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Showing posts with label Change. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Change. Show all posts

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Dramatic Change in Chongqing

A scene I saw today captures some key aspects of what has and has not changed in Chongqing, China, between my first visit here in 2009 and my return six years later.

In January, 2009, when I visited the docks at Chaotianmen I took a photo of the nearly-completed Chongqing Grand Theatre across the Jialing River.

view of Chongqing Grand Theatre across the Jialing River in 2009


Today I took a photo of the now open Chongqing Grand Theatre from a similar location.

view of Chongqing Grand Theatre across the Jialing River in 2015

The photos show how Chongqing's reputation for its fog and smog, both likely playing a role today based on weather and pollution reports, has been long standing and well deserved. They also both show some of the many boats popular with tourists.

But the differences between the two photos are even more striking to me. Not only are numerous new tall buildings readily apparent in the 2015 photo, but a portion of a new double-decker bridge crossing the Jialing River with levels for cars and trains can be seen as well. And if you look closely at an enlarged version of the 2009 photo (click it), you may be able to spot the cable car, now no longer in existence, crossing the river.

Most incredible, what is captured in these photos represents only a small portion of the change I have noticed in Chongqing. More to come on this theme.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Eggs and Gasoline: Comparing How Far the Average Income Goes in 1938's U.S. to Today's China

I first came across this "1938 Cost of Living" image in a shared tweet:

1938 cost of living list

Any mentions I have seen assume the numbers in the image are U.S. specific, and I will do the same. I don't know the original source for the image, but the earliest mention I can find is by a Reddit user in a post which inspired many others.

The numbers are thought-provoking in how they compare to today's and what they would now be if everything had increased at the same rate. For example, a top comment on the Reddit post provides a "2014 Version" with costs updated using a simple inflation calculation:
New House: $64,939.43
Average Income: $28,823.11
New Car: $14,319.98
Average Rent: $449.58
Tuition to Harvard: $6,993.48
Movie Ticket: $4.16
Gas: $1.67
U.S. Postal Stamp: $0.50
Sugar: $9.82
Vit D Milk: $8.33
Coffee: $6.49
Bacon: $5.33
Eggs: $3.00
As Charles Mudede in Slog points out, the actual prices of some of those items today are much higher:
Tuition at Harvard is now $38,891, a 2014 Prius is about $25,000, the median price for a single-family home is around $200,000, and per capita income is just below $30,000...

Which in turns leads to points that Americans don't have as much purchasing power as they once did.

When I first saw the numbers, though, my thoughts went in a slightly different direction. The average American income of $1731 per year jumped out at me. It didn't seem very different from figures I remembered seeing for current average incomes in China. In The New York Times, Edward Wong shared some relevant numbers while reporting on income gaps in China:
Average annual income for a family in 2012 was 13,000 renminbi, or about $2,100. When broken down by geography, the survey results showed that the average amount in Shanghai, a huge coastal city, was just over 29,000 renminbi, or $4,700, while the average in Gansu Province, far from the coast in northwest China, was 11,400 renminbi, or just under $2,000. Average family income in urban areas was about $2,600, while it was $1,600 in rural areas.
Yet while many people in China make the same or even less than the average American in 1938, even without any adjustment for inflation, they can't get anything near those low 1938 prices for many of the items. In fact, for some items they could be paying more than what people in the U.S. are paying today.

For some examples, in response to figures indicating that with a dollar's worth of currency people in China could buy more than people in the U.S., several years ago Patrick Chovanec shared/translated/converted data informally collected by a Chinese financial publication to compare prices for the same goods in Hangzhou, a city not far from Shanghai, and Boston:

comparison of various items' prices in Hangzhou and Boston

The more-expensive-in-Hangzhou goods, such as eggs and gasoline, are highlighted in red. And there are many other items to look at, such as iPhones (more expensive in China) and a popular economic indicator — Big Macs (more expensive in the U.S.). Using examples which may especially resonate if you have lived in both China and the U.S., Chovanec explains there is of course much more to consider, including costs of services, than the above chart when comparing people's purchasing power in China and the U.S. But as the chart suggests, it is not hard to find goods which cost more in China, and you cant make tea eggs or stir-fried egg and tomato, both common in China, without . . . eggs.

