There are so many aspects of life and culture in China which are worth commenting on; here's a few...
APARTMENT BLOCKS.
With 1.6 billion people in China, housing is important but so is maintenance of agricultural land. Hence there are many high-rise apartment blocks. Our Tour Guide suggested that all except the very wealthy live in Government housing, where the individual or family buy the lease for 70 years, but when they purchase the new apartment, they get just the 'shell' of the unit with the floorspace measured in square metres, the front door, the windows, electrical supply and plumbing. Then they design and pay for all internal walls, plus all fittings, kitchen benches and appliances, bathroom plumbing etc, so an interesting approach. Hence every apartment in these seemingly identical blocks are, in fact, all different. Not much playground though.
If the unit is sold before
the 70 years is up, the remaining time on the lease is known and accounted for
in the purchase. Not sure what happens after 70 years, though. Perhaps a family
has to ‘re-purchase’ it at some market price or lease amount?
STATUES OF LIONS.
These were very common outside hotels and restaurants businesses etc. Indeed, even along Dixon Street in Sydney, however, I had never noticed the variations and similarities and never realised that the gender of the lion is specified, albeit in a subtle sense. The gender of the lion is indicated by what is under the front paw. Males have their front right paw resting on a ball. Females have their front left foot paw resting on or protecting a baby lion. Some gender-stereotyping going on, before it was un-cool to depict it?
ROADS AND INFRASTRUCTURE.
The massive road network infrastructure is impressive. One road interchange we went ‘through’ was 5 layers! Apparently, there is a 6 layer one nearby. Gives meaning to the term ‘spaghetti-junction’. Couldn’t get a decent photo of them though – but we tried!
The roads on which we travelled
were wide and straight, with cleaners and workers along the highways picking up
litter and caring for planter boxes and flowers, along with grass maintenance and weed removal.
Out of the big cities, there were frequent 'toll-booths' to drive through. Not sure if they were for revenue-raising, traffic management or people management.
Also, different speed limits were applied to lanes on those highways with 3 lanes or more.
The traffic overpasses and interchanges are constructed very quickly apparently. This one on the road to Hangzhou was still in progress. Would need to come back in a few weeks time to see the finished product.
In the cities, there were cars and traffic jams everywhere, but remarkably, nearly all the scooters and motorbikes we saw were electric. Not sure whether this applies also to cars and trucks but the cities we visited in China were remarkably quiet. The emergency vehicles (police and ambulance at least) do not get right-of-way so they are stuck in traffic jams with lights flashing but no sirens or noise. Much quieter than even Sydney and Melbourne where there is constant noise of vehicles, sirens, alarms and tooting horns – not to mention other Asian cities like Manila or Hanoi.
Google products are not accessible in China, but the equivalent of 'Google Live Traffic updates' are posted on large electronic signs around the big cities.
Out of the big cities, there were frequent 'toll-booths' to drive through. Not sure if they were for revenue-raising, traffic management or people management.
Also, different speed limits were applied to lanes on those highways with 3 lanes or more.
The traffic overpasses and interchanges are constructed very quickly apparently. This one on the road to Hangzhou was still in progress. Would need to come back in a few weeks time to see the finished product.
In the cities, there were cars and traffic jams everywhere, but remarkably, nearly all the scooters and motorbikes we saw were electric. Not sure whether this applies also to cars and trucks but the cities we visited in China were remarkably quiet. The emergency vehicles (police and ambulance at least) do not get right-of-way so they are stuck in traffic jams with lights flashing but no sirens or noise. Much quieter than even Sydney and Melbourne where there is constant noise of vehicles, sirens, alarms and tooting horns – not to mention other Asian cities like Manila or Hanoi.
Google products are not accessible in China, but the equivalent of 'Google Live Traffic updates' are posted on large electronic signs around the big cities.
Apparently, electric scooters
have been mandated for 10 years or so in China. I thought our politicians said there was no point in
us doing anything about carbon and exhaust emissions until China and India did.
Hmm! Methinks they are already doing it in China – from what we saw - and they are 10 years ahead of us!
Residents of China must apply and
pay for a permit to buy a car – before they can buy a car. They must demonstrate
that their car or vehicle will enhance the city economy by being essential for
work. If they can't prove that, they don't get permission to buy a car. Then they have to pay for the vehicle on top of the permit.
What was surprising though, given this controlled and mandated structure, was how many cars on the roads during the day had only one occupant, just from our anecdotal observation. No statistical backup for this claim.
What was surprising though, given this controlled and mandated structure, was how many cars on the roads during the day had only one occupant, just from our anecdotal observation. No statistical backup for this claim.
AN ODD SIGN OR TWO.
... and it's not a sign in the usual sense - but you do have to have confidence in yourself.
