Mario Cavolo

There's nothing better nor more enjoyable in my life in China than the jazz piano concert tours I do across China with ChinaArt Hangzhou, taking my mind off the stresses and strains of life's more mundane demands and market swings. My concert tour continued this past Saturday evening with an extra special touch as Shenyang happens to also be my wife's hometown. The audience at the spectacular Liaoning Grand Theatre let out a heartfelt sigh and applause when I announced that my lovely wife and mother-in-law were in the audience that evening.

For myself as the evening's performer, the pleasure was also something I'll remember for a very long time; I played the theatre's acoustically excellent space for an audience of 1800 on their spectacular Steinway concert grand without any amplification; it was undoubtedly the finest piano I have ever played. Normally a great piano makes a piano player play even better. I had also played a Steinway 10' concert grand in Ningbo but for whatever reason, it didn't touch my soul. This particular piano, which I was told was six years old and had a price tag of 1.5 million rmb, had a character and resonance so spectacular, part of me actually felt intimidated more than honored; the unapproachable perfect woman yet there she was under my respecting fingertips as I played through the standards by Gershwin, Cole Porter, Jobim, and Ellington. These my dear readers are the good things in life...

Speaking of spectacular on a related note focusing on Shenyang's commercial, property and hotel developments, here's a photo of the also spectacular Forum 66 multi-use luxury project which continues under construction right next door to the Liaoning Grand Theatre. Shenyang, which lies about 800km north Beijing sporting a population of 9 million, is no exception as one of China's cities blossoming with massive commercial and property projects including two new subway lines all due for completion in the next couple of years. Regarded as a second tier city, property prices are currently in the 6 to 12,000rmb per square meter range. At the high end of the international brand hotel and property market developments, you'll find quite an impressive lineup with the new Shangri-La, Hong Kong New World Center, Doubletree, and Kerry Centre projects coming online.

With this set of developments and market conditions, I would rate Shenyang a low risk, high reward environment for property investment, though not expecting this market to achieve heights equal to China's first tier cities.

Well I have to admit that at age 49 maintaining better health has become more of a priority. This week on Wednesday November 11th puts me in Shanghai at Health Shanghai 2009. I 'll be giving a 30 minute keynote address on the importance of creating a corporate vision and culture which includes a culture of health. Not to mention from an HR point of view that good health reduces a company's massive health care costs, healthy employees are happier and more engaged on a daily basis. This event has been organized and coordinated by a number of partners including Shanghai Airlines and the World Anti-Aging Academy of Medicine China, a member-based society since 1995 dedicated to the protection and preservation of the health of the public, and the advancement of education and research in the clinical specialties of anti-aging and regenerative medicine...

...meanwhile, shifting interests to the musical and artistic side of life, I will not be performing at the Mandarin Oriental Sanya this weekend as I will be on a mid-November jazz piano concert tour in Zhoushan on Nov 13th, Guangzhou on Saturday, Nov 14th and Ningbo on Sunday, Nov 15th. Many thanks to China Art Events Co. Hangzhou for organizing this mid-November tour. Cheers, Mario