Let a Thousand Lattes Bloom

Walmart may be closing many US stores, but Starbucks is opening 500 new coffee shops in China every year for the next 5 years. Starbucks currently has 2000 shops located in 100 Chinese cities serving Green Tea Lattes, Iced Shaken Blackcurrant Raspberry Juiced Tea, Mango Passion Fruit and Tea Blended Juice Drink, and Red Bean Green Tea Cheesecake. A latte costs about $6.

More:

“1 U.S. brand booming in China, in spite of economic woes,” Shuai Zhang, CBS News

“China’s Changing Tastes Offer Upside for Coffee,” Laurie Burkitt, Wall Street Journal

___________

Short link:  http://wp.me/p6sb6-mXT

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

Newsweek’s Newest Writer: Ai Weiwei

Two months after he was released from government detention, dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has written an essay for the online version of Newsweek. It’s about economic oppression, human rights, and urban sprawl in Beijing:

“Every year millions come to Beijing to build its bridges, roads, and houses. Each year they build a Beijing equal to the size of the city in 1949. They are Beijing’s slaves.”

Read it here.

Short link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-b0B

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

China’s Space Station

NASA’s famed Evel Knievel Manned Space Program has an Asian rival. The People’s Republic of China is planning to launch a space station. The Tiangong or ‘heavenly palace’ will hurtle towards the heavens within the decade.

The Chinese man-in-space effort began ten years ago, and boasted its first space walk during the 2008 Shenzhou-7 mission. Meanwhile, in Florida, NASA’s antiquated Endeavour space shuttle is back in the shop.

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

Ai Weiwei Held in China

Chinese artist and designer Ai Weiwei was detained by police at the Beijing airport before he could take a flight to Hong Kong yesterday. Even if you haven’t seen his current exhibition at London’s Tate Modern or those at Munuch’s Haus der Kunst and Tokyo’s Mori Art Museum, you still may know his work.  Ai Weiwei helped design the “Birds Nest Stadium” for the 2008 Olympics, the National Stadium of the People’s Republic of China.