If orange road construction barrels are the unofficial tree in some U.S. states, then cranes are the unofficial bird of China.
The routes into both Beijing and Xi'an were lined by apartment and office towers of the future in various stages of construction.
On the way to see the Terracotta Warriors east of Xi'an on Friday, I lost count of the number of buildings with tower cranes around 86. Then we passed another flock of at least a dozen shells of buildings, and I gave up.
It is as if the bones of China's major cities are experiencing hyper-fast growth spurts at the same time.
And that got me wondering about a few things.
The routes into both Beijing and Xi'an were lined by apartment and office towers of the future in various stages of construction.
On the way to see the Terracotta Warriors east of Xi'an on Friday, I lost count of the number of buildings with tower cranes around 86. Then we passed another flock of at least a dozen shells of buildings, and I gave up.
It is as if the bones of China's major cities are experiencing hyper-fast growth spurts at the same time.
And that got me wondering about a few things.
1. Who the heck is building all of these apartments and condos?
Independent information, especially about the economy, isn't easy to find in China. But I was able to verify that the China Housing and Land Development Corp. Inc. is the largest non-governmental residential construction company in Xi'an. And it has been racing over the past five years to get ahead of an increase in housing demand to satisfy China's burgeoning middle class.
But there's also money to be made -- either now or in the future. And that has gotten the attention of China's nuveau riche.
2. Who buys all these condos?
And the answer might be not a lot of people ... yet.
Our guide at the Terracotta Warriors said that wealthy Chinese are investing in these condos now in preparation for the next wave of massive migration of Chinese from the country to the cities. So that's why it doesn't seem to matter that many of the new buildings have vacant condos, according to Kate's Chinese friends.
Indeed, real estate development investment increased nearly ten-fold between 2001 and 2010, from $75 billion to nearly $730 billion, according to the China Housing and Land Corp.
One other related note: The Chinese government did implement a rule barring foreigners and Chinese from purchasing more homes beyond the one they live in so as to limit property speculation. That started in 2010 as a way to keep home prices from spiraling beyond the grasp of the new middle class and to slow inflation, according to this China-Briefing article.
3. Finally, where the heck are all these cranes coming from?
Independent information, especially about the economy, isn't easy to find in China. But I was able to verify that the China Housing and Land Development Corp. Inc. is the largest non-governmental residential construction company in Xi'an. And it has been racing over the past five years to get ahead of an increase in housing demand to satisfy China's burgeoning middle class.
But there's also money to be made -- either now or in the future. And that has gotten the attention of China's nuveau riche.
2. Who buys all these condos?
And the answer might be not a lot of people ... yet.
Our guide at the Terracotta Warriors said that wealthy Chinese are investing in these condos now in preparation for the next wave of massive migration of Chinese from the country to the cities. So that's why it doesn't seem to matter that many of the new buildings have vacant condos, according to Kate's Chinese friends.
Indeed, real estate development investment increased nearly ten-fold between 2001 and 2010, from $75 billion to nearly $730 billion, according to the China Housing and Land Corp.
One other related note: The Chinese government did implement a rule barring foreigners and Chinese from purchasing more homes beyond the one they live in so as to limit property speculation. That started in 2010 as a way to keep home prices from spiraling beyond the grasp of the new middle class and to slow inflation, according to this China-Briefing article.
3. Finally, where the heck are all these cranes coming from?
Most of them are coming from China. The domestic tower crane manufacturing here is seeing an increase in production capacity "of a magnitude unparalleled in the history of the crane industry," according to Stuart Anderson, who toured eight crane factories earlier this year for Crane Today Magazine (yes, that's a real thing.)
Demand for use in China is fueling 90 percent of that production, he wrote.
So yes, apparently cranes can fly after all.
- Ryan
Demand for use in China is fueling 90 percent of that production, he wrote.
So yes, apparently cranes can fly after all.
- Ryan
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