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Zhenhai, with a population of about 500,000, is located just 30 miles south of Ningbo, which has a population of about 5 million people, and is just 200 miles south of Shanghai, over 13 million people.  Zhenhai is where I landed, this time, the sight of Chinas largest petroleum refinery and chemical company, Zhenhai Refinery and Chemical Corporation.  Zhenhai is a city where most of the people are employed by ZRCC, truly a company town, although with the changing times, the ownership of many stores and shops are changing from company-owned to privately-owned.  In fact, most of the workers are purchasing their apartments from ZRCC.  Change is happening very fast in China, some think too fast.  They estimate that Ningbo and Shanghai will double in size and population every 3-4 years.  It's amazing.

And this is also the home of the infamous Dong Hai Hotel and Restaurant of international shame or fame depending on which side of the ledger you find yourself.  Some thing it should be the Dung Hai Hotel!

One soon recognizes a fact of rural life in China:  there are more bicycles than people.  Definitely more bicycles than any other means of transportation.  I would guess that for every automobile there are 100 motorcycles, and for every motorcycle there are 1000 motor scooters.  And for every motor scooter there are 80,438 bicycles just in this area of China.  And all of the bicycles are old, there are no new-looking bikes.  They are made to look old so no one will steal them.  Add in all the walking people and the animals and the multitude of potholes the size of volcanoes and you have confusion, mayhem and certain death, maybe.
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When the workers leave their work stations, the road system here looks like the worlds largest bicycle race with 500,000 people all headed for different finish lines, their homes.  In fact, there is a local law that prohibits anything but bicycles and motor scooters on the streets from the refinery and chemical plants and town between 5 and 5:15 in the afternoon.  That means that all cars, trucks . . . just about anything motorized except the scooters have to shut down, stop and get off the roadway.  There were so many workers being killed by cars that they thought they might actually run out of workers.  I doubt that!!!  But at 4:30 up to 4:59 PM the race course is full of people trying to beat the time deadline for all motorized traffic to stop.

Rule of the Road 1, the biggest whatever at any intersection goes first, maybe.

Rule of the Road 2, whoever honks their horn first goes first, maybe.

Rule of the Road 3, whoever is the bravest goes first, maybe.

Rule of the Road 4, if you want to be first, don't do it.

Rule of the Road 5, if you're on a bicycle, they're gonna get you, you're the target, watch out!!!

Rule of the Road 6, if you're walking, run as fast as you can. You're a target, too. Ups! Too late!

Rule of the Road 7, if you're in a car, close your eyes tight and hold on; every one else has a "death wish."

Rule of the Road 8, only look straight ahead, nobody else is around.
 

Ha, there are no rules of the road.  Any part of the paved surface can be driven on at any time in any direction at any speed.  In reality, it's a demolition derby at life speed.  The white and yellow lines painted with great care on the surface of the road are there to keep the painters busy.  No one driving in this area observes any rules of the road or any rules pertaining to driving at all.  The bigger the vehicle and the louder the horn determines your chance of survival.  Hell, it's worse than bumper cars at the carnival. And then there's the taxis, vehicles for hire.  To be a taxi, the vehicle must be old, worn-out and falling apart.  That means you can drive the taxi wilder and without care, if you call it driving.

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Aiming is a more useful term.  The auto taxis and the bicycles taxis all seem to be determined to run something over. YOU!  And I really believe they try to run you down.

Another major observation, most people in China do not cook or eat at home.  And that's mainly because their apartments are very, very small and they don't have kitchens.  They are lucky to have a bathroom on the some floor as their apartment.  There are so many street vendors cooking and selling so many things that sometime when the wind is just right, the smell overwhelms you and you almost swoon into sensoriry overload.  So, add the people, add the cars, motorcycles, scooters and bicycles, add in the street vendors and street shops and it looks as though all of Zhenhai has come downtown for supper.  And they all want to eat at the same time.

And they all have cell phones attached to their heads.  Every one of them has a cell phone.  It doesn't matter what they are doing . . . driving a car . . . riding a motor scooter . . . peddling a bicycle . . . walking . . . ridding in a taxi . . . everyone of them has a cell phone in use.  AND A LAW IN CHINA DEMANDS THAT YOU SCREAM INTO YOUR CELL PHONE.  SCREAMING AS LOUD AS POSSIBLE IS NOT AN OPTION.  AND SCREAM AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE.  Ya, 500,000 people screaming at the same time.  I have to put my safety ear plugs from work just to keep myself sane.  Maybe they're all talking to each other or maybe to the same person.  Maybe it's the Chinese people screaming and kicking their way into the new future of their country.

And all this knowledge and experience in just over one week.  Imagine what I'll be like after a few more weeks.  Maybe the people carrying the very large wicker baskets will carry me off into that great Rice Paddy in the Sky.

Hope you are not bored with my travelogues and ramblings.  It actually helps pass the time between meetings and eating and meetings and eating and more meetings.  Damn, I just missed a meeting, but not the eating part.  I once saw a cartoon where the caption was, "Lonely or Bored? Call a meeting!" I am becoming rather skilled at the art of  "looking busy while actually doing nothing!"

Take care, all.  From Zhenhai . . .

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