Grabbing The Wave ... and hanging on for dear life : Oct (5) Reflection on growth & change

ENERGY DISTRIBUTION

HOUSING & TRANSPORTATION

AGRI-BUSINESS

Up to 28 cars per truck!!

Wind farm towers

Not sure which mineral this is, but I am sure that all minerals are being exploited

one of hundreds of wind farms - word is though that corruption is rampant in this area and developers are building the farms and then, wihtout starting them up, are taking huge tax write-offs

Seen everywhere a sign can be posted!

No doubt about it, the revolutionary change and development going on here is so fast, so dynamic and so determined that it is kind of incomprehensible. Certainly our political system would not be able to sustain this. An entire huge country almost entirely crisscrossed by very efficient and often fast train lines. High tension wires everywhere in such abundance that they often ride over each other. Wind farms that go farther into the distance than you can see. Housing developments that rise simultaneously from 20+ slabs to 20+ stories in a very short time. Boulevards 6 lanes wide prepared in advance for the onslaught of traffic that is expected. Car carriers of 24-28 wheels with extensions off the back and sides carrying up to 28 cars at a time! Hundreds and hundreds of overstuffed trucks, packaged beautifully, carrying who knows what to who knows where, but certainly in a hurry. Every inch of useful ground being used. I'm sure the concept of emminent domain was never discussed - just acted on.

I never saw the Yangtze River dams or the modern skyscraper cities of Shanghai and Hong Kong. I never saw the great grasslands of the north west or the rice field terraces in the south. But I saw enough to know that there is no stopping this beheomoth. China will be completely modern and when that leaves the warrior/wealthy class unappeased, let's hope that subtle negotiations will help keep peace while the social readjustment takes place and the country has time to find its bearings and its soul.

There's an undercurrent of anger and confusion at the displacements and loss of the past 75 years. Many Chinese people I spoke with told me that China has lost its heart, and worse it's soul - that everything now points to greed, greed, greed. But these people who comment on it are not people with any real clout. The government and wealth control absolutely everything. There are cameras everywhere. The government so micromanages individuals that they want to know what residence you are in at any given time. Foreigners had to register with the local police and when our time to renew the travel permit was close they would call and basically tell you to get out and get renewed or payout. I left 4 days earlier than expected rather than pay a lot of money for staying 2 extra days. Checking in at the airport I noticed the agent doing a quick calculation to see if I had overstayed and needed pay!

Gentle little touches of the old "spirit" can be found in little pockets. Parks on weekends were filled with people dancing, singing, practicing, exercising, socializing.... Some of the larger temples were devoutly visited with incense and prayers....... Evening exercise dancing at the street side seem to be the way the folk dances are being preserved. ..... The determined efforts of classical instrument musicians is assuring that at least for a while the historic folk and classical music of China will be heard. Of course market streets with family shops have a feeling of community. Little by little people are finding their "spirit" again, but it is hard, hard work to rebuild a culture worn down by years of internal strife, terrifying political management, loss and displacement. I admire the human force that keeps rekindling the hope.

Beijing is a city of change and surprises. It's a city where ex-pats have a lot of fun trying out experiences they wouldn't have done at home! (street dancing, kareoke, unusual foods, bargaining, adventuring.....) It's got western stores and family stores and street vendors of course. It's got high rises and corrugated metal hovels right next to each other. It's got the beauty of the Temple of Heaven, the Lama Temple and the Forbidden City, right next to the austere Tiananmen Square and messy back alleys of hutongs.

I liked actually living in downtown for the last 3 months. Being out near the 5th ring road was too far away to feel any of the city tempo. I walked a lot and rode the fabulous subway whenever I was going far. I felt safe. I felt continuously interested and curious. I was never bored. I met or exchanged greetings with hundreds of people and those were all enjoyable moments. If it weren't for the pollution, Beijing would be quite beautiful, surrounded on north and west as it is by some good sized mountains. Time will tell whether the government proclamations of pollution reduction requirements will have any value. It would be nice if they did!