The Nanfang / Blog

A Street-by-Street Tour of Shenzhen’s Flooding [PICTORIAL]

Posted: 05/12/2014 12:50 pm

shenzhen road flooding rain fall disaster guangdong weather

Having endured its heaviest rainfall since 2008, flooding has afflicted areas throughout Shenzhen, of which Longhua District recorded a total rainfall of 430.7 mm.

To better illustrate the wide-scale flooding throughout the city, here’s a pictorial from Shenzhen Evening Report that breaks down the flooding by area and by street.

Shown above: Shenzhen Occupational College.

Here is Keyuan Road:

shenzhen road flooding rain fall disaster guangdong weather

Meilong Road:

shenzhen road flooding rain fall disaster guangdong weather

RELATED: Torrential Rainfall Wreaks Havok on Guangdong, Southern China

The interchange at Minzhi Boulevard and Bulong Road:

shenzhen road flooding rain fall disaster guangdong weather

Nantouguan:

shenzhen road flooding rain fall disaster guangdong weather

Pingshan Danzi Boulevard:

shenzhen road flooding rain fall disaster guangdong weather

RELATED: Record Rainfall Floods Shenzhen

People’s Avenue:

shenzhen road flooding rain fall disaster guangdong weather

Wenshan Lake at Shenzhen University:

Longzhu 2nd Road in Zhuguang Village:

shenzhen road flooding rain fall disaster guangdong weather

Located adjacent to Shenzhen, Hong Kong has equally been battered by the heavy rains. The MTR reported cancellation of train service this morning. The flooding of several farms in Sheung Shui and Yin Kwong Village was reported along with a landslide in Lau Shui Heung, but no roads or residential areas are said to be flooded.

Photos: Shenzhen Evening Report via Weibo

Haohao

PRD News Brief: Abandoned Baby, Labor Day Holiday, Electric Scooter Ban in Dongguan

Posted: 04/29/2014 5:30 pm

Here’s out summary of stories and links around the PRD for today, Tuesday, April 29, 2014.

A baby boy was found abandoned in a trash bin in Meisha, Yantian District, Shenzhen on April 22 and taken to hospital, where it was found to be in full health. Police have no leads as to whom the parents are.

An eight year-old boy in Shenzhen named Xiao Hao fell down from the fourth to the first floor of the Huanlesong Shopping Mall in Nanxin Road in Nanshan District. The boy was riding the escalator at the time and incurred serious head injuries as a result. He is in critical condition at the moment, and is expected to remain in a vegetative state.

Making a break from conservative thinking that eschewed such practices, 255 Guangdong people selflessly gave the gift of life last year. The Guangdong Red Cross reports that since their pilot program started in 2010, a total of 374 donors have helped save 910 patients with 910 organ donations.

Here we grow again! Guangdong development projects have been announced, and they are nothing if not massive. 136 projects are planned for Guangzhou by the end of this year with a total budget of RMB 109 billion, while RMB 405.2 billion will be invested in Zhuhai to develop infrastructure like bridges as well as office buildings. Key to Zhuhai’s development will be a high-tech industrial development zone that will “foster talent and spur innovation” that should ehnance economic development while trying to preserve the environment.

No, they don’t just do that in movies: Two warning shots were fired by police to break up a fight between some 10-odd combatants on Beijing Road in Yuexiu District in Guangzhou. No word as to where those fired bullets wound up.

The Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges will become interconnected. Some 10.5 billion yuan worth of Hong Kong stock will be available for trading on the Shanghai exchange, while 13 billion yuan worth of mainland stock will be available to Hong Kong traders. First up for cross-border trading: diapers.

There have been many applicants for the new “two child policy” in the wake of reforms. The oldest applicant? A 48 year-old woman.

By the end of next year, all electric motor scooters will be effectively banned from Dongguan streets. Local licensing to drive scooters was revoked, and the last remaining licensed scooters will not be up for renewal come expiration.

