In a city that boasts more than 1,300 people moving in daily, adding almost 100 million yuan (US$15 million) to the local economy, Chongqing is one of the largest city in western China. Its suburbs are not however how you would imagine. Consider the fact that there are more Chinese people living in tiny places then there are people in America, Chongqing has definitely its fare share of migrant workers that are in pouring from the rural country side.
‘Like most rural workers in big cities, Gui Laiyun sleeps in a basic 80-square-meter apartment, which he shares with about 50 other men. The beds here are made from wooden boards and rusty scaffolding. Rent is just 1.5 yuan a day.”
Thats about six people sharing a 1.9 square meter area. This ought to make one wonder how bad could the rural countryside that they are escaping from??be?
“These are farmers houses that stretch for about 100 miles between Hangzhou and Shanghai. If you’ve seen them in person the sheer scale of the development is amazing, it basically looks like one vast urban suburb rather than countryside.
It took me over 2 hrs to get through it by train. All the houses have steep roofs, turrets, towers and even onion domes, by the thousand. Its one of the most amazing ‘urban’ things I’ve seen – seriously if anyone is in Shanghai, take the train to Hangzhou and look out of your right window…
They’re all built for free by the progressive local councils:”
??
This is what he is talking about. Keep in mind that you are looking at rural China. These are built for farmers in order for them to stay and work the land. I don’t know about you but I have had to readjust my picture of the rural Chinese villager living in his dusty village with an almost like hut for housing which was passed down from his grandparents.
And they’re not building just houses, take look at this design of a skyscraper meant to be built as apartments for farmers which is nearly the size of the Empire State building-proposed for a site not in the city I mind you but in rural China. Construction is already on its way.
What does this all mean? I have no idea.