB International Tax Committee members and I presented at the Annual Shangdong Tax Conference, co-sponsored by the Shandong institute of certified public accountants and HLB Baicheng. We presented an overview of the tax systems of the US, Germany and the Netherlands to almost 600 delegates (shown below). For the first time, I had to work with a simultaneous translator — our presentations were in both English and Chinese, and our translators were excellent. After one afternoon, they were able to handle complex tax concepts in both English and Chinese.