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China’s 10-day traffic jam – what it means
photo by poeloq (Flickr CC)
The colossal economic growth and rapid industrialization of China get a lot of media attention these days.
The Chinese collectively emit more CO2 than any nation and have recently moved into the ‘second largest economy in the world’ spot – and you can bet they won’t settle for second place for long. The developed world sweats as we fund both these situations. Yes, indirectly we fuel their coal plants and line the pockets of their industry, while our large corporations and governments help keep Chinese working conditions suitably shocking.
Aren’t we just the worst?
Actually, China should be grabbing even more headlines, but while opening coal plants and building new cities at breakneck speed is interesting, they’re just not ‘zazzy’ enough. We need poison milk scandals, executions, and babies growing breasts or we’re just not interested, thanks.
A 10-day, 100 km (62 mile) traffic jam on the Beijing-Tibet expressway, on the other hand, is just the stuff for the casual reader to sink his or her dentures into.
You see, China also became the world’s largest car market this year, overtaking the US. And this kind of development means more coal, more private and corporate transport, more emissions and more roadwork, which of course all mean more traffic jams.
From an article in the Guardian:
The roadworks are necessary to repair damage caused by an increase in cargo lorries using the highway after large coalfields were discovered in Inner Mongolia.
Road freight has a high impact on the environment, infrastructure and transportation. But try telling that to the Chinese.
Actually, you don’t have to. Thousands of them have been sitting in a traffic jam for 10 days eating noodles jacked up to 10 times their normal prices. In fact, an AFP article states that before the 10-day traffic jam debacle, the Chinese press was reporting that traffic along the route had already been crawling along since June:
The stretch of highway has become increasingly prone to massive tailbacks as the capital of more than 20 million people sucks in huge shipments of goods.
As of Wednesday, the jam seems to have stopped, though the head of the Beijing Transportation Research Centre has warned that without limiting cars, traffic in the capital could assume averages of 15 km per hour (9 mph).
For more on the story, including video, check out this article from salon.com:
Chinese drivers stuck in epic traffic jam for nine days
Tags: 10-day, Beijing, car, China, Chinese, coal, traffic, traffic jam
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