Saturday 9 May 2009

Destruction works continuing: Preparing Shanghai for Expo 2010







The third phrase in my Business Chinese text book is Shanghai has changed considerably (上海的变化真大啊!shàng hǎi de biàn huà zhēn dà ā), said from the CEO of an international company coming to Shanghai for a business trip (出差 chū chāi). Well, I have been living in shàng hǎi half a year now and I can prove that this city is undergoing incredible changes, from day to day. 

Since years now the city is a building site, with hundreds of buildings still in construction (apart the immense Expo Site). Entire districts, made of old houses, have disappeared, are disappearing or are going to disappear. The government is in a hurry to destroy a carry away what could upset the 70 millions tourist that the city is expecting for 2010. 

Well, from one point of view the destruction of the old unhealthy houses could be a very good thing if they would be replaced with new and safely build compounds. But to me it seems that the government is replacing the houses with office buildings or just with compound that can give a home to 1/3 of the original people. I am just wondering what is happening with the people that were once living in these places...

This city is very polluted. The water is contaminated, rats are infesting the city, everywhere is  dirty and smelly. I have read a report in the China Daily today, that in the majiority of the city offices there are rats, and I do not even want to think what the poor people in the slums see in their rooms... In the television a couple of days ago Chinese were happy to show the electric system they have installed all around a "model unit" to electrify the rats that are sometimes big as cats. 
But let's think further, we have to stand up (起来 qǐlái, as the Chinese hymne encouragingly sings), we have to build the tallest building on earth in the muds of Pudong (one day one of the exit in Pudong has to be shut down as there were muds coming out of the metro line). And everything goes under the motto of Better City Better Life and the Expo Mascot, the Haibao (which means treasures of the sea) represents a clean ocean drop, which should stand for life.

How are they going to manage the 70 million tourists if you have now some problems to get a metro, a bus or a taxi in the rush hours?

And I am still waking up in the middle of the night due to the noise of the trucks that are carrying half of the city outside the city.


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