The Cars of Chengdu

Chengdu is a city of 14 million people, and a few million cars.

The busy street scan get so packed with cars that they are at a standstill for what seems like forever.

 

Having so many cars in one city isn't strange.

But, what is strange is the cars themselves.

I'd guess that at least 90% of the cars on the streets are no more than 3 years old.

The only relatively old cars around are vans or trucks. (And some of those look ancient...)

I have been told that owning a car here is kind of a new thing.

A lot of the money found in this area is new money...more businesses = more people making (way too much) money = the need to purchase a car.

 

Another funny thing is that people here don't just buy a car.

They buy a car.

By that I mean, I haven't seen too many Hondas or Toyotas around.

They are all BMWs, Mercedes, VWs, and Audis. There are so many Audis.

 

Also, it is important to remember that when one sees a fancy car like that, people here have to pay double for it. Taxes on imported cars are so high that they end up paying double.

That Maserati down below? It is essentially a double Maserati, because that's what its owners paid for it.

Another thing about cars here is that they park just about anywhere.

Most people figure that since they already paid so much for the car, why should they have to pay even more money to park in the parking garage where they live?

Even when there are signs that clearly say "No Parking," people ignore it.

And they're obviously not ticketed because I see the same cars in the same no parking spots every day.