rss feedConstruction sites in China: I’m a visual fan
I don’t know what it is about the construction sites I’ve seen in China. But I’m a fan – at least in a visual sense.
Yes, I’ve heard of reports of poor construction and that shoddy work led to serious accidents, including public outrage and serious responses from government authorities.
Obviously, poor construction – and the roots of it – need to be addressed.
But there is something about seeing workers, typically men who are often from rural areas and who go to big cities and towns as part of a “floating population,” to build structures – both dazzling and pedestrian – for China’s future.
The last I recall, the “floating population” numbered at least in the tens of millions. The scenes you see in these photographs are gone, likely replaced with more modern structures.
Yes, China does have an impressive amount of skyscrapers, especially the CCTV building which involved world-famous architect Rem Koolhaas.
The modern side of China, of course, is what tourism, business and government officials want international visitors to see.
But wander around in the country on your own, take long-distance buses over bumpy roads to remote but fascinating tourist areas or just sit at a major construction site for an hour or so in a big city.
You’ll likely see workers using their hands to build the future. I hope, though, that they now use more mechanized equipment to make their jobs easier.
At these sites, I’ve seen multi-colored tarps used to make temporary dorms for the workers. I vividly remember workers setting up red bricks – sort of in a triangle shape – on the street to cradle a wok used to cook.
I’ve seen many workers clutch a steamed bun, known as a mantou in Mandarin, while they rested. Yes, bamboo has been used as building supports in the past.
One story that went around, when I was in China, was that an earthquake struck one time, sending the bricks used in construction tumbling to the ground. The bamboo, though, stayed up.
If you hang around construction sites long enough, you can actually see crews make progress in short periods of time. In some cases, crews work around the clock and can actually accomplish much without a large amount of heavy equipment.
In some cases, I saw buildings that were partially finished. People nearby talked about a lack of money to finish the buildings.
In 1993, during my first trip to China, I just walked around the alleys and streets of Guangzhou. One thing I looked for were construction sites.
Recently, Dan Chung of the Guardian really caught much of the construction worker feeling in this video shot in Beijing.
These days, there is a building boom in many ways in China – especially with apartment homes. And as you’ve probably seen, state banks are trying to slow down lending and avoid an overheated market.
