When we were in Changzhou, there was a lot of demolition activity and an unbelievable amount of new construction. It seemed as though Changzhou was in a race to become a modern, cosmopolitan centre. It seemed that everywhere one went, large trucks hauling away dirt and debris went whizzing by. Of course, some of the debris would fall off the heavily loaded trucks. It was then the task of street workers to clean up this debris.
In this photo, these two elderly women make the most of their day while working together. It didn’t seem to bother them that moments after scraping the mud off the street and sweeping it up, another set of trucks would spill more mud forcing them to repeat the process over and over again, day after day until that particular stretch of road stopped being a hauling road. It is work, and work is good. In the end, it seemed that keeping busy and earning money to support family is all that becomes important. It didn’t matter that the task might appear hopeless or pointless to some outside observer. An outside observer such as myself judges from a different frame of reference. We all see and interpret the world from unique and individual lenses.
Saw that routine often. My second year I watched a maintenance worker use a mallet to reduce the bumps on the road.
A good lesson in perspective. Thanks ChinaMatt.
There is so much ‘busy work’ in China. The beautifully dressed girls at the doors of restaurans whose only job is to say “Welcome” and “Goodbye” is another example that I see from my ‘western’ perspective.
Yet without this ‘busy work’ the already high unemployment figures would be astronomical.
The building consstruction also amazes me. EVERY city has hundreds more ‘hives’ being constructed. There are not enough people in China to inhabit them all, even if they were affordable. Of the finished ones, less than 20 per building will be occupied. People buy the others and hope to sell on a rising market. Gotta fall apart soon. More wasted effort and resources.
Hi Deborah – yes, so many apartments being built simply to keep all busy and productive. The fall will have to come and it won’t be pretty when it does come. But then again, Chinese history is replete with similar tales and even this will be just another page in its history.