All of this is simply to say that when wondering how to interpret the latest news of China's economic growth, consider that many in China are living with a 1938 U.S. salary or less and spending it in a 2014 China.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Still Drawing

Over 5 years ago in Changsha, Hunan, I saw a group of children sitting on the sidewalk drawing traditional buildings.

children sitting on a brick sidewalk drawing buildings in Changsha

girl drawing buildings in Changsha

Including a number of demolished neighborhoods and new shopping centers in the nearby area, much has changed in Changsha since I saw those children.

Recently in Shanghai, I saw another group of children similarly drawing the historical buildings at The Bund.

girl and boy drawing buildings at The Bund in Shanghai

And it made me ponder how some things in China's rapidly growing cities change more slowly than others.

Monday, July 14, 2014

Still Shoe Shining in Hengyang, China

Last year I shared a shoe shining scene from over two and a half years ago in Hengyang, Hunan:

shoe shining on a sidewalk in Hengyang

Despite only spending a couple of days in Hengyang during my first visit and the long period of time since then, I thought I could find the same location and see what it looks like now. Would the shoeshiners still be there?

Yes.

shoeshiners waiting for customers at the same location in Hengyang

Like other comparisons of scenes from over two years ago and now in Hengyang, some change is noticeable. Most surprising to me was that I recognized one of the women. So I told her I had been there over 2 years ago, and she claimed to recognize me as well. Although I doubt I would have recognized her without having recently looked at the old photo, perhaps she did remember a foreigner taking her photo long ago. Whatever the case, after a friendly chat and a thorough "shoe shine", my sneakers almost looked like new.

woman smiling as she cleans a sneaker

Friday, June 6, 2014

An Expiring Deal with a Changing Chinese People

In "For Tiananmen leader, a permanent exile" Ananth Krishnan's interview of Chinese dissident Wu’er Kaixi touches on a deal the Chinese government made decades ago:
Despite the two decades of unprecedented growth in China since 1989, [Wu’er Kaixi] believes the Party will face growing calls for political reform and anger against rising corruption — the same two demands that propelled protests 25 years ago.

“They struck a deal with the Chinese people in 1992 to give people a certain degree of economic freedom in exchange for political submission. That was a lousy deal because both economic freedom and political freedom is something that, to begin with, the Chinese people are entitled to. But this deal is also expiring. Once you give people economic freedom, they will become a little bit more powerful and they want more freedom. Because they want to be able to protect the money they made, they want rule of law, fair competition.”
In "Tiananmen, Forgotten" Helen Gao shares what it has been like for some to grow up under that deal:
[In] the post-Tiananmen years, life was like a cruise on a smooth highway lined with beautiful scenery. We studied hard and crammed for exams. On weekends, we roamed shopping malls to try on jeans and sneakers, or hit karaoke parlors, bellowing out Chinese and Western hits.

This alternation between exertion and ennui slowly becomes a habit and, later, an attitude. Both, if well-endured, are rewarded by a series of concrete symbols of success: a college diploma, a prestigious job, a car, an apartment. The rules are simple, though the competition never gets easier; therefore we look ahead, focusing on our personal well-being, rather than the larger issues that bedevil the society.
And in "The economic backdrop to Tian'anmen" Rob Schmitz highlights how even though people may want a new deal, whether because they feel "left behind" or a "little bit more powerful", people whose life has been more "like a cruise on a smooth highway" can have concerns about possible changes:
University of California’s Jeffrey Wasserstrom says 25 years later, with China’s economy now slowing down, there are signs the Chinese people want to renegotiate this deal – it’s no longer clear that making more money is an option. "Now I think there’s a sense that if you’ve been left behind, maybe you’ll be permanently left behind," says Wasserstrom. "And also, with the rising concern with issues like food safety, and heavy polluted air and water, I think it’s not so clear to people anymore that they can assume their children will live better lives than they did."

"People are angry, but people are worried that if something changes, would anything get better?" asks University of Michigan's Mary Gallagher. "I don’t think people in China have much confidence in democracy right now, and looking around them they may feel particularly people in the cities and people in the middle class may feel that democracy could end up even worse. It’s a much more segmented society, and people who are wealthy and who are middle class have much more to protect. And when they think about democracy, they think about majority rule. And I think majority rule is scary to them."
These excerpts together tell a story which resonates with what I have learned in China. In the future, I will share some thoughts on some of the seeming contradictions and important issues they raise. But for now, I simply recommend reading the pieces by Krishnan, Gao, and Schmitz. They each have their own story to tell about China 25 years after June 4, 1989.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Then and Now: Two Bridge Scenes in Hengyang

Now seems like a good time to share photos I took this month from locations similar to the locations of two photos in a set of scenes from Hengyang I posted over two years ago. I recently shared some scenes located under traditional style and more modern style bridges in Hengyang. The photos below were instead taken while I stood on a bridge.

View from the Hengxiang Bridge in December 2011

View from the Hengxiang Bridge in May 2014

Traffic on the Hengxiang Bridge in December 2011

Traffic on the Hengxiang Bridge in May 2014

Some of the differences can be attributed to the time of year. For instance, the red lanterns in the third photo likely reflect Chinese New Year being less than a month away. Other differences, such as the new buildings on the right side of the second photo, reflect more permanent changes. And what has not changed can be just as interesting.

What do you see?*



*As usual, click/tap the photos for larger versions.

Friday, December 27, 2013

A New Shopping Experience in Changsha

The site of the future Changsha IFS is still a huge pit, but if you're looking for somewhere new (and not cheap) to shop now, about a 15 minute walk away and next to the Xiang River is a site in a very different stage of development. I remember walking through narrow alleys in the area during my first visit to Changsha 4-5 years ago. At the time there were many buildings marked for demolition. Now they are gone, and in their place is Kaifu Wanda Plaza. Its towers appear on the far left side in the night scene I shared here. It opened at the end of September, and according to the developer, Wanda Group:
The plaza is Changsha's most complete and high level urban commercial complex project. The project has a total construction area of 1.03 million square meters and is comprised of a commercial center, a pedestrian promenade, a luxury five star hotel, business hotel, office buildings and luxury residences. Big name brands from China and overseas have been brought in as tenants including Wanda IMAX, Superstar KTV, Gome Electronics, etc. The plaza's design, layout, construction quality and overall environment will ensure it becomes a key shopping destination for the city of Changsha.

The plaza's opening is expected to change Changsha's landscape by upgrading the overall grade of the city as a destination for doing business and for consumers.

Changsha Kaifu Wanda Plaza will bring nearly 10,000 new jobs to the area and provide a steady flow of tax revenue to the local government.
Other tenants I saw when I visited last month included foreign brands such as Adidas Kids, Baskin Robbins, Bose, Calvin Klein, Haagen Daz, Lego, and Nautica. With the exception of an area on the first floor, the main building appeared to be mostly occupied, and on a Monday evening there were lines of people waiting to get a table at many of the restaurants on the top floor. The outdoor "pedestrian promenade" surrounding the main building seems to still be getting up to speed and appeared to be at least half vacant. It will be interesting to see what it's like in another year.

Of course, while there I took a few photos, and I'll share some below. They were taken on a Monday afternoon & evening. To make a comparison with other shopping environments, see last year's post about the MixC--Shenzhen's largest shopping mall--or last month's post about an outdoor antique market.

large screen surrounding entrance to Kaifu Wanda Plaze in Changsha displaying video of a female singer
This front entrance is surrounded by a huge video display.

inside of Kaifu Wanda Plaza in Changsha, China
A view from the 4th floor

A view from the 3rd floor

A water fountain that can spell Chinese characters wraps around the back of a set of elevators.

A large video screen next to another set of elevators

Looking up at Wanda Plaza's towers

Crab hats are part of the fashion for staff at Seahood.

A long line for Tiny Pie

McDonald's staff were entertaining this group of kids.

One of the yet-to-open stores

A movie theater on the 5th floor

A variety of luxury cars are on display, including this Bentley GT V8, at a ground floor store.

One entrance to the outdoor pedestrian street

Still more work to complete before Zoo Coffee opens

Monday, December 23, 2013

A Big Pit in Changsha

When I visited Beizheng Street in Changsha, Hunan province, last month, I saw much had changed from a year ago due to the demolition of numerous buildings. About 10-15 minutes away on foot there is another place where I noticed significant change. Here is a photo of the construction site last year:

Construction site for the Changsha International Financial Square (IFS) in 2012
October, 2012


I wasn't sure what I'd find upon returning last month. Would there be a partially built structure? No, even better, there was a bigger pit.

Construction site for the Changsha International Financial Square (IFS) in 2013 is a much deeper pit
November, 2013

And they were hard at work in the pit, even around midnight.

