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Author Archives: Adam Mayer

On Poor Quality: Corruption and Construction in China

As someone who works in the building industry in China, I am often asked why the quality of construction of most new buildings is so poor.View full post »

Guangzhou’s New Central Business District: Zhujiang New Town

Guangzhou’s New CBD (highlighted in red) sits north of the Pearl River and east of the Old City in what not long ago was agriculturalView full post »

Deindustrializing Beijing: Images from the Decommissioned China National Steel Factory

Beijing’s poor air quality is a well-documented phenomenon, yet what is often not considered is the fact is that the municipalityView full post »

Speculation: China’s Proposed Eco-Cities

A piece I wrote about China’s proposed eco-cities appeared recently in the  inaugural issue of Dwell Asia magazine. The articleView full post »

9/11, China and the Enduring Symbolic Power of the Skyscraper

1 World Trade Center Rising in Lower Manhattan Now that it has been about a month since the 10 year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in theView full post »

China and the Legacy of Steve Jobs

Fake ‘Apple Store’ in Kunming It is not hard to understate the influence that Apple has had on China. If we examine the roleView full post »

Go West Project at the Chengdu Biennale

I had the privilege of sitting in on a round-table discussion led by the ‘Go West Project‘ at the Chengdu Biennale this pastView full post »

The Guangzhou Opera House: An Architectural Review

A few months ago I visited the recently opened Guangzhou Opera House, designed by renowned British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid. The projectView full post »

Chengdu Enhances Urban Environment With Recreational Paths

It seems that too often talk about China development focuses on ‘hard’ infrastructure projects including roads, bridges, powerView full post »

High-Speed Train Derails in Zhejiang Province

In a gigantic blow to the credibility and safety of China’s high-speed rail network, a train traveling from Zhejiang’sView full post »

China Surges Ahead While Ideological Battles Hinder the U.S.

“Public policy, stripped to its basics, is a choice among value alternatives. What one person will vehemently contend is the correctView full post »

World’s Longest Sea Bridge Opens in Qingdao

To mark the 90th Anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party two weeks ago, the seaside city of Qingdao in Shandong provinceView full post »