I saw a huge jet of water from a water truck going high up into a building as I was cycling along Hunan Lu this week. I wondered what it was. As I got closer I could see that there was a big demolition going on at the side of the road. Another crumbling building of poor construction was being raised to the ground.
But instead of stopping all the traffic, they let everyone go and tried to control the dust by spraying water on the building as it collapsed. It didn’t work! The air was thick with dust and people were covering their eyes with their hands to stop the bigger particles doing some serious damage.
By the time I got to the fabric market, which was my preferred destination, the place was closed. So that was a wasted journey up to Gulou on my knackered bicycle. And I got a lungful of building debris too – just what my body needs – a bit more polution!