I was in Shanghai for two days before it happened. I was visiting chic Xintiandi, a bit of old Shanghai architecture carefully preserved and reimagined as an entertainment plaza in the midst of modern developments. Aptly named, "New Heaven and Earth," and complete with an original Shikumen-style home you can tour at your leisure, it boasts more charm than kitsch. So imagine my surprise when I turned a corner and was faced with a big fat Starbuck's.
Whether you are comforted or disappointed by the iconic masthead and green block lettering may depend on your reasons for traveling to a foreign country. Or perhaps it's more complicated -- you may feel some combination of the two impressions. Surely, there is a comfort in the familiar, but then again, isn't an integral part of travel the chance to try new things, to purposefully get out of one's own element?
I went to China to experience a different culture, and I found corporate icons intrusive and offensive. It made me think about why they were there, what they were doing to the local communities, and what was being lost. Regardless of your emotional response, a reasonable question is: what are the implications of transplanting the ubiquitous coffee house to a nation of tea drinkers? I don't pretend to answer the question here, but it's food for thought.
On the one hand, there seems to be a demand. In addition to tourists, large expat communities in major cities like Shanghai and Beijing are fertile markets; inflated salaries far exceed their needs in China, and afford them the familiar five-dollar lattes. Additionally, there is a growing desire among Chinese nationals to be more western, more American. When McDonald's first breached the People’s Republic, long lines wrapped around the block for the payoff of a single lackluster hamburger from the famous fast-food joint. Naturally, corporations can't resist the temptation to serve/create a huge new market (even in “communist” China).
On the other hand, establishments like Starbucks (e.g. McDonald's, KFC, Baskin Robins) disrupt part of the charm of China by replacing and competing with local eateries. If there is one thing you will notice about local food and drink in China, it's that it's everywhere -- on the Great Wall, by the farms, even in the hutongs (alleys) – and it’s largely cheaper, more healthful, and more flavorful. Locally available cuisines generally include more fruits and vegetables than the intruding chains, and many flavors are available from the familiar to the exotic. Yet expanding waistlines, 500-Calorie Frappuccinos, and McNuggets are becoming more common.
What it comes down to, of course, isn't simply the choice between coffee and tea, but corporate v. local. What would you choose? At least for this traveler, the choice was easy.
