Week 4 (Part 1) - Qingdao Bound

Benefits of the first stop

This week, Bai, Jie and I traveled to Qingdao (Tsingtao), a port city famous for its seafood and its beer, which is exported around the world. It is less famous for the Ocean University of China, but that is the most prestigious maritime university in the country. To get there would require a subway trip (incl. transfer) to downtown Shanghai and then a EMU (Electric Multiple Unit) train trip to Qingdao. This was my first real exposure to the Chinese public transit system, which is really something. Anyone may purchase a Transit Card and place any dollar amount on it. 

This card may be used for subway, bus and taxi fares alike, making it tremendously versatile. The subway system is very secure, with all entrances requiring at least a token bag scan and wand scan of your person. It is also incredibly clean. There are dedicated workers in the subway (and around all cities, to be fair) that ensure trash any other messes are clean. 

What you see is 50% of the 3rd floor of this hotbox of a complex

The subways arrive in 3-5 minute intervals and are also much faster compared to their American counterparts, with advertisements on LCDs screens for some portions of the ride. They are also very quiet. It was a pleasant experience, even during the most crowded periods. One issue I do have, is that people have taken to singing portable karaoke in some cars as a means to raise cash, akin to your local street performer. Not a fan and I’m glad this hasn’t caught on in the U.S.After our subway ride, we needed to transfer to the EMU train within the largest transit complex I’d ever been in. It was expansive and it was jammed with people. Hundreds of stores and restaurants for countless people. 

Ready to go fast

Soon enough, we boarded the EMU train. Seating was arranged as a plane might be, with more legroom and carry-on space overhead. Attendants sold snacks etc., collected trash and swept/mopped during the trip. The travelling speed was 305km/hr (~190mph), but felt like driving on a newly paved road and was about as loud. Extremely comfortable for the 7-hour trip. The train ride did a lot to reveal who China is along the way. Resources are exploited, likely areas of forestation have been laid bare, small mountains and hills have been sliced open and taken down. Tremendous amounts of power are generated by clusters of nuclear plants in among coal and gas plants. 

Cities are jammed with housing, with hundreds of apartment skyscrapers erect for every city we passed and at least 20 in progress per city. I really have to believe that China has undersold its population or that they are doing well to plan for future growth. It was staggering. That is the China that I recall thinking about before I came. The China that is developing using methods historically familiar to us.

Never heard of this city, but there are sure a lot of people!

 But China is a two-faced country, with one foot in the past and one foot in the future. It starts with the sheer amount of housing. For the foreseeable future, human populations will grow. Places will begin to look more like China does now. Also, nearly all buildings are outfitted with at least solar power for heating water and most buildings (for example, at SHOU) have greater solar power incorporated, reducing the demand on the clusters of power plants between cities. 

Land use: 100%

In addition, with space being a valuable commodity, all of it is maximized. Residential units don’t have backyards or lawns, they have crops. Feeding so many people requires efficient land use and shorter travel time, both of which are accomplished by this. The public transit system is incredible and continues to grow. Miles of new EMU train track were being laid and new subway systems were being advertised for many cities, including Qingdao, whose metro will be finished by next year. Street lights just north of Qingdao were outfitted with solar panels and wind turbines both for power generation and there are many windmills that populate the landscape without diminishing it any (again, it’s been laid bare, so might as well I say).

Qingdao from my hotel. Uh, the suburbs.

We arrived in Qingdao and checked into our Ocean University of China hotel rooms. These rooms were MUCH better than the ones at SHOU. For starters, there was functional air conditioning. It was time to rest up for the week.