Page 26 - How China Is Winning the Tech Race

to dozens of young companies. The place reminds me of San Francisco’s
shabby South of Mission area, the once-hip home of Internet start-ups,
including the new economy magazine Red Herring, where I was an editor at
the height of the dot-com bubble.
In a page out of Google’s manual, Tudou’s small staff of 43 has stock
options and gets free meals delivered daily; this is a time-saver since there are
no restaurants near Tudou’s new headquarters. It’s in a hard-to-find
warehouse that once stored fruit, about a 20-minute walk from Shanghai’s
public plaza, People’s Park.
Wang’s tall lean frame leads the way as we bound up three flights of
stairs, turn the corner, and open the door to a funky loft to find a dozen
software designers staring at computer screens. Never mind the huge white
stuffed gorilla lounging on the faux staircase or the colorful graffiti splashed
all over the walls, the result of a manic party to celebrate the office opening.
The loft is well equipped for 24/7 work and sports an exercise bicycle, a
treadmill, and a pup tent for the occasional overnighter. It’s a scene straight
out of the late 1990s dot-com era in the United States. Only the flashing neon
lights of Shanghai’s futuristic skyscrapers on the other bank prove we’re not
in Silicon Valley.

xxii SILICON DRAGON