Alex Quinn's Japan Journal

3/26/2005, China trip day 3: Hangzhou, tour plastic goods factory

David had some business to do and I really wanted to see one of the factories, so we combined the two.  David's business, ChinaForge takes orders for plastic things from people in the United States and fulfills those orders through factories in the Hangzhou area.  I think manufacturing is truly interesting, so I jumped at the chance to see one of the factories where his customers' orders are made.

A worker creating parts for a glue stick package.  The glue stick might sell for a dollar in the United States, so I bet these parts are worth a couple pennies each.

A bail of these parts.

The inside of the factory with is surprisingly spacious.

After the factory, we went into downtown Hangzhou for something or other.  We took the bus back.  Like Shanghai, traffic is nuts.  Shanghai takes the cake for danger, but Hangzhou is close behind.  When the bus fills up, people pack in as tight as possible.  They pack right up to the front of the bus, right next to the driver and pressing up against the door.  As the driver drives, he has no visibility.  Add to that, there are bicycles everywhere, going in every direction and occasionally cutting in front of him.  People walk and sometimes loiter in the street where the bus is trying to drive.  It's nuts.  You'd think the driver would be a nervous wreck.  On this night, our driver was so relaxed, he was having a friendly conversation on his cell phone for almost the entire ride.  I took a couple silent videos with my digital camera.

Typical crazy bus ride in Hangzhou.  Notice the driver on his cell phone at the end. (10 MB)

Typical crazy bus ride in Hangzhou.  Similar to the other one, but with a little better light. (8 MB)

Personally, I was at the front of the bus, sitting on the rail in front of the first seat in front with my legs partly blocking the entrance.  I was practically in somebody's lap.  There was something odd shaped above my head so that a big bump might have broken my neck or caused my head to slam into a sharp corner.  It was crazy.

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