I started this article about a year ago, when I went to Shenzhen, a city across the border from Hong Kong, in southern China where my company has its Asia-Pacific office. I was there on business, but had an afternoon to kill, so a couple guys and I, decided to take the EL to Huaqiangbei. That word is a mouthful. Non-native speakers like me, butcher it by saying “how-SHUNG-bay”. Pronunciation aside, Huaqiangbei is a shopping district, in Shenzhen, but not for shoes, or clothes, but rather for the nuts and bolts of the digital age in which we live. If you wanted to build your own electronic do-dad, from scratch, in Huaqiangbei you can buy screens, processors, connectors, batteries, circuit boards, chip-sets, and virtually any other component you could possibly need, and then find a nearby factory to solder it all together for you, bolt your creation into a housing, put in retail packaging, and ship it anywhere in the world for you. You can also find a new screen for that old phone you have the drawer, the one with the broken screen. You can also buy that new drone you’ve always wanted so you can take that video you’ve been wanting to make. This area is the beating heart of China’s Silicon Valle. For a nerd like me, it’s pretty close to how I picture Heaven.

Anyway, we were there, refreshing ourselves at a 7-11, when I spotted this little beauty, and risking life and limb, ran into a busy street to take a couple pics. Now, I’m not a fan of the color, but hey, beggars can’t be choosy, right?

A few days later, on the way back to Hong Kong for my flight home, I found this little guy, looking a little bit sad for himself. So, I quickly snapped a pic through the back window of the shuttle van: When I got home, I thought these 3 pics would make a good basis for a story. But the more I tried to make it work, the more I realized, that it just wasn’t enough.

Fast forward a year, and another trip to Shenzhen was in the cards. So, with some cleverly placed hints before my trip, and a stronger hint when we found ourselves with a car and a half day to kill, before a (terrible) flight to Shanghai, guess what we did!

Dave at the MG Dealership

Electric MG, with Ben, our intrepid guide Green plate means it's ELECTRIC!

FOUND AN MG DEALER!

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