Archives for the month of: June, 2011

Can it be true? On this side of the world, where GDP is continuously growing and China is slowly overtaking every market (art included), is the oxymoronic Capitalistic-communist government generating a bubble that may one day bust? And is it possible to have bubbles created when everything is not only invested in, but also regulated by the government?

Take a look for yourself:

China’s Ghost Cities

WSJ:The Great Property Bubble of China May be Popping

As a resident of Beijing, I frequently find myself face to face with the megastructures that are being constructed on a daily basis. No matter the vantage, I seem to always spot one crane rising above the horizon. Yet ironically, the majority of Chinese citizens are too poor to afford buying or even renting apartments and offices in these outlandish edifices. With an estimated 64 million empty apartments in China, there is a Bubblicious sized bubble just waiting to having a finger poked through.

Nevertheless, we must also consider that all things Made in China are usually fake, or somewhat falsely constructed at that.  Unlike bubbles in the US produced by them Wall Street folk, this property bubble has been inflated by the Chinese government. As the majority of the country’s wealth discrepancy is a byproduct of the Communist corruption, this red star party has no intention of letting this one burst, but rather slowly letting the balloon deflate.

There is a feeling that I often have, an emotion that is so strong that it can easily overtake my passing thoughts. It at times can be euphoric, but more so of genuine content. It is something I have experienced through my meditations, mid-encounter with a newly photographed subject or even upon a bike ride through streets of Beijing.

I have recently discovered that this feeling has been encapsulated in an album by British sound artist Bonobo. Click here to listen to the mellow yet empowering sounds in “Dial M for Monkey.”

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.