China, at full throttle

Crossing the street in Beijing can be an adventure. The first time I had to do a girl approached me I thought the most savvy and I lost sight for a second. Imitated their movements and followed in his footsteps. I went through biking, including trucks, pushed a couple of pedestrians and dodged some taxis. In the end, I got safely to the other side of the sidewalk.

In Beijing, each intersection becomes a mountain of cars, bikes, trucks and all vehicles unclassifiable. The bikes are on the contrary, the bikes are up on the sidewalk and the soundtrack of the city could be the sound of a horn. Traffic lights and pedestrian crossings, like so many things in China are only indicative.

The traffic-strong, massive, uncontrolled, is a good example of the pace at which China moves. The city displays a limitless vitality, where everyone seems to have two or three jobs. In Beijing you can dine at one of the night, a haircut at three in the morning and a massage at five. The city seems to have no time to go to bed.

In the midst of uncontrolled traffic, Beijing is growing in all directions, especially on high. The sky of China's capital account every night with a new skyscraper to add to the long list of construction in progress. The country are now turning some of the most prestigious architects, trying to adjust to a China that is difficult to keep up. As Karen complained Cvornyek, president of the Shanghai offices of B & H: "In China, or do you quickly get the job or not." "For this the pace at which the country is moving now."

Noting the heavy traffic in the city and the frantic pace of its citizens, one gets the feeling that here live more in less time. Standard Chartered bank has tried to express in figures a sense that at first seems only subjective. According to this study, 2.8 months in China equivalent to one year in the United States. Or what is the same, a Chinese experiences the same amount of change in three months than we experience in the West in a year. Following this classification, some French coastal towns have changed in 30 years as well as China in 5. "Life here is four times faster," the report concludes.

Far away are the days where only bicycles were slowly through the streets of Beijing. At present, Chinese cities seem to move at the pace of Formula 1. An example of the speed at which China has entered the XXI century.

Daniel Mendez