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China journal entry of the day
There is no sun in Chengdu. Or in Ningbo, where I am tonight. The humidity and the coal-burning power plants blot out the sun. There is light, but it is never sunny. It is my understanding that I shall not see the sun except when we are in an airplane.
Here is more, from a loyal MR reader.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on June 19, 2007 at 02:12 PM in Travels | Permalink
Comments
I remember Chengdu exactly as the article says, although my experience was five years ago. The other negative impression (apart from other positive ones) were the many unfinished skeletons of skyscrapers in the downtown, where the construction was apparently abandonded. Wonder whether there has been any progress on these buildings since - they were relicts of poor planning.
Posted by: pinus at Jun 19, 2007 2:40:01 PM
I am going to visit Chengdu for the first time early on August wondering if the situation will
be the same. I am going to return to my Mandarin classes (Rosetta Stone)
Posted by: Jose Boone at Jun 19, 2007 4:32:02 PM
It's interesting that you can't visit the china journal entry of the day from china! I'm in Beijing and it (blogspot) is blocked.
Posted by: teddy at Jun 19, 2007 8:03:22 PM
Sounds like Ann Arbor during the winter. Except for that coal-burning and the humidity. But bah, all the same.
Posted by: Hafiz at Jun 19, 2007 11:35:09 PM
According to the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, China just passed the US in CO2 output.
So much for Kyoto. Welcome to more and faster global warming.
Posted by: Peter Schaeffer at Jun 20, 2007 12:20:03 AM
It's me, from the link. Today we went to Tiananmen. Again, no sun, physically or metaphorically. Our guide had never even heard of the 1989 protests. She is 24 years old.
How do you like them apples?
By the by, I can post to my blog, but I cannot see it. Or this one. I have to go through some screwed-up link to get here.
Posted by: jared at Jun 20, 2007 6:14:23 AM
Do you want skin cancer? The Chinese just put the sunblock in the sky.
Posted by: Matt at Jun 20, 2007 9:00:43 AM
There's no way a guide wouldn't have heard of Tiananmen. The PBS "Gates of Heavenly Peace" documentary is widely, widely shared (discreetly) among Chinese, particularly college students in Beijing. Many of them don't know the magnitude of what happened, but the "Beijing Spring" is not forgotten, for sure.
Posted by: cure at Jun 20, 2007 9:25:27 AM
Do you own a camera, Dr. Cowen? A picture would very much help this post.
Posted by: josh at Jun 20, 2007 10:19:17 AM
Cure,
I was sure you'd be correct, but now I'm less so. Given other information I have about my guide, I have a hard time believing that she's bluffing us. She lacked that ability when it would have influenced what we thought of the performance of her duties.
josh,
many pictures on other people's cameras. Most of them are small and young and wily. If I get one, I will add it to my post.
Posted by: jared at Jun 20, 2007 1:56:41 PM
My wife and I spent 2 weeks in China last year at about this time, we visited Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu (though we actually went to Mt. Emei and you should, too), and Hong Kong.
Our experience mirrored the blogger's. In those 2 weeks, we saw direct sun maybe 2 or 3 times, which includes a day atop Mt. Emei, about 4km above sea level. The smog seemed to be both permanent and everywhere.
Posted by: Arr-squared at Jun 20, 2007 8:42:05 PM
