Holy shit there's a lot of people in China

[Major Nikon]

I've been to India before, but never have I gotten the sense of so many people as in China. It's not as if they are always on top of you(although sometimes it feels that way). It's all the high rise condos going up. Going down the hiway you see construction cranes everywhere. Nowhere on earth have I seen anything like it. The Chinese say the condo buildings are like mushrooms after a spring rain. There is 20 million people in Beijing and 23 million in Shanghai. There's only 32 million in the entire state of Texas which has 5 major cities.

There were 180,000 people in Tiananmem Square on the day I was there.

[HereSince1628]

1. And the construction has been going on for a long time...

You're seeing the same sort of thing I saw on a visit in 2006 and it had been going on for a long while before my visit.

[Major Nikon]

2. And probably will be for a long time

I heard that 70% of Chinese are farmers, but with modern farming methods they aren't all needed. So the exodus to the cities will continue.

Beijing has a hugemongus airport which is fairly new, but they are already building its replacement.

[liberal N proud]

3. You must also witnessed the never ending traffic jams.

I found it wild on one of the ring roads to Beijing that traffic on a 3 lane road had 4 vehicles wide both directions.

Everywhere you go, you are in a crowd.

[Major Nikon]

10. Actually the traffic hasn't been too bad

The past week has been a national holiday so most people are off work. So there's not as much traffic except near the tourist attractions.

[liberal N proud]

15. If people are off work then they must all be at the attractions

Summer Palace, I remember visiting there and the people were crawling all over the place.
Temple of Heaven, same thing, the Great Wall, you mentioned Tienanmen and Forbidden City.

[Major Nikon]

25. It was very crowded at all the attractions in Beijing

The other cities haven't been too bad. I'm back in Shanghai for the next couple of days.

[Crepuscular]

4. Yep

Lots of people in China. That was the case about ten years ago when I visited and I'm sure nothing has changed. Buildings going up everywhere. What was amazing is the bamboo scaffolding that they use building skyscrapers, an interesting juxtaposition of old and new technology. I expected Beijing and Guangzhou to be similar to westernized cities but what was surprising was visiting some cities in central China where relatively few westerners go, and seeing a 7-11 or a Kentucky Fried Chicken on every corner. Parts of China are incredibly beautiful and the people are generally very friendly, the major turn-off for me was the pollution, in the metro areas the smog is totally pervasive.

[Major Nikon]

11. I'm in Hangzhou right now

Its a very modern city and seems to be relatively affluent. The pollution has been quite bad most of the time, although when I was in Beijing we got several days of blue skies which apparently is rare.

[treestar]

5. Some of it may not be effective building

This is an interesting video I had been originally linked to from DU:

[Major Nikon]

12. I can't view videos here for whatever reason.

[HipChick]

6. I saw the same thing in Hong Kong when I visited last year

High population, lots of hi-rise condo's but little or no traffic...how did they manage that?

[Baitball Blogger]

7. It's like that Star Trek episode. Mark of Gideon

[HopeHoops]

8. 180,000 in Tiananmem Sq the day you were there? Damn. You're one popular guy!

[Major Nikon]

13. It does feel like I'm a celebrity

This is holiday week for the Chinese so many are coming to the city from rural areas where they have never seen westerners. Many people have asked to take pictures with us.

[Major Nikon]

14. I'm in a tour group so I don't have much choice

We are in the East near the coast and it's crowded whith smog everywhere, even outside the cities.

[Kali]

16. Hey

I thought you were going to Egypt?

How is the weather? Enjoy the trip, eat some strange things - those are the BEST travel memories!

[Major Nikon]

26. We originally were going to Egypt

Even initially with the civil unrest we were still going to go, but around the time we had to commit it had gotten worse so we decided to play it safe and go with plan B. We haven't regretted it. China has been an awesome experience. Egypt will have to wait.

Other than the expected smog, the weather has been very good. The smog was really bad only on one day in Beijing. We had blue skies in Shanghai today and 79 degrees.

[benld74]

17. Adopted from China in 2002,,

building for the Olympics then. Hiways mostly, Yes ALOT of people. Tiananmem Square in December, 13 degrees, show falling C-O-L-D, but people were out. And im glad it was cold because of the lack of sanitation made certain items smell not as bad,
Is there still a Starbucks in the Forbidden City? HAve it on tape from 2002. Yes it was there, although it may have gotten moved by now!

[TuxedoKat]

18. I did too

but in 2003. I was amazed at all the construction going on in every city I visited too.

Hey, I'm a big time Cards fan too! Think they'll go all the way again this year? I sure hope so!

[Major Nikon]

27. I didn't see one

But it's so big we may have missed it. I've heard there's been some debate over western chains close to the tourist attractions so it may be gone.

[Recovered Repug]

19. There's over a Braziliion of them.

[Brigid]

20. Lots of tea there too.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

[Major Nikon]

29. We visited a tea plantation

It reminded me a lot of Napa valley. It was incredibly beautiful and not at all what I expected. The Chinese don't mess around when it comes to tea.

[ohiosmith]

21. Been there, seen that!

[hifiguy]

22. A guy I know lives in

Hangzhou. He says it's a "small city" at more than a million people.

[begin_within]

23. You can't get away from people in China.

Here in the U.S., there are places you can go where there is virtually nobody. It's pretty easy to get away from people. In China, wherever you go - anywhere - there is someone there, usually a lot of people.

[JI7]

24. i would like to go to China

[Major Nikon]

28. It's been well worth it

Initially I had some reservations about going with a tour company, but it seems to be the way to go if you want to see the major tourist attractions. All we have to do is enjoy the ride. Everything is taken care of by the tour group. It would have been much more expensive had I done it all on my own.