“It’s
China, it’s exciting, it’s
an amazing time to be here.
The change that happens every half a year is incredible and
it’s happening at every level of society. So in terms
of global development in human history, I don’t know when
else this has happened…. so it’s great to be part
of it."
When a job needs to be done,
in China it's not hard to find
people power
"In 1985 China was a largely poor but egalitarian
country with a spiked distribution of income. As China has grown
richer this distribution has spread out with increasing numbers
of middle class and wealthy households. By 2025 we expect a
very wide distribution from poor to wealthy, but with the bulk
of households spread across an enormous middle class."
Traditional Chinese architecture is often cited as
one of the most efficient and the layout of the Siheyuan
courtyard is no exception. Caroline happened to wander
into this one while taking photographs of one of Beijing’s
historic quarters. The owner welcomed her with open
arms, invited the team to dinner and gave us this tour
of his home.
"Traditional
Chinese culture is cyclical and in many ways this is more in
line with sustainability than the linear, growth-focused western
culture."
A fan dance practice in the
local supermarket car park
Data from the CIA Factbook:
- Population: 1,321,851,888
- GDP real growth rate: 11.1% vs. 2.9% in US
- GDP (purchasing power parity): $10.21 trillion vs. $13.08 trillion in US
- % below poverty line: 10% vs. 12% in US
- Internet users: 137 million vs. 208 million in US
Key Dates:
2070 BCE - 1911: Dynastic Period
1912-1949: Republic of China
1949: People's Republic of China
1958: Great Leap Forward
1966-1976: Cultural Revolution
1972: Nixon Visits China
1978: Chinese economic reforms
1979: One-child policy
1980: Special Economic Zones
1989: Tiananmen Massacre
2005: National commercial building code
2006: 11th Five-Year Plan
- Renewable Energy Law
- Goal of reducing energy consumption per unit of GDP by 20%
- Increase building energy efficiency by 50% from 1978 (65% in major cities)
There are over 400,000 deaths every year in China that are attributable to poor air quality.
We
found a China in transition - not quite the Wild West of the previous
decade but definitely dynamic and incredibly exciting. After 3 decades
of transition to a market economy, China has begun to assert itself
both culturally and economically. In the process, it is rediscovering
its green roots.
China has a long tradition of environmentally
preferable, energy-efficient architecture that was lost during
the past century of westernization. Current Chinese architecture
embodies the nation's thirst for change and progress. In the countryside,
villagers dream of brick homes while urbanites are drawn to Manhattanesque
skyscrapers. Yang Xin, a developer in Beijing, remarked, "We
respect history only once we have eaten our fill. All of these
skyscrapers, etc. just show that we have not yet had our fill."
Tate Miller of AF&PA warned that people often "misunderstand
the size of the market here in China. The market is about
300 million people in a middle class and there are still
around 800 million people here that are at the very bottom."
This is changing quickly as MGI projects average incomes
rising nearly 800% from 1995-2025. The Economist forecasts China's GDP, in terms
of purchasing power parity, to surpass the United
States in less than a decade.
The current 'consumer class' in
China numbers about 300 million
Know your history when dealing with China.
The most influential events in recent history have been
Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution (文化大革命), lasting from 1966 to
Mao Zedong's death in 1976; Deng Xiaoping's subsequent economic
reforms (改革开放) starting in 1978; and the One Child Policy (中国计划生育政策)
starting in 1979 and still in effect. These three aspects of modern
Chinese history are part of the psychological makeup of every
Chinese. They influence Chinese politics, business and the socio-economic
dynamic. Hear one interviewee discuss Deng Xiaoping here.
Over the past three decades, government leaders
have evolved from a group of octogenarian communist party cadres
to middle-aged, highly educated technocrats. Many major city mayors
now have degrees in engineering and economics and attend multi-week
trainings that will soon include sustainable development.
Many locals and foreign 'China hands' described
a difference in government and business culture that migrates
along a continuum as one moves from north to south along the coast.
Interviewees told us that, in general, southern officials and
business people are less political and bureaucratic and more professional.
Key cities that were mentioned to have comparatively efficient
governments included Suzhou (苏州), Hangzhou (杭州), and Shenzhen/Shekou
(深圳/蛇口).
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are rare
in China and not looked upon highly by the government. While the situation is improving, this has
slowed the progress of environmental advocacy.
INTERVIEW
CLIPS, click ‘play’ to see the selected clip from the
list below:
David Nieh
(聂耀中) English/Chinese
Developer in Shanghai (上海)
General Manager - Planning & Development (总经理－计划及发展)
Shui On Development Ltd. (瑞安房地产发展有限公司) www.shuionland.com
David is passionate about sustainable development and smart
urban planning. Some of his recent Shanghai projects include Xintiandi and the Knowledge & Innovation Community (KIC).
He is also involved with JUCCCE. View Bio
China is experiencing 3 ages at once:
industrialization, informatization and Agrarian.
Tate Miller
English/Chinese
Industry and Trade representative in Beijing (北京)
China Director for Trade Policy (贸易政策中国总监)
American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) (美国林业及纸业协会) www.afandpa-china.org
Tate oversees all of AF&PA's policy issues and acting
as the primary liaison between Chinese government officials
and forest product industry groups. View Bio
Don't misunderstanding the market size of China.
