The Ultimate "Bridge to Nowhere": China's Jiaozhou Bay Bridge

Today's been a relatively quiet day at work (thus far), which means I am able to do things like read news and blog about them. One of the items I came across is the announcement that the longest sea bridge in the world has become operational. The said bridge is the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge, which connects the city of Qingdao to Huangdao District in southeast China. It spans about 26 miles (the length of a marathon) and took four years to complete.

The first that comes to mind is probably "cool!" or "wow, the Chinese can really build!". These exclamations are warranted by the immense size and scope of the project. The Jiaozhou Bay Bridge took four years to construct, employed around 10,000 construction personnel, and took about 450,000 tons of steel and 2.3 cubic meters of concrete (translated into 5,000 supporting pillars). The cost of the bridge is equally staggering -- at least in Chinese terms. At the time when the U.S. media is stirring anger at the new San Francisco bridge being built in China and then assembled in the U.S. in order to save $400 million, this bridge is estimated to have cost $1 billion to build. The estimated price of the new San Francisco Bay Bridge? $7.2 billion. Although both are enormous sums of money, one is a much greater waste than the other. Can you guess which one?

The answer will probably surprise you. I'd say the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge is a bigger waste of money than the new San Francisco Bay Bridge. While the numbers are significantly different, the former spans connects a sizable city, the latter connects a metropolis together. In addition, the San Francisco version represents the revision of an American landmark; the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge is built somewhere with much less renown. Sure, most Chinese people know Qingdao as a tourist attraction, but how many foreigners know of the place? Perhaps the bridge will bring greater renown to the city of Qingdao -- but I think the spending is mostly unwarranted.

If anything, it represents another fascination by the Chinese (spurred by the government) to break world records with their creation. There is nothing wrong with wanting to break records but, when public money is being spent, one must be reasonable and not waste. This is probably a huge waste of public money, money that could have been spent for much greater purposes like building parks and improving living standards in the region. Instead, it is spending on this colossal heap of steel and concrete that most residents will not be able to afford to travel upon (I assume tolls will be very high). A good comparison is the infamous "bridges to nowhere" that were built in remote regions like Alaska. These bridges hold very little value as an unreasonably low number of citizens have a use for it.

Well done, the city of Qingdao. You have just wasted $1 billion. Is is really worth it to "cut commute time in 1/2, from 40 minutes to 20 minutes"?

Book Review: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Arguably my favorite novel is Great Expectations, authored by Charles Dickens. It is the remarkable story of a young boy from a very humble background who is ushered into the high society. The novel follows the story of the boy, named "Pip", as he embarks on this journey.

In many ways, there is nothing special about Pip. He does not have superhuman powers, nor jaw-dropping charisma and wealth. Instead, the Pip we are introduced to in the beginning is very much an ordinary product of his times: orphaned at a young age, brought up by his sister "by the hand", and who enjoys the company of his friends. Pip aspires to follow in the footsteps of his kind brother-in-law, Joe, who is is a local blacksmith. Yet certain events quickly unfold that ultimately propel him into another life altogether -- the life of a "gentleman".

The immediate change we see in Pip when he first hears of his "great expectations" is his attitude to those around him. In reality, this change in attitude from a humble/naive boy is set in motion in Pip's encounter with a beautiful girl named Estella. (We assume Estella is very beautiful because that is how Pip always refers to her). But there is a noticeable problem -- Estella is the daughter of a wealthy lady while Pip is the complete opposite. The class barrier between the two is made more glaring through Estella's cruelty toward Pip in the beginning.

Plot summary aside, Dickens masterfully crafts Great Expectations like a mystery novel: Pip is simply "handed" the opportunity to rise above his circumstances. It is enthralling because Pip's reaction to this good fortune resembles someone who has won the lottery. He is confused yet overjoyed, optimistic but also saddened to leave behind his friends and family. There would be many complications to his journey in becoming a gentleman -- including a heart-rending episode in which the relationship between him and Estella climaxes.

From this novel's perspective, I can see similarities with other famous and/or contemporary works of fiction. The recently discussed Memoirs of a Geisha comes to mind: as the child Chiyo is similarly conferred "expectations" in the form of an opportunity to become a geisha. The romance between Pip and Estella is also reflected in other works such as Pride and Prejudice, as well as The Great Gatsby. [Perhaps not very much at all...just came to mind.]

As it is perhaps my favorite novel, there are multiple reasons that explain my affinity to the novel. All these reasons pertain, in one way or another, to the way I identify with Pip's experiences.

1. I identify with Pip's childhood. After having moved around various countries during my childhood, I sometimes wonder what things would have been like had I stayed in my country of birth (China). What would my life look like now? Amongst other things, my prospects are certainly brighter than otherwise. But it makes me wonder sometimes

2. I identify with Pip's expectations. Having growing up as male heir in a Chinese household, I was always expected to honor my family through my achievements (the movie Mulan captured this obsession with honor very well...). These expectations are raised further as I have a much younger brother, who looks up to me. Similar to Pip, I was bestowed these expectations and am sorta bound to strive to fulfill them.

3. I identify with Pip's sentiments toward Estella. Inasmuch as I try to deny or forget, I often still find myself thinking about Mandy and how we seem to belong. Pip's description of how he felt toward Estella is identical to how I feel toward Mandy. I simply cannot phrase the sentiment better than Pip does in chapter 29:

"Estella was the inspiration of [his dream to restore the desolate house and marrying her], and the heart of it, of course. But, though she had taken such strong possession of me, though my fancy and my hope were so set upon her, though her influence on my boyish life and character had been all-powerful, I did not, even that romantic morning, invest her with any attributes save those she possessed. I mention this in this place, of a fixed purpose, because it is the clue by which I am to be followed into my poor labyrinth. According to my experience, the conventional notion of a lover cannot be always true. The unqualified truth is, that when I loved Estella with the love of a man, I loved her simply because I found her irresistible. Once for all; I knew to my sorrow, often and often, if not always, that I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be. Once for all; I loved her none the less because I knew it, and it had no more influence in restraining me, than if I had devoutly believed her to be human perfection."

In retrospect, the 3 reasons I just provided rarely existed together. This is to say they came in stages during my life -- when I was younger, I identified more with the child Pip, and now I identify more with the older Pip. Maybe this flexibility of identity is what makes Great Expectations (one of?) my favorite novels of all time.