City Life
Magazine
City Guide
Events
Reviews
Classifieds
E-Zine
Services
RSS12 Sep 2013 |
|
 I just got back from Datong, Shanxi. My school organized this trip, so this time I was traveling with all my classmates and two teachers. The trip wasn’t that fun, it was like joining a tour group, I had to follow the big group all the time, and our travel schedule was occupied with visiting historical spots which I wasn't that interested in.After having done many backpacking trips, I got bored a lot this time, and I missed home. I'd never missed Hangzhou when I was traveling, but this time I couldn't wait to get out of Datong. One big reason-- pollution. Datong is one of the worst polluted cities in China. There're many coal mines in that city, and people there rely on coal a lot (cooking, heating...). Chimneys are everywhere, the air quality is really bad (air smells horrible!). It hardly rains in that area, most rivers have been dried up. And in spring they also suffer sandstorm every now and then... I've been to some dry areas, but it's my first time to see a dry place with so many environmental problems. Hangzhou is also a polluted city, I've been complaining about stuff like there're too many construction sites here, a blue sky is rarely seen... but compared to Datong, Hangzhou is so clean, and the problems we have here is at least not that unbearable. I've been living in Hangzhou more than twenty years, and I've been watching the environmental changes here. I remember when I was a kid, we used to swim in a canal nearby in summer, but now the water of that canal has turned into black and it smells awful. I used to count the number of stars in the sky at night, but now stars are hardly seen... Apparently, the development brings many environmental problems. Shanxi is an industrial center, but compared to east coast, it's a less developed area. 
There're already so many environmental problems there, I was wondering what the pollution would be like if there’s massive development coming up in that area in the near future. What’s the point of being developed and rich at the cost of environment? How can we get better lives when we can’t even breathe normally? I'm glad to be back, but on the day I arrived, the temperature went up to almost 35C, crazily high. And the next day we didn't have power at home. Since last year, every winter and summer, we have power cuts one or two days a week-- because of the power shortage China is suffering. I've never paid too much attention to environmental problems before. It seems the problems are too big, and there's nothing I can do about it. But Shanxi trip makes me think, I'm getting aware of these problmes, and I won't be indifferent anymore. View Larger Map |
Do you have a story to share? Do you want to be a ND Author? Send your own story, write about family, friends, life in Xi'an, business, real estate, education, travel, entertainment, write a review, suggest a column and more! In any language! Please include at least one picture about your story if possible, your name, email address, blog-/web-address, so we can give you credit. Go ahead, click here: Submit your Story now and we will publish it and list you as a ND contributor! Alternatively you can send us your story to: xianstories@newdynasty.com.cn
My ND
Latest Stories!
Latest Articles
- Gareth Johnson
- The Elderly Boom
- Datong - 大同
- China's Incredible Find
- Cross-cultural communication
- Tedious Taxi Trouble
- Time for some introspection
- Top 75 books for learning Chinese
- Hot and Noisy
- There’s more space at the back of the bus!
- Participate in "cultural relics surgery" in Xi'an
- What’s China like? Which one?
- My trip to Xi'an
- Chinese Banquets
- Out Of Touch
- Xiamen
- Xi’an-China: An overrated tourist destination
- Why don't Chinese stand in line?
Top Authors
Top Authors
-
Noruma Mueller56309 Points -
David A. Dayton49199 Points -
Antonio Broto44084 Points -
Mary Higgins30603 Points -
He Meng30043 Points -
Peter22332 Points -
Bro Fan21845 Points -
Ian Clark14325 Points -
Daemon Borek14229 Points -
Alex Absar11220 Points
Submit stories, earn points and win rewards!
We want you! Join us now! Be known in Xi'an - China!
Current Reviews Categories
NEW DYNASTY TV - Xi'an Reports, Interviews and Movies
 |
ND proudly presents: Xi'an Models Volume 1
 |
Advertisement
| RECOMMENDED LINKS | |
  |
  |
New Dynasty Comics
.gif)
Advertising
We want you! - 加入我们!
We're currently looking for some down to earth people who can spare a little time each week to write about anything related to Xi'an and China, who are eager to share stories, news, insight info and be a part of the most sophisticated and fastest growing Digital Magazine in Xi'an. Whether you're young or old, we'd like to hear from you. Click for more info. High-End Model Photography
Editorials
Xi'an goes digital To all readers, subscribers, friends: Welcome to Xi'ans most sophisticated, multilingual digital magazine. We are excited to offer you from today on, 15. June 2009, a new and superior kind of publication in Xi'an and a refreshing new concept. Of course, as with any technology-related... Click here to read the full story!
Skype ND!
Featured Website
¡XABOO! is an interactive Community Platform for Locals and Expatriates in Xi'an. Click here & register now!Editor Team
We have a team that works on the articles presented on ND. Please contact us if you are interested in helping us out with the creation of articles or researching information in Xi'an. Contact: info@newdynasty.com.cnPost translation
ND has readers from all over the world and in several languages. If you translate one of our articles please let us know so we can add a link at the original article! Your site and name will be posted as well. Thanks! Restaurants
Tuscany Restaurant
We are a family owned restaurant and take pride in everything we do. From the fine ingredients we use to the wines we carry, you... |
ND Digital Magazine Xi'an - Subscribe now!
*Sample Image
Hotels
Grand Noble Xi'an
The hotel has 428 well-appointed guestrooms and suites, a full range of dining, recreational and conference facilities. ... |
ND on your Mobile Phone Browser - Coming soon
ND Mobile v1.0 is online! Browse ND's eMag with your mobile device by typing the address m.newdynasty.com.cn in the browser of your device or be auto-redirected to our mobile site by typing newdynasty.com.cn. You can read our articles, watch ND TV and more even better in the future with your iphone, android etc. Stay tuned. Click here for more Info or here if you want to report a bug.