Welmer

The recent rush to modernize and the rapid economic growth of China has led to a huge construction boom throughout the country. In my neighborhood in Beijing, when I lived there in the late 90s, it seemed as though a new building sprang up every week or so. Migrant laborers thronged the streets in hardhats and brightly colored construction jackets, speaking incomprehensible dialects from the provinces. The new buildings were built to look “modern,” with large glass windows and steel frames, so it was somewhat comical to see the workers using traditional bamboo scaffolding.

A cursory glance at the new buildings might give one the impression that they were essentially the same as those that fill the office parks of suburban America, but having seen them rise from the ground up, I knew there were some major differences. Because the most recent building boom departed radically from the Communist-era command economy’s construction mandates, there was almost no precedent and regulation for the new construction practices. As with so many things in China, a decent enough outward appearance to make a sale is sufficient. The structure, if hidden, is of little consequence.

A couple blocks down the street from me I saw a 10-story office building built on dirt. No attempt was made to dig and lay a foundation; the building was slapped together like a box on the ground. I really couldn’t believe what I saw, so I started checking for basements whenever I visited these new office buildings. Amazingly, the lack of a foundation turned out to be surprisingly common. After seeing enough of these examples, I felt sure that a significant quake in Beijing would kill a huge number of people.

Many of the new apartment towers being built in the suburbs were very poorly built. The concrete hallways were uneven, sagging in places, and the wiring was unreliable and dangerous. Water seeped through the walls, and people were moved in before the building was complete. For all the hype over China’s economic boom, these buildings are a stark reminder of the fundamental instability of China’s economy. A shining office building without a foundation, sitting precariously on the ground in a seismically active region, is a good analogy for today’s China. Give it a firm shake – one that’s guaranteed to come eventually – and the roof comes down on its unfortunate occupants.