Probably one of the most important characters in modern Chinese is "chai" meaning to pull down, dismantle. Ever since the horrific Sichuan earthquakes, Chinese television has been flooded with images of damaged buildings in various stages of being further dismantled. However, this nature caused destruction pales in comparison with the chai that goes on in the name of urban revitalization.
Chinese cities can accurately be described the world's biggest construction sites. Beyond the cranes, the dust, and the lattice work of scaffolding that dot the urban landscape, the image that I identify most with this construction boom is this chai character. It appears overnight, painted on the face of buildings to mark an area for demolition - once Chai appears the normal life of the area changes and all energies are focused on relocation, salvage and demolition. With a major new redevelopment project underway in our comfy apartment in Xian, we've been given a front row to this hallmark of China's rise.
The day of the Sichuan earthquake was also the day that demolition began on a 6 - 8 block area directly behind our apartment. Chai characters appeared all over the district along with legions of black garbed police moving into the neighborhood telling the residents that it was time to go. They had been given much advance notice about general development plans (a nice, modern mixed use residential area desperately needed to address the adjacent University's housing shortage), but as these things go, it is always a difficult realization for residents to make. There was a weird sense of disbelief - the earth was literally shaking beneath their feet as the inevitable order finally occurred and chai appeared. Despite the fear of quakes, people rushed to get things out of their dilapidated buildings as the metal recyclers and other scavengers moved in and started carting away anything of value.
Within a week the demolition began - heavy machinery complemented by hands on wrecking crews wielding sledge hammers. While it has been fascinating to watch the deconstruction of a whole community happen from our back window, the constant rat-a-tat-tat of heavy machinery chipping away at brick and concrete and the resulting dust clouds have tested our patience.
So while we watch the images of widespread natural destruction and human tragedy on the nightly news, we spend part of our days watching the much more focused destruction of our neighborhood. By demolishing at least a hundred medium to large scale buildings, we now enjoy new vistas - a fresh field of construction cranes working on another residential tower rises from the edge of the rubble. We now have three such developments, with a total of seven such multi-storied buildings, rising within view of our front and back windows. Amazing.
And it all starts with chai.
The day of the Sichuan earthquake was also the day that demolition began on a 6 - 8 block area directly behind our apartment. Chai characters appeared all over the district along with legions of black garbed police moving into the neighborhood telling the residents that it was time to go. They had been given much advance notice about general development plans (a nice, modern mixed use residential area desperately needed to address the adjacent University's housing shortage), but as these things go, it is always a difficult realization for residents to make. There was a weird sense of disbelief - the earth was literally shaking beneath their feet as the inevitable order finally occurred and chai appeared. Despite the fear of quakes, people rushed to get things out of their dilapidated buildings as the metal recyclers and other scavengers moved in and started carting away anything of value.
Within a week the demolition began - heavy machinery complemented by hands on wrecking crews wielding sledge hammers. While it has been fascinating to watch the deconstruction of a whole community happen from our back window, the constant rat-a-tat-tat of heavy machinery chipping away at brick and concrete and the resulting dust clouds have tested our patience.
So while we watch the images of widespread natural destruction and human tragedy on the nightly news, we spend part of our days watching the much more focused destruction of our neighborhood. By demolishing at least a hundred medium to large scale buildings, we now enjoy new vistas - a fresh field of construction cranes working on another residential tower rises from the edge of the rubble. We now have three such developments, with a total of seven such multi-storied buildings, rising within view of our front and back windows. Amazing. And it all starts with chai.
1 comment:
Fascinating. Publishable, someplace.
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