Riot police at YIHE

Today I left the compound to buy some noodles. When I got to the bus stop, I noticed quite a scene happening on the road.

A very large crew of workers were busy cutting down every single tree that stood between the busy four-lane road and the YIHE compound. I watched them cutting the last of them down because my bus was stalled, along with all other vehicles, as traffic was stopped in both directions. Our compound used to be protected from road noice and smog by these large trees, and the trees created a barrier that made YIHE seem further from the busy streets than it really is.

Along with all the workers cutting down the trees, there were lots of policeman, and a riot squad of about 20 police officers with helmets, shields and billy clubs. It was really odd, and I didn't know what was going on.

I just asked Joe what was happening, and he said they are cutting down the trees to build a bridge. I figured it was a pedestrian bridge, because crossing four lanes of traffic to get to bus stop can get pretty hairy! However, it turns out that they're building an elevated expressway for cars, not people. This new expressway will come very close to the YIHE buildings...they will be separated by only eleven metres.

Obviously, the residents at YIHE and the compound next door are very unhappy. This new Gardiner Expressway will bring levels of pollution and noise to a very high level, and it will be really ugly too. Construction will last about two years and will include a new subway line as well, passing beneath the new highway.

When the project was proposed last year, residents of our compound and the one next door protested on the street with signs, and it got on the news. It's a pretty big deal when an elevated freeway gets approved for your front yard. Joe said that the policemen and the riot squad were on site this time because last year, fights broke out between YIHE residents and workers who were trying to chop down the project's first trees. Today there were 200 police officers and 300 private security officers on hand to quell any disturbances, along with the twenty-man riot squad. Today, all the remaining trees were cut with no further violence.

Up until now, the YIHE compound has been pretty quiet and secluded, and a nice shelter from the hectic Guangzhou lifestyle. From today onwards though, that will change. I wonder if current residents will move on to greener and quieter places.

Joe said "The YIHE people, they only care themselves. They not care the Guangzhou city grow up."

I think it's good to care for your city, but I also think it's important to stand up and protest when an elevated superhighway is planned for your front yard.