Here Comes China and Two Minute News

From our China group, this note:

Frans: “The Chinese are richer than we are”

Frans Vandenbosch writes from Beijing: “I’m in China now, for the first time since December 2018, before Corona. Before that I lived in Suzhou and Shanghai. Yesterday I was briefly in Shanghai, this morning I was in Nanjing, today and tomorrow in Suzhou. This is a short account of what I noticed in those first days.

Traffic: Traffic is very quiet, in my estimation 40% of the cars are electric, easily recognized by their green and white license plate. I don’t see any bicycles (really zero, not a single bicycle) but electric scooters. All cars are shiny new, I don’t see any rickety second-hand cars driving around. All cars are mid-range or higher, I have not seen any small cars. About half of the cars are German (Volkswagen Porsche, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW), all of which are made in China. I’ve also seen a lot of Maserati, Jaguar, Lamborghini, Rolls Royce, and other super luxury cars here, more than I’ve ever seen together in Western Europe. This morning I saw a pink pink Porsche driving next to me. Traffic is heavy in China, there are too many cars. But still there are no big traffic jams. The Chinese drivers are starting to get a little more experience and discipline. Ten years ago, traffic was chaotic and noisy.

Sleeping and eating: Tonight I am in “Sweet Garden Hotel”, just below “the Pants”, the iconic tower building at Lake Jinji in Suzhou. We went to eat in a seafood restaurant on the 4th floor in “the Pants” All kinds of fish and shellfish, lobster and crab, … super fresh (the fish still alive in an aquarium) eat as much as you can for less than 160 RMB /person. Yesterday we ate so terribly well in Shanghai Xujiahui. All staff incredibly obliging. In almost all hotels, large and small, you now see robots driving around.

Suzhou, the Pants

Suzhou, the dome

Banking: This afternoon I was in the head office of ICBC bank in Suzhou where I have always been a customer. Again everyone very friendly and helpful. My bank account has been unblocked and I can use WeChat Pay again, because cash is almost no longer used in China. In the bank I used to see shabbily dressed Chinese who put money in their account in a plastic bag. That time is now over. I now see dolled-up ladies coming to discuss and rearrange their investments. Also a lot of super rich people in their twenties and thirties.

HSR trains: On the Shanghai – Nanjing connection, an HST train runs on average every 15 minutes. They stop at only one or two HST stations (not all HST stations) between Shanghai and Nanjing. Some trains fly at a speed of 300 km/h through the HST station of Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, … That gives an effect like a fighter jet flying through a tunnel. Over the entire route, the HST trains run over “bridges”, on pillars that are sometimes only 2 meters high, the tracks are nowhere directly on the ground. The tracks are incredibly accurate, because when I put a bottle of water on my table, I hardly see any vibrations in the water. All HST trains have WiFi and a USB connection in every seat to charge your smartphone.All trains in China run punctually to the nearest half minute (more punctual than in Japan). The HST trains stop in the stations for exactly 70 seconds. Everyone has assigned places in the trains (That was already the case before the time of the high-speed trains). On the platform, the passengers are waiting at the correct carriage and door. Train tickets are now electronic with an app. There are hardly any regular “slow” trains running anymore.

Hongqiao Railway Station is crowded

China no longer needs us 

Where I used to see quite a few foreigners on the street, in the restaurants and on the trains, there are hardly any to be seen anymore. All together I saw 5 foreigners in China so far. Europeans. The Americans have all left. The knowledge of English in China (until 5 years ago it was better/more than in Japan, Korea or Thailand) is declining again. Chinese people now address me in Chinese and expect a conversation in Chinese. Always incredibly friendly and helpful.

Green: A tree is planted wherever there is a square meter of space in the city. All rivers, creeks, streams and watercourses are now neatly cleaned up with plantings and parks. Between Nanjing and Wuxi, where there used to be a lot of swamps, I now saw extensive tree nurseries, fish ponds and fish farms. Everywhere, really everywhere you look around you see new buildings, metro stations, roads, bridges, highways and HST train connections; under construction or just finished. But between all those new constructions, greenery is being planted diligently, every square meter counts. Highways are built “on growth”, for the expected traffic within three or five years.

In China, if you look around, you see surprising things every few minutes on average, things that you don’t see in the west. Come and see for yourself.
– Frans, is the author of:

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Our old friend, Jeff J. Brown also made his way back to China, now that most Covid travel requirements are done away with.  He is having a good time tweeting about all the changes just in the last three years.  This is a selection and feel free to find more on his twitter account about banking, re-instating his Wechat accounts and picking up his business after three years outside of the country;  https://twitter.com/44_Days

Visited the Zhuhai Opera House, designed by architect Chen Keshi.

It has translucent shells so that outdoor performances can be projected onto them, as well as the indoor theater hall.

Chen was inspired by Italian Boticelli’s famous painting, “The Birth of Venus”.

China is not… pic.twitter.com/LwpNSKCDzY

— Jeff J. Brown (@44_Days) May 20, 2023

I have written about and experienced much street life in China. Thousands of sidewalk entrepreneurs are everywhere. Here is a leather goods and shoe repairman.

Like the man sitting with him, you can also just sit and chew the fat. They are the pulse of the people.… pic.twitter.com/AsHzt5Pcti

— Jeff J. Brown (@44_Days) May 19, 2023

At the bank yesterday. The bookshelf was stocked with works written by President Xi Jinping (习近平) and the Communist Party of China.

All of China’s bank are people-owned and very profitable. The world’s four largest banks are owned by its citizens.

Much more… pic.twitter.com/37M0VAdIwJ

— Jeff J. Brown (@44_Days) May 19, 2023

In Shenzhen I had dinner with some former colleagues. They found this wonderful Hong Kong dim sum restaurant, with the huge room, high ceiling and table cloth tables.

Before going in, there was an altar for the Earth and Wealth God’s who inhabit the front door. I saw people… pic.twitter.com/h2MszvXIty

— Jeff J. Brown (@44_Days) May 18, 2023

This is a part of Shenzhen on Baidu Maps.

Each one of those red symbols represents a construction project.

I’m that blue dot riding Metro Line 2.

In the West it’s “Russia Russia Russia”! And cities are falling apart.

In China, it’s “infrastructure infrastructure… pic.twitter.com/zh5dySQWt2

— Jeff J. Brown (@44_Days) May 17, 2023

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• China to use Russian port of Vladivostok
• Tech transfer to Thailand for high-speed trains
• Rural youth stay in their hometowns
• Free housing for young job seekers

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