On the flight back to the US now. Hopefully I will find the gumption to write
some detailed posts about several topics that I thought on during the
trip. For now, here are some general
impressions of the 3 places I visited.
Shanghai:
I don’t have too much to say about Shanghai. It hadn’t changed much since the last time I
was there. Sure there were new buildings
here and there but when you have so many already, a few more doesn’t really
impress or detract. As usual on a trip
to Shanghai, I
pretty much stayed in the downtown Puxi area close to our office so I really
didn’t see to much. Going into the Shanghai office did again confirm my prejudice that in general, Shanghai people just aren’t very friendly as compared to
Beijingers or others in China. The weather was nice and the air quality not
bad for China. I’d give the air a 5 or 6 on a 1-10 scale
(avg day in Boston
= 9).
Singapore: Singapore is really nice. This was my 3rd trip there but I
stayed a weekend this time and so had the opportunity to see much more than I
have in past. Wherever I walked in Singapore the
same thought kept occurring: “That is really well done”. The whole city is just really well done. It is not just the legendary cleanliness;
it’s the landscape architecture, the mix of classic colonial and modern
buildings, the convenient layout, beautiful women, and the excellent variety
and quality of food. We were very
fortunate in the weather as well with everyday no more than 85 degrees or so
with a pleasant breeze. I have been there
in August before and do remember how oppressively hot it can be. About the only drawback I could see was the
expense. Compared to the US, Singapore is really expensive. This seems to be pretty much true across the
board but it was really obvious in the cost of alcoholic drinks. A draft beer at a pretty average restaurant
ran me nearly $10 US. At a nicer
restaurant it was more like $15. All in
all, one could certainly do worse than to end up in Singapore.
Beijing: Beijing is the city that
I am most familiar with of the three, having lived there for over 2 years. It is also the place that I have thought I
would return to if I were to choose to live in China again. I had a nice time. I saw some friends, had good conversation,
and generally enjoyed myself. However,
the city itself was a pretty huge disappointment. I am both a little surprised and horrified
that the city is in the condition it is so close to the Olympics. I simply cannot imagine what they are going
to do to prevent a massive loss of face to China (in Chinese own eyes) which
could have lasting geopolitical consequences.
It started with the airport. They have recently opened a new terminal for
international flights. Apparently, this
terminal is built some outrageous distance away from the rest of the
airport. The result being that the
airplane must taxi about ½ hour (no exaggeration!) after landing just to get to
a gate. Once you get off the plane, you
must walk and ride trains for at least another ½ hour before you arrive at the
baggage claim. Add in the immigration
and it is about 1 ½ hours from landing to arrival at baggage claim. Just amazingly inconvenient particularly
after a long international flight. Like
most prestige projects in China,
the new terminal is large, empty, and pretty soulless other than the garish
ultranationalist fountains they have here and there.
Traffic! For the 5
days I was there, no matter what road I traveled at what time of day the
traffic was noticeably worse than 11 months ago. Mathematically it could be no other way when
they are adding how ever many thousands of cars per month with no new
roads. It is really quite bad now and in
general must have quite a negative effect of the efficiency of nearly any
activity. I’m told by a taxi driver that
most of the cars will be off the road (including his taxi which he was none to
happy about) during the Olympics.
Air. I was
surprised at the air. I believe it was
actually worse than a year ago, certainly no better. I would rate it a 3 on the 1-10 scale above. It is really quite bad. I kept thinking that if I were an Olympic
athlete visiting Beijing
maybe to see the venue prior to or something I can’t imagine them returning to
compete. I suspect breathing that air
could permanently affect their performance.
Maybe they will somehow clean it up in time for the games but barring a
miracle (in the form of maybe a week of rain prior to the games) I just can’t
see how it could be done.
I do not predict a rosy future for Beijing.
It simply is not sustainable. I
am thinking that its population has probably pretty well peaked and that those
with the means will begin to move to smaller cities with better infrastructure
and a more favorable climate. By the
way, Beijingers know it too. I heard
from several people that they do not want the Olympics to come because they
know there it a fair risk of disaster.
