Dan's China diary - day 17

In May 2006, silicon.com senior reporter Dan Ilett travelled to China, seeking to get behind some of today's most interesting tech and business stories. This is his warts-and-all diary, which appears daily this month. For in-depth coverage of this fact-finding trip inside China, including analysis and exclusive stories, click here.

Monday 22 May, Shenzhen

Spent Sunday on the road - well, in the air mainly. Air travel in China is much like air travel back in Europe. No surprises. Used Air China.

Arrived in Shenzhen late last night. It's hotter and more expensive down here. And the Chinese say Shenzhen is a dangerous place to hang around at night. I'd like to find out.

A large number of tech companies have their manufacturing plants here, partly because it was designated as a special economic zone.

There's also many migrant workers . Last night I met a Dutch expat who's running several factories. He said a lot of the foreign factory workers went back home during the last national holiday, Golden Week, a fortnight ago and haven't come back. Apparently it has left some of the factories up a creek without a paddle.

There are three public holidays in China that each last a week. Some workers get no more time off than this. Others do. My new Dutch friend told me most of the factory workers have to work weekends if they want to take extra holiday.

The weather today is raining and I'm worn out from being on the road. Take a cab downtown to Huaqiang North Commercial Street - there are row upon row of IT shops, markets and electronics stalls lined up and down the street.

One of the tasks I've been charged with on this assignment around China is to get some good photos. Before I can pull my camera out or even leave the cab, there's a frenzy of various beggars and dodgy DVD salesmen opening the cab door and trying to pull me in all sorts of directions.

Out of the corner of my eye I notice a few of them selling what seems to be rogue copies of Microsoft Windows. Perfect. Been looking for such activity for a while now. I pull out my camera and just as I'm taking off the lens cap, they all scarper at incredible speed. It's almost comical but at least I know how to get rid of some of the less savoury types now.

The packaging on these products looks authentic. No wonder Microsoft is so worried about its intellectual property. These are good copies.

I manage to get some sneaky photos of the dodgy 'Microsoft salesmen' at work but they're not happy that I'm snapping them, funnily enough. Time to leave.

Head back to the hotel for a quick gym session. What's strange is that the Chinese men are wearing nothing but pants during their work outs. I'm afraid I'm far too British to join in.

Later that evening at 9:20pm I finally get confirmation that my interview with Huawei will happen tomorrow. I've been chasing this for weeks. Some of these companies are so hard to pin down.

It's been raining all day so I spend the evening watching kung-fu movies. My first night in for ages.

Tomorrow: Inside tech powerhouse Huawei.