I guess it’s worth it if it makes the trains run on time: Dongguan’s civil servant exams are so strict, that they revoked an out-of-town applicant’s right to take the examination because she was two minutes late after getting lost at the terminal station. On the other hand, Guangzhou’s civil servant exam happened to feature a multiple-choice question about a popular Korean soap opera:

In the show ‘You Came From the Stars‘, Du Minjun has been living on Earth for four hundred years. During these past four hundred years [Du has been here], the historical event or phenomenon that he could not have witnessed during this time is…

Railway track for Dongguan’s Line 2 Metro is scheduled to be laid down today. This is a special type of “vibration-absorbing” track that will ultimately reduce subway noise by 30 db.

Ready for the Labor Day holiday? Think you’ll be driving out of here? Good luck with that. Here’s a list of roadways that are expected to be less congested than others, and is released to the public who will in no way fill it beyond capacity..

As we had told you about previously, the “frozen chicken” initiative will be happening in Guanzhou. The districts of Yuexiu, Liwan, Zhuhai and University Town have been selected as the first areas to begin the pilot program before implementing throughout the entire city. Under this initiative, chickens will be slaughtered in numbers, frozen, then shipped to markets. This puts an end to live markets for fresh chicken, but helps guard against avian flu outbreaks.

Weather: Cloudy today, temperatures 20-28 degrees Celsius. Tomorrow, moderate to heavy showers will hit the province from west to east.

Photo: Weibo

Haohao

Big Crowds Expected at Border Crossings, Metro to Run Late, and More Transport News

Posted: 04/29/2014 3:46 pm

The Labor Day Holiday will take place from May 1-3, and here’s a round-up of the various transportation news that should help you along your way:

  • Crossing the border into Hong Kong? Peak hours everyday take place between 8:30 and 11am, and 7 and 10pm, so arrive at another time or be prepared to line up.
  • Both the Shenzhen Metro will run late on Thursday until 12am midnight, while the Guangzhou Metro will extend operations by one hour.
  • The Shenzhen Railway Station will run additional trains: there will be an extra train to Shaoguan on Wednesday and Thursday, and an extra train to Yueyang on Wednesday and Friday.
  • Provincial highways will be toll-free for the duration of the holiday.
  • A discount is being offered on non-peak flights for the holidays. For example, the lowest priced flight of Singapore Air from May 1 to July 12 is 1200 yuan.
  • The holiday return peak time will be from 10am-10pm on Saturday. Expect us to publish photos of crazy line-ups and queues from this time period next week.

Remember: it’s back to work on Sunday, May 4 for a six day work week from May 4-9.

Photo: China News

Haohao

PRD News Brief: Yue Yuan Strike Update, Tennis and Golf Winners, All-Out Brawl

Posted: 04/28/2014 10:57 am

Gilles Muller is the winner of last week’s ATP Challenger title in Shenzhen. Ranked 195th in the world, Muller just took 75 minutes to defeat Slovakian Lukas Lacko with a score of 7-6, 6-3. Meanwhile, the doubles title was won by Chris Guccione and Sam Groth from Australia.

Alexander Levy won the Volvo China Open at the Genzon Golf Club in Shenzhen on April 25. Levy won the golf tournament with a record score of 10-under par 62. Tommy Fleetwood took second position at four shots behind, and Alvaro Quiros came in third.

Four people are dead and one injured after they jumped from the third story of a building to escape police during a raid on a gambling den in Longgang District, Shenzhen during the early hours of April 26. The gambling den was just newly opened, and had attracted about 30 gamblers that night.

Shenzhen places third on a list of the most highest-paid white collar workers in China, right behind Shanghai and Beijing at #1 and #2, respectively. Shenzhen workers make an average of $1,093 a month. Guangzhou rounded out the list at #6.

Zhang Zhiru has been freed after having been detained for his role in organizing the labor strikes at the Yue Yuan shoe factory factories. Furthermore, the Dongguan local government is asking the factory to pay back the workers years of unpaid work benefits as well as unpaid work benefits. However, though many of the strikers have been forced to go back to work by the government, some continue to strike.

Rejoice, car poolers! During the Labor Day holiday from May 1-3, all tolls on Guangdong highways will be free! Sit in traffic with no money down!

Eleven people have been arrested in a huge brawl in Songshan, Dongguan that injured four on April 23. The fight erupted between rival factions of pedicab drivers competing for business.

A man suspected of dealing drugs was critically injured when shot twice by police on the evening of April 24 in Xiangshui, Boluo County, Guangdong. The suspect had apparently been wielding a knife and is said to have resisted arrest.

