Except for cranes, no equipment needed - just lots and lots of workers!

When I was growing up in Brooklyn Center in the '50s there was a lot of building going on in our neighborhood. Dozens of new homes for the WWII veterans. I used to love to climb the dirt hills and watch the earth movers and carpenters as they dug the holes and then built the walls. There was always something fascinating to watch. The workers were always good customers for my lemonade stands.

Living on this university campus is a whole new dimension in building and watching! The number of projects just boggles the mind! And this is only one of dozens and dozens of campuses in Xi'an. There is a 20 story apartment building going up about 2 blocks from us. There is a new indoor swimming pool going in as well as a large underground parking ramp with several basketball courts going in on top of it about 1 block from us. We pass a new campus hotel, with two 20 story towers going in and a 2000 student addition to our campus high school consisting of several multi story buildings 2 blocks away in another direction.  The observation possibilities are almost endless. I really know nothing about construction techniques but what I observe here is so different from home.  Huge holes, acres of cement, miles of rebar, all being put into place by countless individuals in yellow hard hats. Much of the work is done by hand. The general impression is of real live Lego people.

When night falls the big trucks come out. They are illegal during the day. Dump trucks, cement trucks, trucks carrying crane pieces.  Huge versions of what we use in the US but bigger and meaner and faster, using minimum headlights and lots and lots of speed. They kind of remind me of fearful creatures that come out from under rocks at night, scurry around and disappear when dawn comes.

What follows are just a taste of the projects we are watching as we walk around the campus. Anyone want to do a lemonade stand with me?

These two pictures are of the new apartment building going up.

Rain does not stop anything. Bring out the ponchos.

 

I love looking at this construction sight (the 3 pictures above). It is the new hotel that is going up. How many pieces of large construction equipment do you see?

These show the new parking ramp and basketball courts.

The new swimming pool will look like this. No reractable roof.

Campus pool: It currently looks like this. Notice the caretaker's laundry in the background.

Construction workers are housed in these "one day up, one day down" units right on the site.

A lean, mean hauling machine on a narrow campus street!