Construction site for the Changsha International Financial Square (IFS) in 2013 at night
November, 2013

According to a government website, in October the pit reached a depth of 35 meters. It looks like it could serve as an aquarium for whales, but Hong Kong developer Wharf Holdings is instead using the site to build the Changsha International Financial Square (IFS). As described by Wharf Holdings:
Changsha IFS will comprise an iconic 452-metre tower, the tallest landmark in Hunan, and another tower in 315 metres in height atop a retail podium, offering upscale retail, Grade A offices and a five-star sky hotel with a total GFA of 725,000 square metres. It is ideally located in the prime area of Jiefang Road in Furong District and the mega-sized retail podium of 230,000 square metres, larger than the retail malls at Chengdu IFS and Harbour City in Hong Kong, will be among the largest in Changsha and Central China to capture the growing consumption demand in the region. Construction is underway with full completion in 2016.
The validity of the "tallest landmark in Hunan" claim depends on whether Sky City, which has received much more media attention and would be the world's tallest, is ever built. As of August, the developers for Sky City had not secured all the necessary approvals, and I am not aware of any significant change since then. Perhaps the delay is related to the developer's claims it can be built in 90 days (not counting time for prefabrication). The Changsha IFS will take quite a bit longer to build. In the meantime, Wharf Holdings will open the Chongqing IFS in 2015, the Wuxi IFS in 2014, and the Chengdu IFS next month.

Beizheng Street and the Changsha IFS construction site are both examples of how Changsha is undergoing significant change. In a later post, I will share another example that is also within walking distance. However, it differs in that its transformation is nearly complete.

Friday, December 20, 2013

In Memory of Changsha's Beizheng Street

Last month as I walked past and through the remnants of many demolished buildings around Beizheng Street in Changsha, Hunan province, I considered China's large number of forced evictions and the constant change so easily found in its rapidly developing cities. In the previous two posts I shared photos of what I saw around Beizheng Street and made several direct comparisons to what I saw there last year. In many ways, the area was similar to other demolished neighborhoods I have seen in China. But one scene included something remarkable I had not seen before--a creation arising from the rubble itself.

men constructing a reddish brick sculpture while two other men photograph it


For about 10 minutes I watched several people working on the brick sculpture. I then headed off to explore more of the neighborhood knowing I would pass by again before leaving.

When I returned, they were putting on the finishing touches. Boldly standing out was the Chinese word "记忆" (jìyì) which translates to "memory".

men applying a whitish paint to a sculpture of the Chinese word "记忆"


I soon met with several of the artists who created the sculpture.

Chinese artist in glasses with the "记忆" sculpture in the background

two Chinese artists, one holding a camera, with the "记忆" sculpture in the background


While I was there, many people passed by without stopping, but some paused for a few moments to look at the new sight. A few curious schoolgirls took a close look and were invited to be photographed with two of the artists.

two artists and 3 young girls posing for a photo in front of the sculpture of "记忆".

All of the artists had grown up around Beizheng Street and now worked in the advertising industry in Guangzhou, about 8 hours away from Changsha by car. They had returned to build the sculpture, which symbolized all that would be left of the Beizheng Street they had known. When I asked one artist how he now felt looking at his old neighborhood he replied, "Angry."

New structures will rise in the future, but how many of them will retain something of the old Beizheng Street? I imagined the sculpture remaining, maybe in a small park, as one small sign of the past. That's probably just a fantasy though. Like much else which could recently be found at Beizheng Street, the "memory" itself may already only be a memory. The artists guessed it would last for at most 3 weeks, perhaps a fitting existence. Regardless, what matters most is not whether their sculpture remains standing. What matters is that they built it at all.

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Three Scenes One Year Ago and Today at Beizheng Street in Changsha

In two posts I shared photos of scenes from last year and of more recent scenes around Changsha's Beizheng Street--a neighborhood long marked for destruction and where one local man told me people had not been compensated enough by the government for their homes. So many buildings have been demolished during the past year that I could have taken photos from the same location this year and last year without noticing it, but there are at least three scenes where I can make a direct comparison.

One scene includes a Padaria New Mario--a bakery store chain with a number of locations in Changsha:

Padaria New Mario at Beizheng Street in Changsha
October, 2012

An empty Padaria New Mario at Beizheng Street in Changsha
November, 2013

Last year the bakery remained open for business. Last month the building was empty except for rubble. Other changes in the scene can be found as well.

On the other side of the street, a building notable for its traditional-style architecture also remained, although part of a row of buildings behind it did not:

traditional style building at Beizheng Street in Changsha
October, 2012

traditional style building at Beizheng Street in Changsha
November, 2013

The clothes hanging on the third level suggest at least part of the building was still in use.

The above comparisons were easy to make since they included recognizable buildings which remained. The same can't be said for the final scene.

While walking around Beizheng Street, I recalled a winding narrow alley where I had chatted with some people last year:

adults watching two boys, one in an electric toy car, in a small alley near Beizheng Street in Changsha
October, 2012

I wondered whether I could find the same location. After relying on my navigation skills and walking through a lot of rubble, I found it:

a narrow alley through the remaining rubble of demolished buildings near Beizheng Street in Changsha
November, 2013

Of all the scenes it stands out the most to me, partly because it touched on a brief personal experience, partly because the change is dramatic, and partly because it implies much more has changed than just buildings.

I don't know whether the people I met there last year ever returned to see what had become of the alley, but I did speak with some other people who returned to see their old neighborhood. And I probably would have never met them had it not been for how they decided to express themselves. I will say and show more about their art in an upcoming post.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Remnants of a Disappearing Neighborhood in Changsha, China

After discussing an increase in forced evictions in China last year, I shared some relevant scenes from a neighborhood:
... around Beizheng Street (北正街) which is close to a popular and rapidly developing shopping district in central Changsha. When I first visited Changsha over 3 years ago I noticed a number of similar buildings in other areas marked for demolition with a red 拆 (chāi) inside a circle. Now, it appears the preferred symbol is a red "征" (zhēng) inside a circle. 拆 roughly means "demolished" and 征 roughly means "acquisition".
Although there were already some emptied or demolished buildings at the time, signs of everyday life could still be found. Here is one of the photos from the earlier post:

two young women walking by food items for sale at Beizheng Street in Changhsa

Several weeks ago I returned to Beizheng Street. Not surprisingly, much had changed in a year. Before, Changsha's local culture could easily be found. Now, many scenes could be easily confused with those of numerous other neighborhoods across China also being demolished.

Below is a set of photos from my recent visit displayed in the order they were taken. Some show remaining buildings, including what in China are called "nail houses"--individual homes left standing alone, often due to residents who don't want to leave or who are holding out for more money. Some show Changsha's newer buildings in the background. Some show people collecting scraps from the demolished buildings. Some show people simply passing through. Some show the decreasing examples of the everyday life of people who still live or work there. Many show the remnants of demolished buildings.

And they all show just a single point in time as the area continues to change.

narrow pathway through rubble at Beizheng Street in Changsha

woman walking by the rubble of demolished buildings near Beizheng Street in Changsha

man riding by demolished buildings on Beizheng Street in Changsha

"nail house" at Beizheng Street in Changsha

men using shovels at Beizheng Street in Changsha

woman and boy at Beizheng Street in Changsha

pathway between rubble leading away from Beizheng Street in Changsha

woman knitting outside and others play mahjong inside at Beizheng Street in Changsha

man squatting down in front of demolished buildings at Beizheng Street in Changsha

red banner reading "打好攻坚战,腾空地铁口" hung on a remaining building at Beizheng Street in Changsha

women standing and a dog sitting outside some remaining buildings at Beizheng Street in Changsha

a chair sitting next to rubble near Beizheng Street in Changsha

buildings at Beizheng Street in Changsha

two older women walking by some remaining buildings at Beizheng Street in Changsha

older man with a cane walking on Beizheng Street in Changsha

women with babies in strollers at Beizheng Street in Changsha

man sitting in front of a motel sign at Beizheng Street in Changsha

man with a two-wheeled wooden wheelbarrow collecting scraps from the demolished buildings at Beizheng Street in Changsha

man and two women riding on a motorbike at Beizheng Street in Changsha

young woman walking with her arm on a young man's shoulder at Beizheng Street in Changsha

man resting while sitting on a tricycle cart parked next to demolished buildings at Beizheng Street in Changsha

two women walking by rubble near Beizheng Street in Changsha

woman riding a bicycle past demolished buildings and a modern tall building in the background

a view from a small hill of Beizheng Street with tall buildings being built in the background

For a comparison, scenes from last year can be found here, and an earlier set of scenes when Beizheng Street was in full form 5 years ago can be found in a post by Sheng Yong (盛勇) here. In a later post, I will share a few photos where I can make direct comparisons with scenes from last year (perhaps sharp-eyed readers might be able to find examples in the above photos as well). In another post, I will share something I did not expect to find which expresses the feelings of a few people who used to live there.