It’s so interesting to see photos like these because it’s so much different from where I grew up, where I currently live and what I’ve come to think of as a city. To me, it would be really bizarre to be driving down the freeway and see these shacks where people are living. The closest thing we have to something like this here in Los Angeles would be Skid Row, but that’s made of tents and only exists in about 5 square blocks. It makes me really thankful to have what I have.
I always have mixed feelings about China's development. It's great to see my own country's economic power is getting stronger and stronger, but in the midst of it, it always seems there are something genuine being lost. Maybe it's just me being nostalgic.
The street the hospital was on had been a place for artists, and specifically performers, for hundreds of years. It was a noisy mess, full of shops, food on the street, and everything else. It smelled like food, and burning coal (the street food was cooked on coal cakes). I loved it. You could walk down some nondescript stairs, and find yourself in a crowded restaurant. Now, it's gone. It's just a wide street and a park with a median and evenly-spaced trees. I'm sure it looks and feels like improvement to a lot of people. But not to me. One thing that differs between China and the US: a poor neighborhood in China doesn't feel less safe than a rich one. For that reason, the comparison to Skid Row is way off.
Yeah. I get the same feeling. However, I do have relatives telling me to be extra cognizant of myself while out and about in China. There are a lot of petty theft in crowded places.
Sure, but I'll take a petty theft the barrel of a gun any day. :) A classmate in highschool was shot in his leg in Detroit becuase he only had $5. A couple of other friends I know have been robbed at gunpoint. (btw, sorry was logged into my computer and didn't log out again!)