Posted on 06/23/2013 6:55:46 PM PDT by TexGrill
On Wednesday, the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress will convene. What’s on the agenda? A proposal to fast-track a massive urbanization plan.
Beijing is now placing a big bet on cities. The gamble, however, is unlikely to pay off. It could even sink the Chinese economy and create social unrest.
Today, the Tokyo metropolitan area, home to 37.1 million, can claim to be the world’s most populous urban region. Beijing wants to top that and build metropolises dwarfing anything seen in Japan—or anywhere else.
How about a Chinese city of 260 million people? That’s the size of the proposed Bohai Economic Rim, centered on Beijing and Tianjin. Work has already begun on this project with a high-speed railway linking the two cities, which sit next to each other.
There is also a plan to combine Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Foshan, Huizhou, Zhaoqing, Jiangmen, Zhongshan, and Zhuhai in southern Guangdong province. And with those nine cities wrapped into an integrated whole, the adjoining Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau cannot be far behind. So instead of a city of 42 million, it would be more like 50 million.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
I was in Beijing last week. Then I drove a couple hours North and a couple hours East after that.
Here’s what I want to know: Where were all of the people? Out of some 30 subway stops in their two main inner loops, maybe 3 stops were packed with people, but even then it wasn’t Tokyo-levels of commuters.
Beijing has highway traffic too, but not traffic jams from overcrowding.
...and there were a few farmers in fields, but just a handful.
I walked the Great Wall for miles without seeing a single other human from horizon to horizon, and the Great Wall is built along ridgelines and over mountaintops so your view is fantastic.
I’m not saying that China was empty. I did see people and even had to wait in a few lines...but I’m wondering where the other 1.3 Billion people went.
You’re right Beijing hasn’t though about all the social implications of urbanization. I met one official touting his urban plan but when I asked him how he would deal with the rise of street crime, he looked clueless. It seemed as if he had never pondered this dilemma before proposing China megacities as the wave of the future.
What? Beijing is no ghost city. It’s really crowded. Did you go on Line 1 Subway during rush hour? I’m from Dallas and once you drive a couple of hours from the city proper, you will find vast empty spaces, just like Dallas. However, the Central Business District is jam-packed 24/7.
Line 1 was not crowded. I spent most of my subway time on Line 2 and Line 5, followed by Line 10 and Line 1 (and then the Airport Express, of course).
I started each day at 5 AM and rode on and off until most of the lines closed around 21:00.
I also rode the public bus system extensively. Some buses were full, many were empty.
Street Crime is not a present of future problem for China. It is a homogenous culture with a deathgrip on strong families+values, educated, and they have multiple overlapping layers of police and volunteers throughout.
Was it on the weekend or weekday? Just wondering because I take Line 1 every day and I feel like a cramped sardine. I wish I had your luck when taking the subway.
Exactly..Multicultural societies are ultimately doomed to fail.
I was there Wednesday thru Wednesday for 1 week and made it a point to drive, ride, and walk the city and countryside to maximize my feel for the place.
Which stops are you commuting between on Line 1? If you’ll note, I *did* mention that there were at least 3 of the 30 subway stops on the inner loops that were crowded.
My comparison is to Tokyo, by the way. Shovers employed to push more commuters into Japanese subways to completely fill them up.
Beijing felt more like the London tubes (subway) system...and the countryside seemed less populated than 2 hours North of Dallas (where I have a ranch).
The Left pushes “diversity” and multiculturalism only because it hurts the U.S.
I commute between Dawanglu to Dongdan subway lines to go to and from work. Anyway, next time you’re in Beijing Freepmail me and I can find some crowded places for you. Cool, your from the Dallas area, it would be good to talk to you the next time you’re in Beijing.
I was at the Dongdan subway stop daily, multiple times each day. My hotel was near there.
Now that I think about it. The subway is most crowded on Mondays and Tuesdays and I did notice a drop of passengers on Wednesday-Friday. I recall it raining last week. This might have caused a plunge of commuter traffic. I work nearby the Sheraton Hotel, did you go there?
The population of china was always 15 to 25% of the world's population
Europe's population was 20% of the world's into the 1800s
I believe they already do have similar plans for the mega cities like Mexico City, Bombay, Tokyo each of which have 20 to 30 million in their built-up areas...
...and the countryside seemed less populated than 2 hours North of Dallas (where I have a ranch).
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I believe that would place you in Oklahoma, wouldn’t it?
Hope you escaped damage from the recent tornadoes.
Hell NO!! Kung Fu Zombies!
I understand the ‘’mechanics’’ chum. What I want to know is why?
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