On the way from the airport to Xi’ An we saw an apartment building under construction. And when I say an apartment building I mean a 30 or 40 story behemoth. As we got closer we realized that there were dozens of identical buildings in the same immense complex.
A mile down the road we saw another identical complex under construction. Same thing another mile down the road. And again and again and again. And to each side of us the horizon was dotted with similar complexes on each side of the highway. I tried to count the number of buildings in one complex as we drove past, but lost track at 33.
In case you think I’m exaggerating for story value, I asked Jamie how many immense apartment buildings we saw between the airport and our hotel. She said, “At least five hundred.”
To repeat, five hundred apartment buildings, each of them thirty to forty stories high, just in a regional city like Xi’ An.
Did you know that the Chinese are currently re-digging the Panama Canal to make it twice as wide? Imposing as that sounds, I’m sure it pales in comparison to the amount of building they’re doing here at home.
Construction began on a second canal several years back which will contain a third set of locks. It will parallel the historic Canal. Unimaginable that construction of this magnitude is underway merely 99 years after the first canal was completed. The new one will be wider therefore increasing the current Panamax size (current ship size 110′ x 1050′, proposed 180′ x 1400′). Panama aspires to reach First World status with the new canal. My day on the Canal (full transit, Pacific to Atlantic, bus ride back to Panama City) happened to be on the day of the 95th anniversary of its opening which made the atmosphere festive. One of my favorite travel memories. My aunt in Costa Rica claims that Nicaragua, with Hong Kong’s assistance, is planning to build a competing canal between Nicaragua and CR. Canal competition? Go figure.