Graffiti is present everywhere. Even on the walls of the grim, grey concrete blocks of the sixties and seventies. This is possibly a typical apartment block built when China was pretty much a centrally-controlled economy.
More typical apartment blocks. These are newer, probably built in the eighties and early nineties after Deng Xiaopeng opened China up.
A new apartment block. Notice that one in four apartments mounts a satellite TV dish? Some units have even mounted two! Satellite TV dishes are illegal for private citizens in China (and Singapore too). Yet, the Chinese ignore the authorities. You won't see this sort of behaviour in democratic Singapore eh? No sir! Heh.
Yet more condominiums. The city of Shanghai is literally littered with hundreds of these sparkling new condominium blocks (and I am not exaggerating. I am probably underestimating the numbers by quite a bit). And the local residents live in them. And no, foreign expatriates from Europe and the USA don't live in apartment blocks, they live in proper houses with gardens!
Most of these new condominiums were built in the last five years. China a menace to the USA? Not likely. The Chinese are too busy doing business and building a good life. Like these nice nice condominiums. There is, however, a hitch. I think they do not have a concept of maintaining a maintenance and sinking fund. There isn't any real building management. (Hear that, Aik Koon?) The older condominiums and apartment blocks are badly maintained with chipping paint, dank corridors, blacked out foyers and lifts!
These condominiums here are supposedly built by CapitaLand of Singapore. A Shanghainese told me that they find these things ugly, and he also added that they were quite like the 'famous' or infamous 'HDB'* flats in Singapore. And the Shanghainese also told me that they generally do not like them. Unfortunately, he is under the impression that CapitaLand built HDB flats in Singapore though the reality is that it is not responsible for the HDB flats in Singapore.Okay, my observations. These condominiums have large surfaces of glass. Large windows. They may work in a tropical environment if the air-conditioning is switched on twenty-four hours a day. However, in Shanghai, it may just be a bad idea. Large windows imply that there will be a lot of heat lost in winter. In general, the typical Shanghainese family will not use their heaters**, preferring to economise. In summer, when temperatures reach 40 degrees Celsius, the apartments with its large glass windows become greenhouses. Thus, these apartments are cold in winter and hot in summer...
On a last note, as manpower is plentiful and inexpensive, I see at least two security guards for each apartment block, one at the door and the other at the office, in front of the close-circuit TV. There is also guards at the gate and car park! Shanghai is supposedly a rather safe and crime-free city though I see a steel door in front of the normal wooden door of each apartment unit!
*HDB - Housing Development Board. This is an organisation within the government in Singapore that builds subsidised flats for the citizens. They have been so successful in the last thirty years that 80% of all Singaporeans live in them. They are not horrid pigeonholes as the Shanghainese above may have implied. Oh, do senior civil servants live in HDB flats?
**My observation. I was there during a cold spell when temperatures dropped from 17 degrees Celsius to 1 degree. Ack.
2 comments:
Chuang, interesting reading. I am amazed that Communist China seems to be going Capitalist on us! They seem to have adopted a free market approach to things. If only they would relax free speech restrictions a bit. The comment you made about the TV dishes is telling. In the '80's, I went to East Germany (Berlin) and got a taste of Soviet style Communism, and the differnces with the current regime in China were very striking. Gray uniformed, AK47 wielding soldiers on every street corner who WOULD NOT allow you to take their picture!
I think the 21st Century will be the Chinese Century, much like the 19th was the British, and the 20th the American. I have a good friend who travels there regularly on business and is very impressed with their development. He has two daughters that were adopted from China. I probably have a somewhat romantic view of China, as it is exotic to a "gwai loh" like myself. I traveled in Europe extensively but there, even though I didn't speak the language (except in Germany) I could at least guess what some signs said. In China they have a writing that is unlike anything there, so that adds to the mystery. I almost went to Viet Nam on business last year, but it fell through.
More posts like this would be nice. Very interesting read.
Well, I think China has only really been Communist for about forty years. They were Communist in name only in the last ten years, having reverted to a capitalist economy while retaining some semblance of an authoritarian leadership.
Historically, Chinese merchants have been active in East Asia and South-East Asia for over a thousand years. Even today, the economies of many South East Asian states are dominated by Ethnic Chinese. It's not a secret. And hence, if there is racial/sectarian violence, it's the overseas Chinese in these states that would usually get massacred. What I am trying to say is that the Chinese has always had a long history for trade. And I venture that this is in their blood. Then again, demographically, perhaps not.
Like you said, the 21st Century may just be that. However, perhaps, I may venture to say that the 21st Century may be a Pacific Century instead? With the Pacific Rim, including California, Japan, Taiwan, China and other states making a big impact?
Like yourself, I also have a romantic view of China. Some of it very unfavourable, some of it naive and some of it favourable.
Thanks for reading the posts. Heh. I thought that instead of travelogues, I will just post observations on the common things. Not the scenic locations...
I was in Germany, at least in Potsdam in 1992. It was after the fall of the Berlin Wall but the Russians were still there at that point. At least, their troops were. They were pulling out. I recall seeing Russian military vehicles and troops. There was an air of control. Like your description of your visit!
I think the Commie gov in Beijing will find it difficult to control the explosion of new media devices as well as capitalism now that they have opened Pandora's Box. And I am not sure if they want too... After all, they perceive that they still have the reins of political control.
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