However, the chatter and babble that I had to endure at times resulted in me keeping a pair of chain saw ear-defenders to hand - I was able to don said ear-wear when I needed to have the peace and solitude that the complexity or quantity of work demanded.

BBC: The pleasures and perils of the open-plan office

Many foreign firms, of course, are doing well in China, especially at the two extremes of the value chain: things like luxury goods, fibre-optic cable and big aeroplanes on the one hand, and oil, ores and recyclable waste on the other.

ECONOMIST: Selling foreign goods in China