AFOL's in China?

[sirJacob]

Hi everyone!
Im heading to china for exchange studies in septeber and i have a question.
Is there a pick-a-brick wall somewhere in China.
And are there any Lego related activities in Shangai (that's where im going to live)

well that was 2 questions...

Thanks
Jacob

[Bruce N H]

Hey,

I don't know anything about Shanghai, but HKLUG is an extremely active community in Hong Kong. I know that's hundreds of miles away, but maybe one of those guys can tell you more about Chinese AFOLs. I recently exchanged Flickr-mail with Schneider Cheung, who might be a good person to contact.

Also, wasn't Nannan Zhang, of the Brothers Brick, born in China? Perhaps he has some insight that would help you.

Bruce

[Halberd777]

Brickset's Forum has a great topic on the LUG index http://www.bricksetforum.com/discussion/283/lug-index

[Formendacil]

One of the moderators here on Classic-Castle is living and working in China (reading his profile, I'd say he travels a fair bit between Beijing, Hong Kong, and Taiwan): Ottoatm. I'm not sure how much he can help on the Shanghai front, or even how often he makes it onto Classic-Castle, but he might be a place to start.

[sirJacob]

Hi guys.
Thanks for all the help, it's been really helpfull!
Tahnks Bruce, i will try to reach some of the people you suggested, and i might even go to hong kong and get a chance to meet them! I've been a huge fan of brothers-brick for a quite a while and meeting Nannan would be just awesome.
Thanks for the tip halberd777, nice Lug thread, unfortionately there where nothing regarding china there, but i will take a deeper look asap i might have missed something.
And thanks Formendacil, I will try to reach him, one way or another
Take care!
Jacob

[Bruce N H]

Hey,

Sorry if I was unclear - to meet Nannan, go to Texas (or BrickCon). He's American, but I think he has family ties in China.

And - facepalm - how did I miss mentioning Ottoatm?

Bruce

[Donut]

Hey there,

Thought I chime in, I have visited Shanghai for vacation last summer during the World Expo.

Hi everyone!
Im heading to china for exchange studies in septeber and i have a question.
Is there a pick-a-brick wall somewhere in China.

I didn't see a PaB wall, but there was a store inside a mall that exclusively sold LEGO. I guess you could call it a LEGO store, but the prices over there killed any intentions I had of purchasing. I am not sure how expensive LEGOs are in your country, but compared to the prices in the US, it was not worth it for me. With that being said, I did pick up a LEGO catalog with Chinese characters. '

Also, most stores that carry LEGO can only be found in malls and such places. I came across a very neat SW display in front of a Toys R US that is also in one of the malls. I am sorry I can't provide exact locations, but it shouldn't be too hard to find. I don't think there are more than a couple TRU over there.

And are there any Lego related activities in Shangai (that's where im going to live)

I am not sure about this one. Though with a population of 23 million, I am sure you'll find a handful of AFOLs.

[sirJacob]

Thanks Donut!
A great, educative and extensive answer, unfortunately it wasn't what i hoped for... I was hoping for massive amounts of cheap lego but no...

with a population of 23 million, I am sure you'll find a handful of AFOLs.

haha I’m sure your right

I am not sure how expensive LEGOs are in your country, but compared to the prices in the US, it was not worth it for me.

We'll I'm not sure about that one, but it can't get more expensive than the prices in Finland...
… I have the privilege to live in one of the worlds most expensive countries

[Bruce N H]

One thing to note - China is notorious for some of the knock-off clone brands. The Chinese company that goes by both 'Brick' and 'Shifty' (not kidding) brand names sells (or sold) sets that were direct copies of LEGO sets, but reportedly of low quality plastic. So you may well be able to buy very cheap bricks, but not cheap LEGO.



Bruce

[sirJacob]

you may well be able to buy very cheap bricks, but not cheap LEGO.

Thanks for the heads up Bruce, but i will be aware not to get any copies... But i guess i will be able to se the difference (hopefully)

[Halberd777]

Yeah I bought a pirate set once off of ebay for very cheap turned out it was a chinese knock-off. The stupid thing was so hard to build I had to practically use a hammer to put the pieces on to the wierd thick plate. I learned a good lesson through that about ebay then I gave the set to my son.

[theboywarrior]

I can't believe they actually get away with that... Makes me sick that they would do that...