Shanghai China Snippets Observations about living in Shanghai and China in general

I only drove once in China, and that was already a long time ago. It was on a toll way between Kunming and Dali, it was dark and the only occasional traffic we noticed were trucks.

Well, if you noticed them at all as they all had broken rear lights. I scolded these drivers while avoiding near crashes but I was wrong.

It’s not their fault if they are unaware of it according to Chinese law. (source the unlinkable Shanghai Daily)

You don’t see your own rear lights while you drive. As such it’s rather hard to proof that a driver is aware of a broken rear light not much will change regarding trucks and road safety I’m afraid.

The fact that by definition 70% of them have non working rear lights must be a coincidence.

Drive safely.

Some Traffic Stats from China (more…)

China has now 162 million internet users according to the CNNIC. A big jump form the previous 137 million at the end of 2007.

I wrote a short article including charts comparing the end of 2006 with the stats from June 2007.

Check Chinese internet stats June 2007

The girls are waiting today for flowers, belgian made chocolates and a romantic dinner in a restaurant that has overprized its food for this special day. Valentine’s day has gotten some traction here in Shanghai as I noticed last year and I’m sure this year it will be even more popular.

To stay in the mood some statistics about Marriage and Divorce in Shanghai.

Number of divorces in Shanghai in 2006 – 37,000

Number of marriages in Shanghai in 2006 – 162,000

70 percent of the couples who divorced within a year of getting married were born in the 1980s.

Now you can start calculating what the chances are your Valentine investment will pay off:)

And before you ask, yes I’m married and am going to pay 888 Renminbi for a love dinner. They even promise a box of chocolates at the end.

Source: China.org.cn

In our search for an apartment we have seen about the whole centre of Shanghai. Most of them huge buildings. Close by transport, especially the subway, is one of the key factors in deciding where we want to live next left. Many new developments mention that ‘soon’ a subway line nearby will be ready.

‘Soon’ maybe up for interpretation but it’s a fact that Shanghai is extending the metro lines with great effort.

Some Transportation Statistics from Shanghai

• Metro lines (including those under construction) – 18
• People using the Shanghai subway system daily – 2.500.000 – 3.000.000
• Public bus lines – more than 950
• People taking the bus daily – 7.800.000
• People using ferries daily – 420.000
• Private cars in [tag]Shanghai[/tag] (2005)- 322.000 (it feels like there are more though)
• Scooters in Shanghai (2005) – 1.165.000

Source: 8days

The racing cars are coming to town. As it is, the [tag]F1 [/tag]these days is as boring as watching a cup of coffee being made in [tag]Starbucks[/tag]. Okay, I have to correct myself here. The first 5 minutes of the race can be fun as this is the moment with the highest probability cars will launched in the air, crash into each other or just fail to drive one meter. (schedule grandprix of China)

The first of October the tires will rub the tarmac for real. SH has digged up some stats about the F1 and [tag]Shanghai[/tag].

• F1 2005 Revenue Tickets – 250.000.000 Rmb
• Shanghai Circuit Area – 5.3 square kilometers
• Worldwide TV audience F1 2005 – 400 million
• Capacity of Shanghai circuit – 200.000 spectators
• Number of Michael Schumacher’s hats sold during the 2005 race – only 1200
• Cheapest ticket 2006, standing on the grass – 380 Rmb

If anyone has some nice paddock tickets for me, I might be willing to convert myself to a F1 groupie:)

We’re dipping our toes in the real estate market in Shanghai and as a first step called an agent who was referred to us by a friend.

After telling him the price range, the first question was: “How many bathrooms do you want?”

Are bathrooms the new status symbol?

Data about construction in Shanghai
from the latest 8days magazine

• Total are of Shanghai that has been reconstructed – 22.650.000 m2
• Number of architecture firms – 44
• Number of high-rise commercial buildings built every year – 400
• Total area of all the public parks in Shanghai by 2010 – 20.000.000 m2 *
• Total expansion of Shanghai’s downtown area since the 1980s – 480 km2
• Total land area that has been used to build new residential areas over the last 5 years – 80.000.000 m2

* I doubt this will materialize with the said square meters. Real estate/city development plans always include parks and green areas. They somehow are just forgotten at the end stage of the building.

Source: 8days
Picture: My old bathroom in Kunming. Fill it up, heat it and don’t forget to pull out the plug before taking the shower machine