The City of Hangzhou

Tour Day 18: Monday, May 8, 2001

The Suburbs:
The New Road To The New Airport

Single-family Homes

If we can believe our Wuxi guide, houses like these are built by rich farmers. The land is so rich that they soon can afford to employ inland farmers to do the work, and they can do something else to bring in additional income, such as run a factory or store. Eventually they make enough money to build a nice, single family home, similar to these, and rent the old one.

The dericks on the roofs are television antennas.

Could it be that these rich farmers are actually party members who have been given control of rather large parcels of land? We saw no evidence of large-scale farming in China. The land seemed to be worked in small fields by peasants, just as it always has been.

Extended Families Live In These Large Homes.

Farmers sell in the free market.
To increase income they do fish farming, pearl farming, or mulberry farming.

Apartment Houses

In the cities, single-family homes are unknown.
These appear to be the suburban version of the high-rise apartment building.

Tea Houses On Top Of Houses

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