Shanghai has sunk 6 ft since 1921
(Photo by Jakob Montrasio.)
Kate Springer of TIME’s Ecocentric blog, has some eye-popping numbers in her latest post on land subsidence, which she says is affecting more than 50 cities in China. Across the country, 49,000 sq. mi. of land have dropped at least 8 in, and Shanghai is, unsurprisingly, leading China’s rapid descent into the ground, and has sunk more than 6 ft. since 1921. (Shanghaiist)
1 week ago
Shanghai Noir: China's Long History of Crime Stories, Real and Fictional
(A poster for the 1932 noir film Shanghai Express. (Paramount))
Now a center of global commerce, the city was once so dangerous that its name was slang for “to kidnap.” (The Atlantic)
2 weeks ago
Demolition photos lead to beating
(Site where photographers were beaten at Wangjiamatou street in Huangpu District. Photo by Zha Minjie.)
Yong He, an award-winning Shanghai news photographer was beaten up yesterday when he was taking pictures at a demolition site in downtown Huangpu District.
Two workers from the Tonghai construction company, surnamed Ding and Wang, were detained and fined for beating the photographer and two other Shanghai journalists at the site. (Shanghai Daily)
3 weeks ago
Suzhou Creek cruises set sail
Cruises returned to Suzhou Creek yesterday when two types of vessels went on a pilot run following an opening ceremony. Scheduled services resume today, following a year’s gap while the waterway was dredged. The 19-kilometer trip through downtown takes three hours. (Shanghai Daily)
1 month ago
Landslide Risk at Reservoir Cited in China
(A view from atop the Three Gorges Dam from July, 2010. The 600-foot-tall dam on the Yangtze River was completed in 2006. Photo by Cheng Min/Xinhua, via Associated Press)
A growing threat of landslides on ground surrounding the massive Three Gorges Dam reservoir could force the government to relocate 100, 000 more residents of the area, from which 46,000 were moved earlier, an expert with China’s land and resources ministry said this week.
The official, Liu Yuan, told China National Radio that rising water levels in the reservoir had made adjacent land increasingly unstable. Since the reservoir reached its high-water mark in 2010, landslides and other accidents have risen 70 percent.
“Due to the complexity and uncertainty of the problems, the pattern of geological disaster cannot be accurately predicted,” he said. “It’s difficult to know what’s going on.” (New York Times via Alvaro Leonardo)
1 month ago
Full-scale geothermal use planned for city buildings
Shanghai will use shallow geothermal energy to heat and cool buildings covering a total of 4 million square meters by 2015 across the city. By using the geothermal energy in every square kilometer, the city can save 28,000 tons of coal, cutting the emission of 245,000 tons carbon dioxide and 2,000 tons of sulfur dioxide every year. (Shanghai Daily) (Thanks for the tip Alvaro!)
1 month ago
The Elegant History of Shanghai's Rundown Communal Villas
Hidden behind one of Shanghai’s key shopping arteries is a beautiful and century-old four-story villa. It is designed in the Queen Anne style with warm orange bricks, an imposing turret and flower motifs running alongside the arcs on the bay windows. A first-time visitor to the city might think he or she wandered accidentally into a private estate in the English countryside. (The Atlantic Cities)
1 month ago
Economic growth slows to 33-month low
(Photo by by Bert van Dijk)
China’s economic growth slowed more than expected in the first quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said this morning. Gross domestic product expanded 8.1 percent from a year earlier to 10.79 trillion yuan (US$1.71 trillion), the slowest pace since the second quarter of 2009. (Shanghai Daily)
1 month ago
Shanghai walking tour: The former French Concession
A former French Concession-native threads a path through the city’s most peaceful neighborhood (CNNGo)
1 month ago
China's aging population poses problems for economy and tradition
We’ve all heard the expression “the old gives way to the new,” but in China, quite the opposite is taking place with a fast-dwindling number of young people and an elderly population that continues to rise. Experts cite increased life expectancy and low birth rates as principal factors in the phenomenon. (Shanghaiist)
2 months ago
