From Grits to Chopsticks

Since our apartment is on the edge of the city, we don’t have to walk far to find beautifully landscaped parks:But when put into context, we quickly realize that we’re not in the countryside:Last year, Bill Gates published this chart on his blog:We can certainly relate to this.  Throughout the day, thousands of cement mixing trucks roll through town toward multiple massive projects:Every apartment building in China appears to be more than 95% concrete:Even the small buildings on the edge of town start with brick, but are quickly coated (by hand) with thick layers of mortar:Unlike the huge apartment buildings, these projects get their cement delivered by a different (but equally effective) method: