There are two or three indicators, in my opinion, that best gauge a city or region’s development. If Purchasing Power Parity can be summed up in the Big Mac index- the cost of the same Macdonald’s burger in different countries, perhaps there is also a “Taxi” or “Espresso” index that can help identify development in China.
Taxi Index: the base cost of a Taxi. In China, the base cost of taking a taxi, usually the first km or so, can range between 5 and 16 RMB (compare at roughly 6.5 RMB to the dollar). The way I see it, the higher the taxi base fare price, the more developed the city. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, and I could use some input to flesh it out.
Espresso index: is there a Starbucks in the city. Plain and simple. The more Starbucks in a city, the more developed it is.
I also toyed around with including a KFC, McDonalds and Wal-Mart index, however, this leads to complications. I say so because my students informed me the price of McDonalds is simply too high for many of them (in Changchun a Big Mac Meal runs about 3 dollars…)
So it comes down to Taxis and Starbucks. Taxis are a great way to judge because anyone can take a taxi to get around. Starbucks are another clear indicator because there’s a financial threshold for the type of people who can afford a 3 dollar cup of coffee.
That being said, here’s a list of developed and developing cities/provinces in China. Please understand these are based on my personal observations, and while I have yet to visit many places in China, I can safely say I traveled through at least half of them.
Also note, unless I mention otherwise, I just grabbed photos off the web.
Jilin Province: Developing.
Honest, I can safely say the long, cold winters of the NE hamper development in this area of China. There may be other factors involved, like corruption, but I couldn’t tell you what kind of effect that has.
Province-wide, there are no Starbucks and taxi base fare is 5RMB. Jilin would rank as one of the least developed Chinese provinces. Changchun, the capital, does have a number of independent coffee shops, but I would say the city is ready for Starbucks. Changchun has a Five Star hotel for crying out loud. Also, back in the spring of 2010 the local government wanted to increase the base fare of taxis from 5 to 7 RMB. The Taxi drivers would not have received any of the money from the fare-hike, and so they went on strike. For three days, starting on Thursday. The entire city was paralyzed, business suffered, and the authorities lost a tremendous amount of “face”. The government caved in after just 24 hours, agreeing to keep the fare at 5RMB.
In Jilin City. In the background is the Snow Beer Brewery, although the place was restricted and I couldn't visit, a number of expats believe Snow Beer could be exported to great effect. Also, I'm a lot colder than I look.
Heilongjiang: Developing.
6RMB base fare with a 1RMB fuel surcharge. No Starbucks. I only had a chance to visit Harbin, however, but as the capital it might be a safe bet to say this NE province needs more development.
Liaoning: More or less developed.
I visited Shenyang and Dalian multiple times, and they were excellent cities. They each had at least one Starbucks, and taxi fare was about 7RMB base fare. Shenyang has a rich cultural history, hosting the mini-forbidden city of the Manchus, and is the capital of Liaoning.
Dalian is more the banking/finance city. Dalian really is about my favorite place to visit, the people are friendly, the food is great and the city art is modern.
Dalian’s city history is also rich, if limited, and I’ll probably write a post specifically about it (the Dalian oil spill shocked me to the core, you can read about it some more in one of the other posts).
Although I could post photos of the Mini Forbidden City in Shenyang, the beer garden was also fun. Again, Snow is the local brew in NE China, and who could resist such an advertisement?
Dalian is more the banking/finance city. Dalian really is about my favorite place to visit, the people are friendly, the food is great and the city art is modern.
Soccer is HUGE in Dalian, as it turns out. The tale of the rag-tag Changchun Friends Football club playing the Dalian expats is epic. And embarrassing.
The Sea Shell museum in Dalian, circa 2008. In 2010 the museum was demolished to make room for sleek new apartments.
Shandong: Some cities developed, others not.
Qingdao was an excellent choice for winter travel. The base fare for taxis is 7/8RMB, and there were several Starbucks. There was also the Qingdao brewery, and a local custom of putting a pitcher of beer into a plastic bag. The “beer-in-a-plastic-bag” custom naturally lends itself to frat parties, as you simply cut off one corner of the bag and chug the whole pitcher.
I spent 24 hours in Tianjin, and would have been more impressed with the city if there had not been a green/yellow haze of pollution. Maybe things have cleaned up since 2009, but I didn’t want to spend time looking for a Starbucks. As I recall the base-fare was 8/9RMB or so.
Haikou beaches. There are plans on the books to seriously develop Hainan, and if a Starbucks or two pops up it will be a smashing success.
Sanya was also nice, however I didn’t have to time explore more of the beaches outside the city. Lots of Russians though, as I understand there is a special relationship allowing visa free travel for Russians who want to escape Siberian winters.
Sun Yat Sen memorial hall- a great place to see a concert as it turns out.
Fog or Pollution?
There are 30 million people who live in or around the city.
Fu Zi Miao, Nanjing
A stroll along West Lake is about as good as it gets.
Germany's sphere of influence included Qingdao, the train station looks like it came right out of Bavaria. In WWI the German soldiers squared off against Japan, and despite overwhelming numbers held the city for over two months. German morale was probably boosted by the creation of the Qingdao Brewery, "For the Kaiser, For Germany, For Beer" may have been the rallying cry. The point is there should be a movie made about it.
The Stairway to Heaven. Even though there wasn't a Starbucks I still managed to grab a decent cup of coffee at the top.
Beijing: a World Class city.
The Forbidden City, but I got in!
Beijing has everything, including a base-fare price of 10RMB. The only city I visited with a more expensive base-fare was Shanghai. At the same time, taking a cab around Washington, D.C. is much more expensive. I mostly traveled by metro in Beijing anyway, can’t beat 2RMB tickets and no traffic. Of course there is the Forbidden City, but another incredible feature of this city is the largest LED screen in the world. It isn’t turned on every night though, because the amount of energy it consumes would rock your socks off. There’s also a billion Starbucks.
Tianjin: Yes it’s developed, and Yes I couldn’t stand the pollution.
An expat from Changchun, who had lived there for 15 years, once told me if an expat misbehaves he or she could be banished to Tianjin.
I spent 24 hours in Tianjin, and would have been more impressed with the city if there had not been a green/yellow haze of pollution. Maybe things have cleaned up since 2009, but I didn’t want to spend time looking for a Starbucks. As I recall the base-fare was 8/9RMB or so.
Hainan: Developing.
Haikou has nice beaches for sure, but the cab fare is 5RMB and a cursory glance around town could tell you this province needs more development, and less nuclear submarines. No Starbucks.
Sporting my Russian beard.
Sanya was also nice, however I didn’t have to time explore more of the beaches outside the city. Lots of Russians though, as I understand there is a special relationship allowing visa free travel for Russians who want to escape Siberian winters.
Guangzhou: Developed sections, inconvenient layout
I wasn’t a fan of Guangzhou, which has a nice airport but is an hour away from the city. I missed my flight, by 10 minutes, which serves me right for trying to book a 7:30am trip to Chongqing. A note for future travelers, don’t book morning flights out of Guangzhou.
I can’t remember the exact fare for cabs, but I would venture its 9RMB or so. There’s a thriving downtown business section that has a Starbucks or two, however not so many cool places to visit. The most notable locale, in my opinion, was the Sun Yat Sen memorial hall, which documents 20th century Chinese history and was the place were Japan formally surrendered.
Chongqing: Developing.
Look no further than Chongqing if you’re in the mood for developing China. I stayed at a hostel in Ci Qi Kou district for 2 dollars a night!!! The Old Town district is about an hour by bus to the city center- there was an old lady on the bus trip who brought her goose along for the ride- and when I did take a cab it was 5RMB. I also rode on the back of a motorcycle for transport, it made me feel special :p
I really enjoyed my time in Chongqing, despite the fog/pollution, and there were a few Starbucks I could chill at. I only met two foreigners during my week long stay, one English teacher and another businessman. I was there mostly to just relax.
At the Chongqing Zoo. I understand there is an entire industry for Westerners who correct outrageous errors in translation.
