Cars in China


The situation for cars and bikes here has changed since our last visit.

Although there are somewhat more cars in Kunming, there are also a few more traffic lights which makes the most tricky intersections much easier. Also, we both agree that there are slightly fewer bikes, at least at the hours when we're likely to to ride, so for us, the biking is still terrific. During the years we were away, the college built a car parking lot in the housing area and insisted car owners buy spaces there, rather than parking along the paths that run through the complex as they did two years ago. Of course, we applaud that move! What's more, since you can't buy a car without having a place to keep it, and the parking spaces are now all accounted for, the college has in effect curtailed the purchase of additional cars.

In one of my speaking classes, the topic of car ownership came up. When I asked how many of the 20 students' families owned cars, two students very shyly raised their hands, clearly fearing they would appear boastful. When I asked who expected their families to have cars by the year 2010, two more students raised their hands. Now admittedly that's a doubling of the number of cars, but still only 20% of the families represented in my class.

Posted: Tue - September 2, 2003 at 05:02 AM    

©