I went for a wander today around Suzhou Creek in the vain hope of seeing some dragonboating. I think I was a day too late. Anyway I saw a fantastic Art Deco fire station with a tall look-out tower and then, at the top of Shan’an Xi Bei Lu a huge collection of boxes waiting to be delivered.
All of the boxes were unopened. Some of them were in neat piles, presumably in delivery order, and some were just dumped in a heap. I looked around and there was nobody anywhere near, no delivery chap on an e.bike with boxes piled high, no attendent sitting there staring at his mobile phone waiting for his colleague to return.
The boxes were just sitting unattended on the street. People were walking past them and not giving them as second look. Workmen were working on
a building site on the other side of the road, people riding past on bikes and e.bikes and it appeared, nobody had any interest in taking these boxes.
Some of them had the contents printed on them or a picture of the contents and were of not insignificant value. There was a fan and toileteries and a pram.
I do wonder how many boxes go missing here, there such a relaxed attitude to the safety and security of these deliveries and yet, this is not an uncommon site. Especially outside schools and colleges you see huge piles of boxes with one or two delivery men with them and customers just go up and collect theirs, without any identification.
We are always saying what a safe place China is and this goes to prove the point that not only are they non-violent but they have very little interest in stealing stuff… well except for my bicycles and purses, a pair of Sony headphones and iPhones!
It does make me worry about ordering anything valuable online though.