Hubei: Developing.
I had my shoes shined in Yichang City for 5RMB, about the same as a taxi fare. This the final leg of the Yantze River cruise I took, and while the scenic overlooks are breathtaking, this city of 1.4 million people didn’t have a lot going for it, much less a Starbucks.
Wuhan was a side trip, and the cost of taking a boat across the river was more expensive than the taxi ride. There was, however, a Starbucks! I treated a former student of mine to coffee there, it was his first time going to one and it meant a lot to him.
Jiangsu: Developed
Nanjing was fabulous. Taxis were kind of steep at 10RMB as I recall, there were a few Starbucks around town to boot. The Fu Zi Miao district was dreamy, complete with canals and ice-cream parlors. The city also has one of the tallest skyscrapers in the world, as well as a developing metro system (there are two lines that make an X, not very convenient compared with Shanghai or Beijing). The Nanjing Massacre museum is the elephant in the room, however, and for all the city’s charm it can be uncomfortable thinking about the ghosts of the past.
Suzhou had cheaper taxis, but I mostly took the bus. There are also literally hordes of bicycle riders! The interior gardens were great, with too many people crowding them, however, it can be difficult to take. I much preferred Tongli.
Zhejiang: Developed
Hangzhou is a pretty magical place, with Starbucks galore and enough expensive taxis to go around! Base-fare is 10RMB, and the buses around town cost four renminbi. Outrageous. At the same time, Hangzhou really is the most beautiful city on earth.
Ningbo was made for expats. I even found a New York style pizzeria that served a mean slice.
Shanghai, well, is Shanghai. There’s no other city like it in China.
Taxis were 16RMB, 20 at night. There weren’t enough of them, however, and a French guy I met even suggested the rates needed to increase. Like Beijing, there were a billion Starbucks, I couldn’t handle it.
There are plans to create "Shanghai Tower", which will apparently dwarf the Pearl tower. Also, either the world's tallest street lamp or a crazy thing called "perspective".
Not everything in Shanghai is ultra modern.
Taxis were 16RMB, 20 at night. There weren’t enough of them, however, and a French guy I met even suggested the rates needed to increase. Like Beijing, there were a billion Starbucks, I couldn’t handle it.
Shanxi and Shaanxi: Developing
Sadly, I didn’t have enough time to explore Shanxi and Shaanxi. I never made it to Taiyuan, but I figured it was another large city and I decided to hang out in Pingyao instead. I thoroughly enjoyed getting my fortune read by a Toaist monk in Pingyao, and the beef was succulent. There were no taxis inside the city walls. Xian was another great place.
Sadly, I didn’t have enough time to explore Shanxi and Shaanxi. I never made it to Taiyuan, but I figured it was another large city and I decided to hang out in Pingyao instead. I thoroughly enjoyed getting my fortune read by a Toaist monk in Pingyao, and the beef was succulent. There were no taxis inside the city walls. Xian was another great place.
Terra Cotta warriors outside Xian. Once construction was complete the workers were summarily executed to hide the location.
A three thousand year old cup at the Shanxi Museum. The curators said it was worth "half of Hong Kong"
Gansu province is very much developing.
The Lonely Planet identified Lanzhou, the capital, as the most polluted city in China, and there were few if any expats living there. Dunhuang, on the other hand, was a great experience. Again, no Starbucks and taxis were 5RMB.
Dunhuang deserves it’s own posting, I’ll leave you with a teaser by saying this city will be mentioned in a future post on China’s energy policy…
The Lonely Planet identified Lanzhou, the capital, as the most polluted city in China, and there were few if any expats living there. Dunhuang, on the other hand, was a great experience. Again, no Starbucks and taxis were 5RMB.
Pondering the mysteries of Mingsha Shan
Dunhuang deserves it’s own posting, I’ll leave you with a teaser by saying this city will be mentioned in a future post on China’s energy policy…
I hope I’m not missing any other provinces, if I do come up with some more I’ll post an update. I do think the “Taxi” and “Espresso” index of development works for the most part, at least in China, and it could be expanded in the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment