Beyond being impressed by Taobao's scale, I would caution HN readers not to fall into the trap of thinking about China as a monolithic unit. Assuming that China

Beyond being impressed by Taobao's scale, I would caution HN readers not to fall into the trap of thinking about China as a monolithic unit. Assuming that China is homogenous is just as foolish as assuming America is homogenous. Taobao's success is also tied to their ability to understand the drastic cultural differences between different areas of the country, and understanding how to market to these "countries within a country." If you are unfamiliar with China, I would highly suggest reading about Patrick Chovanec's "Nine Nations of China." 1. http://chovanec.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/the-nine-nations-of-china/ http://chovanec.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/the-nine-nations-of... 2. http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/11/the-nine-nations-of-china/307769/ http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/11/the-nine...