How long does it take an administrator to ascertain which one of the 893 available positions for public kindergarten in Guangzhou is suitable for the 7,639 children applying for it? Just ten seconds.

The village of Dafen near Shenzhen is responsible for 100,000 counterfeit paintings a year. Workers of the village produce copycat paintings of fake pictures to be used in hotels and other establishments around China.

On April 22, thousands of bus workers of the Shenzhen East Public Transport Co went on strike in Shenzhen. The workers were demanding a more transparent pay system as well as back pay before they were forced to disperse by “violent” police equipped with shields and batons.

Increasing cloud cover today and tomorrow with a high of 27 degrees Celsius, showers expected Wednesday.

Photos: Sina, Sohu

Haohao

Traffic Jam for One: Mercedes-Benz Trapped By Wet Cement in Guangdong

Posted: 04/11/2014 2:46 pm

car trapped in cement guangdong bmw

The harbingers of international diplomacy at the Daily Mail have given us their most recent exhibit yet: video of a Mercedes-Benz trapped in dried concrete after its driver attempted to pass through a street under construction in Guangdong.

The video shows the results of a persistent driver who wouldn’t stop. A long trail left by the driver shows the Mercedes-Benz kept sinking deeper into the wet concrete until it was finally trapped in place. Reported as having occurred at night when the driver ignored warnings not to drive down this road, the video shows workers trying to dig the car out with a jackhammer during the day long after the concrete had set.

Nine News World reports this instance of schadenfreude happened in Guangdong recently, a popular sentiment welcomed by Chinese netizens in the classless world of China that does not officially distinguish between the rich and the poor.

Here’s the video:

While “stuck in traffic” appears to be the go-to pun for titles by reporting news outlets, there’s still a few more left for those wanting to partake in schadenfreude appreciation:

  • That’s what you get for always having a middle-of-the-road opinion.
  • Ready! Set! Cement!
  • The Fast and the Viscous
  • The saddest case of a car “burning rubber” in order to get from 0 to 60 …. millimeters

At the very least, the driver will never forget where he parked the car.

Photos: Daily Mail

Haohao

29 Guangdong Cops Died in Line of Duty Last Year, 21 from “Overwork”

Posted: 04/3/2014 4:40 pm

Guangdong police officers have it tough. Told by drunk motorists that their “wife is a village elder“, getting outsmarted by jaywalkers on camera, and smashing BMW car windows to force drivers to take a breath test… it’s a stressful workload exacerbated by their nightly routine of silently driving around the neighborhood with the lights flashing. No wonder they always look tired when they show up late and tell two feuding parties that “I can’t help you… you need to work this out yourselves.”

That’s why it shouldn’t be any surprise that a total of 29 police officers died in the line of duty last year in Guangdong province. At a speech given by Deputy Secretary Luo Juan during Qingming Festival services at Silver River Public Matyr Memorial Square (picture below), it was stated that a total of 683 police officers have died in the line of duty since 1980, reported Nandu.com.

As seen in the graph that in no way depicts the horizontal mambo at the Blue Oyster Club, the deaths can be classified as follows: one from apprehending an “evil-doer”, five from traffic accidents, two from contracting cancer, and 21 from “sudden death due to overwork”.

In this last category, in which the majority are bottom-tier constables, the majority of officers that died suddenly had been working for over 24 hours. This has led doctors to make the declaration that the deaths are the result of stress and overwork.

In comparison, the state of Texas, which could be construed as the “Guangdong of the USA” if that title wasn’t already taken by Florida, had 13 of its police officers die in the line of duty in 2013, the majority of which were from violent means.

Before Guangdong police officers consider a coalition of peers that seek to address life-threatening workplace dangers, we all must admit: that is one nice commemorative ceremony.

Photo: Nandu

Haohao

Shenzhen cracks down on jaywalking and other traffic-related mishaps

Posted: 05/15/2013 7:00 am

It may resemble running up a down escalator but traffic police are trying to crack down on violations on various rules of the road throughout the PRD.

A man being caught jaywalking, courtesy of Nandu Daily

A new regulation in Shenzhen stipulates that jaywalkers can be fined up to 100 yuan as of May 23, Shenzhen Daily reports.

