China builds one skyscraper every five days

[Aegis DDG]

I am impressed about how fast China has changed....!

 

[cirr]

The US builds a killing machine every 5 seconds。

If it is good for the US，it must be good for mankind。

 

[Ayush]

impressive.

 

[Nan Yang]

As a matter of construction and land use, yes, but as a matter of people, watch out! U.S. urban planners tried this approach from the 1950s-1980s and the results were neighborhoods of high-rise, high-crime slums. I urge China to learn from this experience - and not to fool themselves by thinking that an engineer can do the job of a really good architect.

I'm not against skyscrapers. Indeed, I think that skyscrapers surrounded by large green spaces would transform cities for the better. But building huge empty ones can drive rentals down, forcing landlords into bankruptcy and paradoxically causing neighborhoods to decay, making matters worse. There are ways to deal with these problems but I don't know if the Chinese do so.

That is exactly what people in Britain said when they saw Singapore building rolls and rolls of flats all over Singapore in the 70s. No urban decay there.

Just go visit LA China town. See how Chinese can turn urban decay into a prosperous tax paying tourist attraction.

I urge the West to learn from Asia.

 

[Backbencher]

It must be like a king to be a civil engineer in China isnt it
You people have really shown the world that nothing is impossible provided you must have passion to work consistently .

 

[Solomon2]

It must be like a king to be a civil engineer in China isnt it
You people have really shown the world that nothing is impossible provided you must have passion to work consistently .

Engineers certainly were like kings in 19th- to mid-20th century America. Presidents, generals, publishers, preachers, all spoke with awe of the new marvels achieved: canals, steamships, bridges, automobiles, skyscrapers, roads, machine factories, water systems...

Kingly powers, too - the chief engineer of the New York City Water Board controlled the watershed of half of New York State and if he chose could dictate where and what farmers could plant and townsfolk could build, with instructions to bring clean water to the City no matter what the cost. The result is that even today New York City has the tastiest tap water of any big city in America, chlorine-free and a notable factor in the City's retention of various food-related export industries, from frozen dough to sparkling water.

 

[zxmint]

china is trying to show how great they are.

have most of the biggest buildings in the world, have the biggest army, the most culture, be the best at art, sports etc..

china is wanting to shine like a beacon like it is better then every other country and people in the world.

china's sense of nationalism is profound, it is a real belief that china is greater then anywhere else, that they as a race are superior to others, that they are destined to rule the world.

so they try to project that and have aggressively expanded this thought into material things. they are asserting themselves...

it has happened many times in history, we have seen this kind of thing time and time again...

There is one thing should be clarified. There is no such a term of RACE in Chinese culture. It is only about CIVILIZATION. In Tang Dynasty, which was commonly thought as a brightest time of China's history, we are most open minded and view all races equally.Anyone who accept Chinese culture was viewed as one part of us. There were even many foreign officials work for Tang's government.

Don't interpret us in your Anglo-Saxon ways. You believe in Jungle Rules just like your far ancestors did, we just believe no one can always stay at the peak and you need to find a way to live longer. If you don't refrain your greediness when you are strong, then you will for sure to suffer a lot when you become weak.You westerners brought uncountable disasters to the rest of the world and even today you are still creating chaos and poverty which kills hundreds of thousands people in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. Let us see what would happen to you in the future.

It must be like a king to be a civil engineer in China isnt it
You people have really shown the world that nothing is impossible provided you must have passion to work consistently .

Like a king? There are just too many engineers in China and the competence is fierce.

 

[zxmint]

I don't know if China is building too much or not; I just hope China is thinking things through. I can still remember the time I got into a discussion with one Chinese scientist who said it was fine for China to build lots of nuclear reactors, they could just dump the waste in the Gobi, didn't even need to bury it, nobody would care...and in America we have problems with politicians who like new projects more than adequately funding maintenance for existing ones. Hidden or denied costs tend to pile up, then lead to sudden bankruptcy. That's what happened to New York City in the 1970s and it took intervention by the federal government to save it.

Rather than skyscrapers that may remain empty for a generation why not plan new parks, green spaces, and community centers? Rather than celebrate a new factory why not advocate emissions-control systems on existing ones? Instead of new hydropower dams why not build smaller ones to control water pollution from mines and agricultural runoff?

Everyone is so get-rich-quick....you've forgotten the patient industrial investment of your ancestors. Chinese potters laid down kaolin pits that took a century to mature. They knew they would never use them but their great-grandchildren would, just as they used the pits laid down by their great-grandfathers.

You should know that China is just following the path you had gone through 100 years ago. We are not in a same step of development so it makes no sense to judge China in your point of views.

 

[Solomon2]

You should know that China is just following the path you had gone through 100 years ago. We are not in a same step of development so it makes no sense to judge China in your point of views.

Thanks. If I have the opportunity I'll repeat your response to the Chinese student who told me that China was advancing by doing everything itself with nobody's help and following nobody's example!

 

[zxmint]

Thanks. If I have the opportunity I'll repeat your response to the Chinese student who told me that China was advancing by doing everything itself with nobody's help and following nobody's example!

Their words are too absolute and naive.
But it makes no sense to say "help" between countries, there is only exchange of interests. And my point is, when you westerners blaming China, your are actually blaming yourself at past. Since most of those social problems are structural problems which is inevitable if you want to advance. China will never stop her pace because of others' blames.

 

[Solomon2]

...my point is, when you westerners blaming China, your are actually blaming yourself at past. Since most of those social problems are structural problems which is inevitable if you want to advance...

I don't know if it's a language problem but it's pretty clear that it is Chinese, not Americans, who decide how China develops and thus it is Chinese, not Americans - or Americans' past - who are responsible for decisions that turn out badly.

 

[zxmint]

I don't know if it's a language problem but it's pretty clear that it is Chinese, not Americans, who decide how China develops and thus it is Chinese, not Americans - or Americans' past - who are responsible for decisions that turn out badly.

What I really wanna say is, some foreigners and Chinese dissidents blindly attribute China's problems to the system of government. It seems like every problems are caused by CCP, but actually they happen in almost every emerging countries.