The Magic is participating this week in the NBA's 2007 China Games where they'll play two games against Cleveland Cavaliers and one against the Chinese National Team, in addition to taking part in the NBA’s Comprehensive Community Outreach Initiative in China. Magic Chief Operating Officer Alex Martins is keeping a daily blog to update everyone on the team's experiences overseas.

By Alex Martins | October 17, 2007

Zaoshang Hao, good morning, to everyone in the states and especially our fans, friends and family in Orlando. Our great Far East trip as ambassadors continues and Day 3 was another highlight. As I write, it is already game day here in Shanghai and as you receive this on Wednesday morning, Game One of the 2007 NBA China Games will be underway between the Magic and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Looking back on Day Three in Shanghai, it was another spectacular experience.

The day was highlighted by a team and travel party photo on the Bund on the banks of the Huangpu River overlooking the amazing Pudong section of Shanghai. Shanghai, the "Paris of the East" is a major port city that was historically open to trade with the West. Today, Shanghai is one of Asia's most powerful cities with an affluent population and a foreign presence that is growing at the rate of 20 percent per year. The Huangpu River is reminescent of the Mississippi River bend in New Orleans. The way in which is bends through downtown and the volume of industrial traffic is very similiar to New Orleans, with the major exceptions of a skyline that is like no other in the world and ship traffic that must be 10 times that of the Mississippi. We told you yesterday about how quickly the Pudong area had been built, but we had a typo in our postcard, this amazing skyline that dwarfs Manhatten has actually been all built since 1990, an unbelieveable 17 years!

The other highlight of the day was the official welcome reception with Chinese dignataries, NBA China corporate partners and team guests. Our Magic men represented Orlando extremely well as they were introduced to the guests in attendance and Dwight Howard delivered a welcoming address on behalf of the Magic organization. The event was highlighted by a Chinese drum performance with a troupe dressed in traditional Chinese costume. Another great cultural experience.

Our Magic men prepared for Game One of the China Games with another practice on Day Three. Adjusting better to the time change and recovering from some of the jet lag, our hometown team seems poised to take on the Eastern Conference Champions on Wendesday. The team is a little banged up with Rashard Lewis and Keyon Dooling still out in rehabing their injuries, and Trevor Ariza is also out for Game One. Everyone else is ready to play and look forward to showcasing the new brand of Stan Van Gundy led Magic Basketball to the world, and the Far East in particular.

Our guests were treated to another great day of seeing the sights in Shanghai, including the Shanghai Museum of Arts and Crafts where the most amazing pieces of art are created before your eyes with incredible precision and beauty. Everything from tapestries to Chinese Dolls to Jade figurines and statues to pottery of the most amazing beauty are made in this Shanghai museum. The group was also treated to a spectacular lunch high above the Bund and overlooking the Huangpu River and the Pudong skyline. A view that rivals every major breathtaking view in the world.

Finally, the group spent the afternoon at the Tao Bao Market, a cultural experience in and of itself. A market of over 300 stores, this experience was the ultimate lesson in negotiating. Vendors would literally grab our guests by the arm and attempt to get them into their shops to negotiate a "price you couldn't refuse" on everything from watches to handbags to all types of products made from silk. The good negotiators in the group were able to pay 30 percent of the original asking prices, an exchange that was fascinating to watch as every negotiation took place.

Day Four brings our first day of competition in these games and we look forward to reporting back to you on all of the pagentry and magnitude of NBA and Orlando Magic basketball in China. Tomorrow we will be writing to you from Macau as both teams leave on charter flights immediately following Game One to continue the NBA China Games from that resort city. It will be a short turnaround for our Orlando Magic as they play the second game of a back to back against the China All-Stars. Don't forget to tune in to Game One vs. Cleveland on Wednesday morning at 8 am eastern on ESPN 2. As always, log on to Orlandomagic.com for photos and continuing coverage of the Orlando Magic trip to China for NBA China Games 2007

Until we write again from Macau, Xie Xie (Thank You) and Zaijan (goodbye)

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By Alex Martins | October 16, 2007

Ni Hao! Greetings from day 2 in Shanghai! Our first full day in this city of 20 million residents brought about the first day of practice for our now internationally reknowned Magic team and some sightseeing for our Orlando community guests and Magic front office staff.

Everyone is still becoming adjusted to our major time change. Its very strange to grasp when we are getting up in the morning that everyone back in the states are going to bed and vice versa. You can also imagine how many of our travel party are waking up at 2 and 3 am since it is still mid afternoon on the body clock. Take that into account and the fact that our Magic men practiced at 1 am eastern time today, 1 PM here in Shanghai. Practice began after their introduction to the Chinese media, approximately 200 in total.

The team practice took place at the home of the Shanghai Sharks, the team that Yao Ming played for here in Shanghai. The arena is actually a badminton facility that seats approximately 3000.