Yi (伊) Family
Chinese
Owner/builder of a Siheyuan (四合院) in Beijing (北京)
Deng Xiaoping's socio-economic legacy and why Chinese love
him so.
Dr. Roland Winkler German/English/Chinese
Sustainable construction consultant in Shanghai (上海)
Project Development Coordinator, Building, Energy & Environment
Econet China www.china.ahk.de
Roland founded a green building association called Sinobao which
initiated a green building expo between Hamburg and Shanghai
called Ecobuild Shanghai 2006 and has a consulting firm based in Munich. He is also involved with JUCCCE. View Bio
The Tao of driving in China.
Jason Hu
(胡建新)
Chinese
Developer in Shenzhen, Guangdong (广东深圳)
Deputy General Manager, Professor and Senior Engineer (副总经理，教授，高级工程师)
China Merchants Property Development Co. Ltd. (招商局地产控股股份有限公司) www.cmpd.cn
Jason headed the Fraser Place development project, the first
commercial building to achieve LEED Silver. He is now working
closely with One Planet Living, a joint initiative of BioRegional
and WWF, to build a carbon neutral community in China. He is also involved with JUCCCE. View Bio
Cultural differences between how the East and West face their
problems.
Tate Miller English/Chinese
Industry and Trade representative in Beijing (北京)
China Director for Trade Policy (贸易政策中国总监)
American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) (美国林业及纸业协会) www.afandpa-china.org
Tate oversees all of AF&PA's policy issues and acting
as the primary liaison between Chinese government officials
and forest product industry groups.
Yang Xin
(羊欣)
Chinese
Developer in Beijing (北京)
President (董事总经理)
Beijing xisi-bei Ltd. (北京勤能老城投资管理有限公司) www.xisi-bei.com
Yang Xin has been in the real estate industry for more than
a decade is currently focusing on urban renewal, revival and
preservation projects. He is developing one of Beijing's historic
districts called "West 4 Historic Culture Protection
Area" (西四历史文化保护区) that is 350,000 sqm, has 8 alleys (胡同)
and has been around since the Yuan Dynasty.
Developers have ruined Beijing and forgotten the
"human scale" of traditional architecture.
Silas Chiow
(周学望)
English/Chinese
Architect in Shanghai
Associate Partner / Director of Business Development (副合伙人，大中国区业务总监，美国注册建筑师)
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) www.som.com
Silas oversees SOM's China business and design. He is also
closely affiliated with the Urban Land Institute. SOM did
the design for the Xintiandi development in Shanghai and their
sustainability design was chosen for Chongming island, off
Shanghai (the site of the planned Dongtan Eco-city). View Bio
Examples of sustainable traditional architecture in southern
China.
Jin Ruidong Chinese/English
Green building advocacy in Beijing (北京)
Green Building Project Director, China Program (绿色建筑中国项目总监)
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) (美国自然资源保护委员会) www.nrdc.org
Jin Ruidong worked with the NRDC and US DOE to build the first
LEED gold certified green building in China and also helped
China Ministry of Construction to develop several building
energy efficiency standards for state and local governments. View Bio
Examples of 3,000 years of green building history that
have been lost during westernization.
David Zhou
(周大荣)
Chinese/English
Architect in Beijing (北京)
Associate (项目总监)
Roggeo Design Associates, Inc. (诺杰国际) www.roggeo.com
Not having enough money is not an excuse…
look at traditional buildings.
Yang Xin
(羊欣)
Chinese
Developer in Beijing (北京)
President (董事总经理)
Beijing xisi-bei Ltd. (北京勤能老城投资管理有限公司) www.xisi-bei.com
Yang Xin has been in the real estate industry for more than
a decade is currently focusing on urban renewal, revival and
preservation projects. He is developing one of Beijing's historic
districts called "West 4 Historic Culture Protection
Area" (西四历史文化保护区) that is 350,000 sqm, has 8 alleys (胡同)
and has been around since the Yuan Dynasty.
Merging old with new in Beijing's historic cultural districts.
Xu Wei (徐伟)
Chinese
Government official in Beijing (北京)
Director, Researcher （院长 研究员）
China Academy of Building Research (CABR), Institute
of Built Environment and Energy Efficiency （中国建筑科学研究院
建筑环境与节能研究院） www.cabr.com.cn
Xu Wei Works for China's largest research, development, and
technology promotion group. Specifically, he focuses of research,
development and codes and regulations regarding energy efficiency
aspects of buildings and building-integrated technologies.
He is currently editing the Guide to China Building Energy
Labeling. View Bio
Creating appropriate building codes for a developing country.
Marty Feng
(冯勇)
Chinese/English
Entrepreneur and Developer in Lianyungang, Jiangsu (江苏连云港)
Deputy General Manager (常务副总经理)
Lianyungang Great City Development Co., Ltd. (连云港嘉泰城市发展有限公司) www.jiicc.com
Marty's master's thesis explored green building certification
for China and he is determined to establish a local USGBC
equivalent in the country. He has been involved with a number
of green building projects in Shenzhen as well as the design
of Lianyungang's 25 sq km eco-industrial park. View Bio