Traffic police spokesperson Li Guangqun said violators will be held for further investigation if they don’t cooperate with police, and could be detained or face criminal charges if they resist with violence.

The paper has more:

Violators will be able to pay fines at the scene or through local banks.

Those who don’t pay fines within 15 days will be assessed an overdue-payment surcharge of 3 percent per day, up to the amount of the original fine.

However, jaywalking is just one of many traffic offenses that are hard to stamp out.

China has been cracking down on drink driving since 2011 but the problem persists. A Singaporean has been detained for two months, issued with a 3,000 yuan fine and banned from driving for five months after injuring two people while driving drunk in Zhuhai last year, Southern Metropolis Daily reports.

The man, Lee, pleaded guilty to the offense, committed in Xiangzhou District in September and said he was deeply sorry as he was sentenced on Monday. He was also ordered to pay 60,000 yuan in compensation to those he injured.

Zhuhai is also cracking down on people who throw litter from their cars. A bus driver who discarded litter from his vehicle while waiting at a red light on April 20 has been fined 100 yuan and docked 2 license points, Southern Metropolis Daily reports.

The driver, Mr Luo, was reported by a passenger who caught the incident on his cameraphone at the traffic light at the intersection of Gangwan Boulevard and Jinfeng Road. The bus company has also been ordered to educate Luo, who was travelling from Tangjiawan to Jinding when the incident occured.

Another phenomenon commonly seen on China’s roads is that of overloaded motorcycles. One such case ended in tragedy in Huizhou on Monday. The driver was killed, two were seriously injured and three sustained minor injuries when a three-wheeled motorcycle carrying seven people hit a road-lamp in Huicheng District ata round 7:30 p.m., Nandu Daily reports.

The driver, Shi, 40, was a migrant worker from Jiangxi and he and his passengers had just clocked off. He had not been drinking.

Haohao

One killed and ten injured after school bus crash in Foshan

Posted: 04/23/2013 10:00 am

A school bus collided with a trailer in Foshan yesterday morning, leaving one student dead and ten others injured, Guangzhou Daily reported on its microblog. The collision with the Guangzhou-registered trailer, which took place in Jiujiang Village, is thought to have been caused by the bus driver failing to give way.

The aftermath of the collision

One student died of his injuries after being taken to hospital, another has been transferred to a hospital in Guangzhou, three are still in hospital and six escaped with minor injuries.

There will be an investigation to see which driver was to blame. Last December China launched an investigation into twelve officials after a fatal school bus crash, of which there have been many in recent years, making the safety of school buses a hot issue.

Haohao

Traffic hell: 70km long traffic jam following accident on Shenzhen-Shantou highway

Posted: 04/3/2013 5:44 pm

The photos of this traffic jam aren’t pretty.

An accident has caused a huge pileup on the Shenzhen-Shantou highway.  Cars are currently backed up for more than 70 kilometres after an accident shortly after 3pm today (April 3).  The long stretch of road has become a virtual parking lot, with people getting out of their cars because nobody’s moving.

If you have plans to head to Shantou, best shelve them for a while. If you must go though, police are asking people to take highway 324 instead.

Haohao

Guangzhou tackles traffic congestion, will restrict non-Guangzhou registered vehicles

Posted: 03/22/2013 10:39 am

Guangzhou aims to tackle the city’s worsening traffic problem by introducing a new measure restricting certain vehicles from the road. (Shenzhen, are you listening?)

Under the new rules, vehicles registered outside of Guangzhou proper will be restricted from certain roads, and the downtown core, during certain times of the day. The speculation is rush hour traffic will be limited, for example. But as Guangzhou Daily reports, the times and locations for the restrictions haven’t been decided yet.

The new restrictions will throw a wrench into many people’s morning commute. As everybody knows, the PRD is a vast urbanized area, and not everybody who works in Guangzhou lives in Guangzhou. There are thousands of people who live in nearby Foshan, for instance, and make the daily commute.  One person the paper talked to, Mr. Guo, said he may have to buy a car in Guangzhou and register it there if he wants to continue driving to work. Otherwise he’ll have to take the bus and transfer to the metro, meaning waking up quite a bit earlier each morning.

On the bright side, though, the moves show the government is trying to unclog the city’s main arteries.  We’ll see if this is effective.

Haohao
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