They are building the largest highspeed railway system in the world. It is going to help them reduce the use of cars, unlike those gasoline wasting people in North America.
peter236 發表於 2009-9-21 23:51
Funny how you are saying this because China has already become the largest automotive market in the world, and recently, in the wake of the global recession, the Central Government was strongly encouraging its citizens to adopt the "gasoline-wasting and environmentally unfriendly ways of North America" by buying more cars.
It is pointless to compare methods of travel between North America and China. With its sparse population density and vast expanses of land, it is illogical for many places in NA to invest in mass transit infrastructure in the same way China does. In China where the population density is high, however, trains as a form of mass transit make a lot of sense.
The problem is, I can't help but wonder whether a lot of these are simply 面子工程 or not. The Maglev train in Shanghai is a prime example of 面子工程 because the track spans a mere 30km and has been a complete commercial failure. People rarely use it, so the train is operating nowhere close to its carrying capacity. And while it can reach over 500km/h, the track is so short that the moment it approaches its maximum speeds, it really had to start decelerating again.
China has indeed been expanding its mass transit systems (train) for the past few years, and in the wake of the global recession, the government has accelerated a lot of the projects to both re-employ hundreds of thousands of laid off workers and stabilize the economy. By and large, those are some very good deeds, but the 面子工程 aspect of the construction cannot be ignored. Unfortunately, the only thing ignorant idiots know and go around boasting about are those very same 面子工程...
I guess it's good to upgrade the train system in China. A lot of people take the train in China, lot more than you'd imagine. At many times trains are so full (during holidays) that you'd need to wait a long time to get on one.
Besides, a train system is a much more efficient system to move mass people and mass goods across a vast land. It's better to upgrade the train system to attract the population to continue their habit of using train, rather than to encourage an increase in the per capital car ownership rate (even tho that'd definately continue to increase anyways).
I don't think the highspeed railway system is a 面子工程, like the maglev. They studied the highspeed train systems in Japan and Europe. It is clear that highspeed trains promote economic growth and efficiency. When I took the maglev train in Shanghai, there were quite a lot of people. So the travellers were using it. The problem is the high cost of construction per km compared with conventional highspeed train which can already travel at 350km/h.
A side note is that even Japan is planning the Chuo Shinkansen (中央新幹線) maglev line which connects Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka. So is this Japanese maglev a 面子工程?
President Obama proposed a highpseed train linking the North Eastern corridor of the US and from Seattle to LA on the west coast. So some people actually see a need for highspeed trains in North America.
For those who have never visited China, you should go there with an open mind, rather than with a preconceived impression.
When I took the highspeed train from Shanghai south station, it was full of people. It felt like tens of thousands of people in the station around me. So the system is well-used. The government wants to solve the bottleneck problem that reduces the mobility of hundreds of millions of people.
While hundreds of millions of people will use trains, still hundreds of millions will drive their own cars as they become more prosperous. Chinese cities are crowded so that requires the construction more subways and inter-city highspeed railway. At the same time, China also has a vast landscape, unlike Japan, so some people will still drive their own cars. But it is still better to have highpseed railway to divert the people to railway rather than having a billion cars on the road.
A side note is that, while the Chinese government gives subsidy to car buyers during this economic crisis, they do have measures to encourage the production of more hybrid and electric cars.
First of all, I think it is quite obvious that whoever wrote this last reply is not the same usual 50 cent Peter we're used to seeing. This writer behind the keyboard is far too civil and sophisticated compared to the normal idiot that monitors this site.
If I have to fathom a guess, there is at least one usual idiot 50 cent party member logging in at Peter to LYK. For the most part, he does a good job of humiliating himself and exposing the irony and illogical thinking so common in the Motherland. When the limits of his capabilities run out, however, he can resort to his superior(s) and ask them to log in using the same account to actually write something that is intelligent.
A side note is that, while the Chinese government gives subsidy to car buyers during this economic crisis, they do have measures to encourage the production of more hybrid and electric cars.
peter236 發表於 2009-9-22 11:59
For China, R&D-ing hybrid and EV's are really out of necessity because the Central Government is vividly aware that no amount of oil and foreign country bribing (oh, I think that's called international diplomacy...) is enough to satisfy 1.3 billion people's consumption. Again, this is a smart move and some extremely good foresights on the Central Government's part. With all its rivers throughout the land, China has great potential for hydroelectric power production, making hybrids and EVs a totally reasonable solution. Additionally, China has a good amount of lithium reserves that could be mined as well, and that'll also give it a massive advantage as it doesn't have to beg too many other countries to provide the electric power storage solutions.
First of all, I think it is quite obvious that whoever wrote this last reply is not the same usual 50 cent Peter we're used to seeing. This writer behind the keyboard is far too civil and sophisticate ...
Lik 發表於 2009-9-22 13:47
hahaha, Lik, What are you thinking about? I don't need to call you a moron in every post. You are so funny, as a British secret agent.
Why do you embarrass yourself every time? Whenever I give you facts to prove you wrong, you just ignore them.
發表於 2009-9-22 09:51
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