Audi 2007 Annual Report Download - page 26

24 MARKETS & MOVERS
first foreigners ever to see the inside of the new National
Theater. This is how the Chinese express their consideration
for their foreign friends. Inside, Zhu and Stadler are speech-
less. Through the glass roof, they can see the sky. As they walk
on further into the building, the room opens out into a vast,
futuristic lobby. Stadler is spellbound. This might be an excel-
lent location for Audi’s numerous cultural sponsorship events.
Audi has been chosen to supply the Official Premium Car for
the Olympic Games, and Stadler and Zhu agree that China will
benefit enormously from the Olympics. “All major sporting
events help a country progress,” says Zhu. They both step into
the largest auditorium. Finished in wood and painted in beige,
the opera hall can seat 2,400 people. Under the protective
mantle of the gigantic dome, there are two more halls: The
concert hall, with glowing red seats for 2,000 spectators, and
the theater, with 1,000 seats. China’s new landmark cost just
under 300 million euros.
“This building is a statement of China’s new self-assur-
ance,” says Zhu as they both board their Audi A8. The driver
crosses Chang’an and heads northward. “The first time I visit-
ed China was ten years ago,” Stadler explains as the car nego-
tiates traffic. “Back then, you could still see bicycles every-
where. Today, they have completely disappeared, and the
streets are now filled with cars. Everything is changing at
breakneck speed. You can tell that the country is undergoing a
real transformation. What would you say is the secret of Chi-
na’s success?” “It’s a combination of things,” replies Zhu. “On
the one hand we have been radically opening up our country
to the world. On the other hand there’s a boundless entrepre-
neurial spirit.” “It’s the pace that really impresses me,” adds
Stadler. “Remember during those meetings two years ago,
when we wrote a note on a piece of paper: ‘It’s all about
speed.’” “Yes, that’s one of the secrets behind the success of
this market,” says Zhu, “being able to decide quickly. What
was still valid five years ago is now history.”
The driver stops the car at the southern gate of Nan
Luo Gu Xiang. The buildings here were mostly built in the
century before last, and most are traditional courtyard houses.
The two men stroll down the street, past small shops, green-
grocers, restaurants and cookshops. In some points inside this
rather traditional mix, the odd designer bar and luxury bou-
tique can be found. One building has two stories and it is
Western-looking. A man selling newspapers tells them it was
built for a Russian professor in the 1920s. The street is a micro-
cosm of China. Former government ministers live here, but so
do bicycle repairmen and taxi drivers, civil servants just as
“The secret of China’s success is a
combination of a radical aperture and
an irrepressible entrepreneurial spirit.”
Zhu Yanfeng