Our guests spent the day touring the Pudong area of Shanghai. Pudong is recognized as the modern section of Shanghai, where the hundreds of high rises tower across the horizon. Its incredible to grasp that some of the world's tallest buildings, including what will be the world's tallest building at 101 stories, was all started construction in 1970 and today is a skyline that dwarfs Manhatten. The group lunched on the 87th floor of the Hyatt Hotel. Looking over the skyline of skyscrapers that could be seen as far as the naked eye could see.

After lunch our guests were treated to a ride on the Maglev high speed train. The ride reached 248 miles per hour and was the highlight of the day for many. The trip that took over an hour from the airport yesterday, took just over 7 minutes on the Maglev train. The Maglev is a completely magnetic train traveling at those extreme speeds. We had the opportunity to bring the Maglev to Orlando at one point. It's a shame it didn't get passed, because transportation takes on a new convenience and thrill on the Maglev.

Our cultural education continues. Keeping with the respectful nature of the culture, Shanghai is a very safe city to the extent that no one places a lock on their bikes. Very impressive when you consider that there are over 9 million bikes in Shanghai. We are also learning that driving or riding a bike is taking your life at risk due to the fact that drivers don't seem to adhere to traffic regulations. It is common place to see drivers driving down the wrong side of the street as well as disregarding pedestrians. Walkers beware!

This is also the cleanest large city we have ever seen. You never see a piece of paper on the ground and crews are always on the street cleaning.

Chinese food has also provided for our educational and cultural experience. Among the delicacies that we have encountered, but not necessarily partaken, include spicey duck tongue, fish heads, assorted fungus and hairy crab. Not your usual hot dogs and apple pie! Don't worry though, there is plenty of American delicacies to enjoy as well!

There is plenty more to share with you tomorrow including a great trip to the Bund for a picture with the Magic team and the most picturesque lunch you will ever see. Log on to orlandomagic.com for all of the photos, blogs and other insight into the Magic trip to the Far East on behalf of the NBA and Central Florida.

Until tomorrow, Zaijan.

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By Alex Martins | October 15, 2007

Ni Hao, Greetings from Shanghai! After a very long 18 hour flight from Orlando via Anchorage, we have arrived in China for our journey as ambassadors for the NBA and all of Central Florida. There are already so many observations after having been here for just a few hours. First, are the adjustments. It is quite strange being on the other end of the clock and a half day ahead. We arrived in Shanghai at 4:30 pm on Sunday locally, knowing that it was 4:30 am in Orlando and the day had yet to begin in Central Florida. It was quite strange leaving first thing on Saturday morning and arriving here in Shanghai late afternoon on Sunday after just an 18 hour journey. As one of our guests, Harvey Massey, quickly assesed, "That was the fastest weekend I ever spent in my life!"

Our ride from the airport was a little over an hour to downton Shanghai and along the way you could have mistaken it for a ride on any major highway in the United States. Lots of traffic, all of the same type of automobiles that you would see in the US and many drivers cutting others off at the path along the way. But thats where most of the similiarities stop. Although, it was comforting to see several Starbucks in the first few hours here. Getting closer to downtown, we realized we were entering one of the largest cities in the world. Enormous amounts of traffic that makes New York City pale in comparison, especially for a Sunday evening, many people and a large collection of high rise buildings with lots of neon. Despite the very large number of people and vehicles, it is an incredibly quite city. Not lots of honking horns or loud noises like New York or many other large cities. There is an unusual quite hum over the city.

Upon arriving at our hotel, the larger than life impact of the NBA is visually amazing. 20 foot tall images of Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson and Hedo Turkoglu wrap the outside of the headquarters hotel and welcome all guests from the street. The NBA has arrived in China and you get the sense that it is the beginning of an NBA explosion in this country of 1.3 billion people, 300 million of which already actively play the game of basketball.

The cultural attributes of the Chinese are already significantly recognizable. This is a very respectful culture, who seem to be very much at peace, or in harmony, as many of their cultural beliefs suggest. Service seems to be at the heart of the Chinese culture. Service levels are extremely high here and all people seem incredibly desiring to please.

As you can imagine in this city of multimillions, many travel via bike or moped due the immense traffic. Taking a walk this morning at 6 am, I was also amazed at the hundreds of individuals partaking in Tai Chi. The ancient form as it is practiced in the west today, can perhaps best be thought of as a moving form of yoga and meditation combined. It was remarkable to see the hundreds of Chinese, young and old, partaking of this meditative exercise on the sidewalks in the early morning.

The architecture is also quite amazing. A mixture of historic and ancient forms mixed with the modern high rise structures of this growing city. The use of nature in florals and beautiful shrubs and trees line the sidewalks of this massive metropolis. Many of these modern architectural forms can be used as inspiration as we design our new events center for Orlando. We already have many new ideas to bring back with us.

Mafan Ni, excuse me, as I sign off for today. We're off to do the ambassador work of the NBA and spread the game of NBA basketball globally. Of course we will also take some time to take in the sights. Stay tuned to Orlandomagic.com for player blogs, photos and a daily postcard from me as we try to bring home highlights to you of this incredible journey. For now, Xie Xie (thank you) and Zaijan (goodbye).