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Home » Opinion » Chinese Views
Skyscrapers don't mean progress
By Jessie Zong |
February 10, 2009, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINA has continued to prosper over the last 30 years of reform and opening-up, for sure.
In Beijing, Shanghai and many other Chinese cities, material wealth is no less impressive than in most other cities in the West. Winds of fashion blow as fast in China as in Europe.
But China has a long way to go to catch up with developed nations in terms of the level of development. Development is not all about accumulation of material wealth.
Our stay with a friend in Germany during a recent trip enabled us to experience its high level of development through the prism of daily life.
I was struck by the family's efforts in recycling. Rubbish was sorted in different bins: plastic, paper, glass, etc.
Glass was further sorted by their color: green, clear or brown. All the assorted rubbish is sent to their designated spots in the community before being collected.
And we even saw a big, separate collection bin for used shoes. The disposal of Christmas trees was very well organized. They could either be sent to a designated place or be collected, for a small fee, by a charity, before being ground up into fertilizers.
Each family's participation ensures the protection of the environment and reduction of waste through recycling.
Although different recycling bins do appear on the streets of Shanghai, a cursory examination will show that they are not effective.
The reason is simple - we are not at the level of organization as in Germany and are not making a concerted effort. Sorting rubbish is just one example of German precision.
Houses, shops, public spaces, green areas, and streets are neatly and harmoniously laid out in many parts of Germany.
The S-Bahn or the tram and the U-Bahn or the subway can easily take you anywhere you want to go in urban and suburban areas.
How much China should learn from Germany in city planning!
Let's not be obsessed with how many more skyscrapers or SUVs or LV bags there will be in Shanghai.
Let's do something simple: make the city greener and travel easier.
(The author is a freelancer based in Kazakhstan. Her e-mail: jessie_zong@yahoo.com)
In Beijing, Shanghai and many other Chinese cities, material wealth is no less impressive than in most other cities in the West. Winds of fashion blow as fast in China as in Europe.
But China has a long way to go to catch up with developed nations in terms of the level of development. Development is not all about accumulation of material wealth.
Our stay with a friend in Germany during a recent trip enabled us to experience its high level of development through the prism of daily life.
I was struck by the family's efforts in recycling. Rubbish was sorted in different bins: plastic, paper, glass, etc.
Glass was further sorted by their color: green, clear or brown. All the assorted rubbish is sent to their designated spots in the community before being collected.
And we even saw a big, separate collection bin for used shoes. The disposal of Christmas trees was very well organized. They could either be sent to a designated place or be collected, for a small fee, by a charity, before being ground up into fertilizers.
Each family's participation ensures the protection of the environment and reduction of waste through recycling.
Although different recycling bins do appear on the streets of Shanghai, a cursory examination will show that they are not effective.
The reason is simple - we are not at the level of organization as in Germany and are not making a concerted effort. Sorting rubbish is just one example of German precision.
Houses, shops, public spaces, green areas, and streets are neatly and harmoniously laid out in many parts of Germany.
The S-Bahn or the tram and the U-Bahn or the subway can easily take you anywhere you want to go in urban and suburban areas.
How much China should learn from Germany in city planning!
Let's not be obsessed with how many more skyscrapers or SUVs or LV bags there will be in Shanghai.
Let's do something simple: make the city greener and travel easier.
(The author is a freelancer based in Kazakhstan. Her e-mail: jessie_zong@yahoo.com)
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