The Road to Shanghai

Indiviuals, government agencies, and businesses typically use a series of ring or clip binders, lable the spines of these binders, and array them vertically on shelves. The system works just fine. I use it myself in a few cases. For most (non-electronic) file-and-retrieve situations, however, I prefer the drawer-and-folder system to which I've grown accustomed over the decades, at work and at home. And the focus here is at home. I am accumulating written documents as part of my dissertation research, and they are beginning to get unwieldy. On return trips to the U.S., I've picked up a few dozen of the Globe-Weiss "red rope" pocket folders that I prefer. I now have them filed in cardboard boxes lying all over the floor.

So, I decided I need to buy a U.S.-style filing cabinet. I haven't seen one in Nantong. An expatriate who has been here for a decade says his company bought all of theirs in Shanghai. We've dined a couple of times recently with our friends C.B. and Beulah Sung, who commute between California and China, and they confirmed that there is a manufacturer in Shanghai. Buying from Shanghai didn't sound easy, so I made one last effort at local procurement. My friend pharmacist Ji told me I could by a filing cabinet, and he took me to the department store that had them. What they have, though, is the typical Chinese version that actually has one U.S.-style drawer and then 80% other types of shelving and cabinets. But I can "ding zuo" (special order). Well, that sounds "mafan" (troublesome), too.

I was in Nanjing last weekend and noticed that our company's office there has several of the type filing cabinet I want to buy. They are all made by the same company in Shanghai, and my colleague Jiang Fan sent me a link to the company's website. I can buy a nice unit (two side-by-side stacks of two drawers with two smaller drawers on top) for about 1000 rmb. But the company won't ship. I would have to hire my own driver to go to Shanghai and bring them back! Not only would that add 50% to the cost of the cabinet, but it would be a real nuissance. So, I've arranged to "ding zuo" a similar unit for about the same price (but lots less for delivery) from the friendly woman in Nantong. I'm going to pay today and should get the cabinet in a few days.

Stay tuned for the results. Meanwhile, some might find entertaining a discussion of other expatriates' frustration on this issue: http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/index.php?name=MDForum&file=viewtopic&t=13798&highlight=filing+cabinet.

-- Norty