More Signs of Chinese Growth

There's been some talk in the blogosphere today about the incredible rate of new buildings in China. I can attest to this. Check out these pictures that I took while there. Not the best quality pictures, but you get the point.

Here's a prime example; look at all of the high-rises with the reddish tops. You can only see a dozen or so of these, but there were several more not seen just behind. And such scenes were common throughout Beijing. This was right next to the Olympic site, still being built.

And here's a wider view, showing just how many buildings there were in this area, even though we are thirty minutes or so outside of the city center. Twenty-five story buildings everywhere, but none taller, stretching for miles in every direction. The reddish buildings are to the right. The brown, empty area in the foreground is a part of the Olympic site.

In Shanghai, such collections of similar buildings existed, but on a smaller scale. Here is a picture of the main river, but looking at the bottom you can see a collection of dwellings. This looks like what is being talked about in the NYT. And yes, we were on a bridge so high that we towered above six story buildings.

Of course, there's still plenty of old, decrepit looking housing like this:

Not all building is residential. Here's a shot of the new Beijing University campus:

And, not pictured here; cranes, cranes everywhere!