Car Numbers Explode in Shanghai
By Jian Shuo Wang on 2006-03-05 15:06 · CarI went to Decathlon at Long Yang Road Station in Shanghai with friends yesterday. It was 3:00 PM. To my surprise, the parking lot at B&Q and Decathlon area was completely packed. Not only big area (with about 10 rows of 10 cars) was full, the back yard - which typically not used are also fully parked. There are many volunteers guiding cars into the underground parking area under Decathlon.
With the continuous “immigration” from Puxi to Pudong, and the popularity of cars, the once empty parking lot at B&Q area becomes so crowded. I remember when I just moved to Pudong less than 2 years ago, something I didn’t understand was, why B&Q built so large parking lot. At that time, only 1/3 of the parking was used. I LOL when I saw there were entrance to the underground garage. Whenever I drive there, I can easily find a place very near to the entrance.
Today, everything changed. The area looks so crowded. Of cause, it will become more and more crowded in the future. The good thing is, they still have underground garage for future expansion.
How I miss the old days when there is barely no any customers in Decathlon (as a customer). Now it is fully packed of people, and you have to wait in line to try out some cool equipments.
© Jian Shuo Wang. First posted in May, 2005, under Running in Pudong.
Two years means a lot in Shanghai - everything from the business of a store, to the availability of cars and parking lot change.
P.S. With this entry comes the new round of price cut from major car manufactures. With the price cut, I believe cars will become more popular in the next few years.
13 Comments
P.S. Dude, you have some GENIUSES writing on your blog, does everyone here have like 3 PhD's or somethin'? On another thread,
http://home.wangjianshuo.com/archives/20060303_my_favorite_jifeng_book_store.htm
some dude who's like, the world expert on history of scientific languages or something, he posted up like a professional public policy document for the Chinese scientific community and universities, he's liked solved a difficult question on scientific language right in that document, you all need to prinit it out and distribute it!
Everybody here is so smart, while me, i 'sold out' to do finance. Anyways, you all are an inspiration here, keep up all your cool work here, you have my admiration.
Like I was saying in the other thread, bro, you Chinese people are like the heroes for us Asians, we're psyched about China becoming wealthy and successful so that a lot of these arrogant Americans who still think Asian people, language and cultures are inferior, they'll finally realize how strong Asian culture has been and is. We're all cheerin' for you to become rich and strong, you're our major inspiration.
By the way, who and how much are they cutting off car prices ?
There are 5 or more shops in Shanghai, both Puxi and Pudong.
The first one was the one on the photo, close to Longyanglu Station, line no. 2 stops there (2'nd last stop of the line), same station as the Maglev train.
Cross the Longyang lu (over a pedestrian bridge) then you'll find it, besides the B&Q DIY market.
In Decathlon I have bought tennis rackets, tents, shelter tents, sleeping bags, diving gear (!) etc. etc. there. AND they have big sized shoes too !
They have usually a long way to go for work.
They go to the bank to have a loan to have a car.
When the car is more than 2-3 years old, then all the repairs come. Lots of time spend to go to the repair workshop, fighting with the repair guys, who tries to rip your money.
Accidents happen extremely often, and costs you lots of money.
Public transportation is very cheap here, and in most cases faster than going by your own expensive car.
Is it just for own "face", that we see so many cars on the road in Shanghai ?????
Bragging of a car is "fashion" now.
But other things can be bragged about, with less costs ! Sailing, golfing, diving, etc.
Chinese, think now. Is it worth to have a car in a city like Shanghai ?
As for the people in Shanghai, sure, having your neighbor see you in a shiny BMW, or any other car in China for that matter, can win you a lot of credos. But do so only if your income warrants that expense. Aside from gassing up, maintenace charges and upkeeping, there's a lot of "social" costs, such as your seldom talked to aunt-in-law requests a ride to the airport. And who's going to pay the bridge tolls? Multiply this by the many relatives and friends that you have.
Perhaps Shangahi should experiment with a concept like "ZIP" rental car. Patrons can use and pay for a vehicle when they need it, and the charges are a factor of time used and location served. This can cut down the all the costs associated with owning your own vehicle.
Thank you,
DJ