Charlie Shugart Offline Upload & Sell: Off
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Alan Young wrote:
Thanks Ratty, you're right about the scooters, I nearly got knocked over several times
Alan
Alan,
When I visited China about 25 years ago (I was a tour guide on seven tours to China), several guides mentioned that there were almost NO private car owners. And I saw very few motor scooters.
People walked, rode bicycles, and took buses.
The only motorized traffic were buses and trucks, and the (very) occasional tourist hotel taxi.
Rarely, a car would speed down the road with horn blasting people out of the way. There were always high government officials in the back seats of large black cars (many made in the USSR).
At the time, China made few cars, and they were crapmobiles. They didn't import Japanese cars- and the Korean auto industry was still in its primitive stage- so none of those either.
My overall interpretation at the time was that 99% of the Chinese people had never even been IN a car, much less own or drive one (average income was $30 a month- for all lines of work).
Fast forward to 2013: there are millions of car owners, and more millions of motor scooter owners.
Question: where did they learn to drive?
Answer: according to the up-to-date impressions I get from Alan and Ratty, they never have.
So- many thanks to you both for all the update pics and info.
I love this stuff!
Charlie
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