Posted on 11/30/2005 9:02:17 PM PST by Lake
Interesting pictures. However, it doesn't nullify the skyscrappers and mulit-million dollar hotels, office buildings, etc. that do exist. China is still under construction. The landscape will continue to improve. Alot has been built in 25 years and alot more will be built in the next 25 years. 25 years from now, there'll probably be 3-4 times as many skyscrappers in China than there are today and you'll still be able to take pictures of areas of poverty. Just depends on what you prefer to focus on, the negative (whatever the motivation) or the positive. I for one prefer to focus on China's ever increasing progress.
I don't think it "nullify" teh skyscrapers and the multi-million dollar hotels, but I think it gives some context to a more balanced view of China.
That's because the skyscrapers in China are an illusion - no, that's too strong and not fair, the skyscrapers and the economic growth / prosperity they represent are real (a significant part of my job / time is in China).
*BUT* by their sheer presence (skyscrapers are by design designed to impress, not just in China, but has always been ever since the Empire State Building went up in NYC) - the skyscrapers tend to dominate and distort the senses.
Almost every visitor to Shanghai are bowled over by the "WOW!' factor - the endless skyscrapers and the gilttering lights - But what most vistor don't see, because the skyscrapper and view from the 87th floor of the Jin Mao Tower so overwhelm their senses, is that within a few blocks of any skyscraper in Shanghai, there are streets after streets, neighborhood after neighborhood of scene like the photos here (it's not really even proverty, much of it is quite, umm, normal). And once you get out of the big cities, the rest of the country is still like that ...
those ARE chamber pots ...
I remember seeing the pics of the rats and the chickens before - it was in some "expose" in Chinese tabloids -
basically, the rats *after being cut up into small pieces) were being passed off as various small wild games.
And the chickens ... yikes! the rest of the pics from that series was showing how dealers went from house to house to collect already dead chickens (died for whatever reason) and then prepare and artificially color them (that's the pic with the "golden glow") to make them appear as fresh BBQ chicken hanging from restaurant display windows.
Necessity is the mother of invention.... in a free country!
What I do see here is tremendous opportunity for development and 'modernization'. Even relatively small devices or improvements we take for granted in the west could be worth hundreds of billions there if successfully mass marketed.
So, what spilled out of the truck?
>>Just depends on what you prefer to focus on, the negative (whatever the motivation) or the positive. I for one prefer to focus on China's ever increasing progress.
The poverty has become a major problem in today's China. The economic development has benefited only a small number of so-called "elite" people while the majority of the population are living a miserable life. Yes, miserable.
The gas leaking from a truck's gas tank after an accident.
Even at $2.20 US, a few gallons would be worth scooping up for the average person there, from what I hear.
>>Even at $2.20 US, a few gallons would be worth scooping up for the average person there, from what I hear.
That's right. Think about the fact that people like those in the picture may have a monthly income of 300-500 RMB (40-60 USD).
FIve gallons (20 liters or so) would be about a week's pay. Wow, (and people carp here).
Just curious, do you live in China... or Asia? The pictures you posted are normal pics that could have been taken anywhere in Asia. I live in Bangkok and those shots could have easily been taken here.
Since you didn't say, are you trying to make some sort of statement by posting these? It looks like a classic case of someone seeing how someone else lives and then proclaiming it must be bad because it is not what they are used to. Yes, people in this part of the world eat rats, insects, and other creatures. Usually it is because they WANT to not because they have to. I am quite sure it is also the case in the pictures you posted. This has nothing to do with poverty. Again, I have no idea what your agenda is on this.
P.S. Those rats are rather under cooked. Here is a picture I took last week from a roadside vendor around the Lampang, Thailand, area. This is how rat should be cooked.
These pics are from the Chinese website and I repost them. I didn't say all pictures show poverty, but those who were scooping leaking gas while the cops were trying to dag them away from the scene were definitely not RICH. They scavenge the leftover not because they want to but because they have to. A few galloons means alot to those who have to work in sweat shops with meager monthly pay. BTW, I'm now in China and I see things like that everyday. I don't like it and I don't think they like that kind of way of life.
I saw plenty of pictures of people taking beer after Katrina. What is your point?
A few galloons means alot to those who have to work in sweat shops with meager monthly pay.
Oh please. You know very well that those working in 'sweat shops' make more than they would be making at other jobs. If they don't like it, they do not have to work there. They are there by choice. No different than anywhere else in the world.
I don't like it and I don't think they like that kind of way of life.
I see it every day also but like them, I accept that it is a part of life. It is not my job to change the world. The faster you realize that, the sooner you will enjoy your time in Asia.
I agree. Balance is always good.
(it's not really even proverty, much of it is quite, umm, normal).
Yes, but those fancy skyscrapers sit on property that used to have those "normal" neighborhoods.
Well said. I lived in South East Asia for several years. When I realized my way of life was not the only way of life I really began to enjoy myself.
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