I was 25 years old. It was only the second time I'd ever left the country. And looking back, my mistakes were obvious...
I was by myself. And after more than 20 hours of travel, all I wanted was to get to my hotel as quickly as possible.
I decided to take the high-speed train from the airport – a first for me. The train uses magnetic force to levitate above the tracks, which enables high speeds (roughly 200 miles per hour) and a smooth, efficient ride.
I knew it would cut a 45-minute drive to less than 10 minutes. So I jumped on board after landing at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport.
I thought it would save me time. Boy, was I wrong...
I was about to get my first look at an astonishing city – even as a young, unprepared American tourist. And as I'll explain, it opened my eyes to the opportunity abroad that U.S. investors were missing...
I was in Shanghai for a few days of meetings before heading to Hong Kong. The train station was only a mile or two from my hotel, the Mandarin Oriental. I didn't have the exact directions... But I had my cellphone. I figured finding a cab to complete my trip wouldn't be an issue.
As I left the train station and stepped out into the sunlight, the impressive skyline – and the magnitude of a city with a population of more than 20 million – hit me all at once.
The craziest part was, the ground I stood on would have been nothing but cow pastures a few decades earlier...
Pudong is the newer, more modern portion of Shanghai. Here's the incredible transformation the area had already experienced by the time I saw it in 2013...
As a kid who grew up in rural Indiana, I was in awe. The city was more impressive than I could have ever imagined.
I grabbed my phone and turned on cellular data... But it greeted me with the dreaded "no service." What I hadn't realized was that I needed to click a button on my AT&T account before I was able to use my service internationally.
That's when it hit me: I was in over my head.
I quickly realized I didn't know where I was. I didn't know exactly where I was going.
After wandering for more than an hour, I finally found a taxi stand near a shopping mall. The driver only spoke Mandarin... And it took us some time to figure out how to get me where I needed to go. But finally, we pulled up to the Mandarin Oriental.
I shared a few laughs with the cab driver and the bellman at my own expense. My inexperience had cost me a few hours and a lot of stress... a blunder even the fast, futuristic train ride couldn't fix.
It was all new to me. But what I found over the course of my trip was well worth learning...
I was in China back then because sentiment toward the country was incredibly bearish. I wanted to see if the reality on the ground was anywhere near as bad as the Western media had led investors to believe.
It wasn't. Not even close. The progress hasn't stopped since then, either. Here's what the Pudong area looks like today...
Over the rest of my visit to China, I saw mobile payments taking off (years before they became commonplace in the U.S.)... vibrant commerce... sophisticated public transportation... and a general tilt toward entrepreneurship that no one in the West seemed to realize.
I learned that the West had it dead wrong. They saw a backward Communist country... But in reality, China was a thriving capitalist society built on innovation.
I assumed sentiment was at rock bottom back then. But every year, it seemed to get a little worse. And that bearishness has kicked into hyperdrive in recent years...
Chinese stocks have been crashing. Tensions with the U.S. have been rising. Practically everyone hates the idea of putting money to work in this part of the world. But as far as I'm concerned...
We're watching a "blood in the streets" moment for Chinese stocks right now.
You've almost certainly heard the famous quote, "The time to buy is when there's blood in the streets." It means when things seem like they can't get worse, they stop getting worse... And that's when you want to put money to work.
Look, it's hard putting money to work in a hated asset. I get that.
But we're watching the "blood in the streets" moment unfold for Chinese stocks today. That's not something you want to miss out on.
And in tomorrow's DailyWealth, I'll explain how I know things are just starting to heat up.
Good investing,
Brett Eversole
Further Reading
China's stock market has been in a downtrend for years. But now, its "guardian angels" are back to work their magic. If history is any indication, this intervention could help stocks find a bottom – which would be good news for investors... Read more here.
A major rally recently pushed shares of one of the world's best businesses to "overbought" levels. Normally, this would be cause for concern. But historically, it means more gains are on the way for this blue-chip stock... Learn more here.
HIGHS AND LOWS
NEW HIGHS OF NOTE LAST WEEK
General Dynamics (GD)... "offense" contractor
Visa (V)... payment-processing giant
Mastercard (MA)... credit cards
JPMorgan Chase (JPM)... financial giant
Bank of America (BAC)... financial giant
Charles Schwab (SCHW)... brokerage services
Travelers (TRV)... insurance
Cigna (CI)... health insurance
Microsoft (MSFT)... tech giant
Micron Technology (MU)... semiconductors
Oracle (ORCL)... database and cloud services
Netflix (NFLX)... video streaming
Disney (DIS)... streaming and entertainment
Airbnb (ABNB)... online vacation rentals
Lyft (LYFT)... ride-hailing service
Walmart (WMT)... "World Dominator" of discount retail
Home Depot (HD)... home-improvement products
Cintas (CTAS)... uniforms
Marriott International (MAR)... hotels
Honda Motor (HMC)... automaker
General Motors (GM)... automaker
Ferrari (RACE)... luxury cars
AutoZone (AZO)... auto parts
Southern Copper (SCCO)... copper
NEW LOWS OF NOTE LAST WEEK
Asana (ASAN)... work-management software
Boston Beer (SAM)... beer
Sasol (SSL)... chemicals
