The annual China Hi Tech Fair opened this past week and it’s truly an exhausting affair.  Booths and exhibits cover acres of exhibition hall space … and if the walking doesn’t get you, the crowds will.  Here’s last year’s entry.

Well, this year, we were again assaulted by folks peddling the latest in massage gadgets.  But we learned from our experience last year and turned down all approaches for the first several hours before one of the guys – the women in our party were too smart to fall for this! – succumbed to temptation and allowed himself to be hooked up.  Once again, a major mistake.  He involuntarily twitched for 15 minutes after being unplugged.  Memo to file:  Never, ever allow yourself to be hooked up to an electronic massage gadget unless your lawyer is present and waving a complaint form just waiting to be completed.

Small gadgets aside, the Fair this year had very much a “green” theme.  There were firms showing off the latest advances in garbage waste-to-energy conversion technology, numerous companies touting more energy efficient lighting designs, a whole passel of electric cars (including one that can drive itself), and more robots than you can shake a stick at.  Robots that will help us with our health care, robots that will be companions for the elderly … well, in theory … and robots that can respond to questions and give rational answers that their programmers can’t predict.  Mercifully, there seemed to be far fewer firms showing off surveillance gear.  Perhaps we’re already observed enough.

My favorite product this year, though, was a very spiffy drink mixer which combined a comprehensive database with a neat touch screen, 30+  beverages, a small refrigerator, a seductive electronic voice, and multiple language capability.  I can’t vouch for the quality, but it sure looked awesome.  Rather lacks the personal touch, though, for folks seeking bartender therapy.

In any event, there’s plainly a lot of innovative activity going on over here that will work its way through to consumers worldwide over the next several years.

AND FINALLY:  Ninety blog entries and nearly 40,000 words ago, the China Blog tiptoed into this space and became Worldwide ERC’s first blog.  It’s time for some new contributors, though, and so I’m turning back the keyboard.  May your experiences in China be as wonderful, enlightening and broadening as mine have.  It’s been real, folks.   再见!