Quietest and friendlyist place in China

[woliveri]

Ok, I've had it!! If I hear one more jack hammer or another apartment renovation I'm going to jump out of my 6 floor apartment!! Does this never end? Since I've been living in this building I've had 4 renovations inside a year and if anyone has been here, a renovation includes hammers, sledgehammers, sawzalls, all against bricks and concrete. The noise reverberates though the building and it's never ending. Also on the streets, it seems the national past time is Jack-Hammer Gong Fu...

I'm in Shanghai. Can I get some feedback on some of the quiter places in China. I've been here a year and ready to go out of my mind.

thanks.

[adrianlondon]

I actually found it relatively quiet in western Beijing.

[gato]

Maybe you should try Gulangyu, a small resort island near Xiamen:

http://app1.chinadaily.com.cn/star/2003/1016/tr16-1.html

Gulangyu Island - Garden on the sea

http://www.fjms1984.com.cn/20040101/ca1053017.htm

鼓浪屿，遗落在别墅里的隐秘心事

http://www.fotop.net/eviltea/pjournal?class_id=19

More pictures

[skylee]

Since I've been living in this building I've had 4 renovations inside a year and if anyone has been here, a renovation includes hammers, sledgehammers, sawzalls, all against bricks and concrete. The noise reverberates though the building and it's never ending.

Not even at night and during weekends? There are laws limiting people making such noise, no? Or perhaps you work at home?

I rarely stay home (in HK) during daytime but when I do (like when I am ill) I often find the noise (renovation, the faraway traffic, people preparing lunch etc) a bit annoying. But at night and during weekends my place is fairly quiet and nice, which is good enough for me.

[imron]

Not even at night and during weekends? There are laws limiting people making such noise, no?

There might be laws, but I don't think anyone obeys them. *bang* *bang* *bang* *drill* *drill* *drill*

[roddy]

Is it a new building? I used to live in a fairly new building (moved in six months after it opened, was there for 18 months) and there was a fairly regular stream of drilling, etc, as people moved in. Was only during the day though, so wasn't such an issue. i reckon the trick is to get an established building, overlooking other buildings, with as few roads or potential buildings sites as possible.

[zozzen]

That's extremely annoying. My neighbour made a big sound for renovations even in a sunday morning. I knocked my ceiling hard and yelled "STOP!!!!" , then it was a magic that they really stopped. More efficient than calling a police.... sometimes.

[shanghaikai]

http://www.chinese-forums.com/showthread.php?p=125610#post125610

Is there a management office you can talk to? As a resident/tenant, you have the right to have them enforce the rules on when construction can be done in your building. It usually forbids work before or after certain hours (the night generally). If you're at home suffering during the day, then that's another matter.

[colourpear]

I am living in Shanghai too, but I don't have such problems.

I guess maybe you should communicate(沟通）with the noise maker.

There is no use to scold.

[-葛亚辉-]

harbin!

[venture160]

-葛亚辉-

When I was in harbin they were always working on the damn road in front of dorm 6... it seemd like it went on forover, prob just the campus admin pushing money around and putting the rest in their pockets!

[simonlaing]

Dear Going out of my mind,

China is generally a noisy place. Most cities have construction, new roads, new buildings, new interior decoration.

So if you're looking for quiet you are going to have to go for Rural, and out of the way rural. I am talking about mountains in scihuan, hunan or anhui not near a city or town.

Even in small cities where the development is slower than the east you will encounter noise in various forms. In the early morning you will get recyclers, knife sharpeners, odd job men pulling their cart or riding their bike calling out to rouse you from your sleep.

Other things like noisy motor bikes, exploding popcorn bag men, industrial size trucks on the roads all may be a possibility.

Some tourist places in the south west and south have less industrial noise , but these are often replaced with tour blowhorns or fanny pack speakers and the cries of soveinger vendors "post card, post card!".

The south and south west generally are friendly, slower, (minority tourism dependent) places. The exceptions being Guandong with it's red light Shenzhen, and pick pocket Guangzhou, and Fujian, with it's Taiwan inspired bustle.

If you do fine a place up in the mountains, you will have to do without the convenice of a Carrefour shopping center, subways and professional taxi drivers.

I am a city slicker and like these, though I understand the desire for quiet. Most cities are quieter than downtown Shanghai, (the city that doesn't sleep). Most places are fairly dead after about 10 pm.

Good luck, tell us if you find that hypothetical Sichuan hamlet with no noise pollution.

have fun,

SimoN:)

[woliveri]

Yeah, actually the place I live wouldn't be too bad execpt for two things:

1. The hospital next door has been doing renovation construction since I moved in last year. Not only do I constantly hear jack-hammers but also the jack-hammers that are attached to a hydrolic backhoe, big-daddy size and noise to go along with it.

2. The apartment owners in my building seem to be on a "keeping up with the Jones's" trip. One guy renovates his apartment and it sets off a trend. Now there are three apartments in the same building that are renovating. This is a building built in the 80s so inside they need to use sawsalls, concrete saw blades, etc to hack through the brick and concrete that was used to put this place together.

I mean, after a while the "sounds of construction" are sending me over the edge and yes, I stay home during the day. In the morning I train gongfu and want to sleep in the afternoon.

It pretty much sucks.

I guess there won't be any quiet until every apartment owner in the building finishes "keeping up with the Jones's"

[wushijiao]

The hospital next door has been doing renovation construction since I moved in last year. Not only do I constantly hear jack-hammers but also the jack-hammers that are attached to a hydrolic backhoe, big-daddy size and noise to go along with it.

You don't happen to mean the one on Yanchang Lu? That whole area is one big construction zone.

I think the most peaceful place in China would have to be some mountain town in Sichuan or Yunnan. But then again, it might be too boring to live in a place like that, in the long-run.

[Josh2007]

I am sitting in my 10th floor apartment in Chengdu listening to drills and hammers that last all day. I am afraid this happens nearly everywhere in China, and the worse thing is that if your neighbours are renovating they will often not keep to working hours. You *might* think they would do the workd between 9 and 5, but they might start at 7:30 in the morning, regardless of the impact on your sleep, and be at it until midnight. Or another version is that it doesn't even start till 5pm when the man comes home. I have seen very few genuinely peaceful places in China. Someone said Western Beijing, but in Western Beijing you could be in an apartment block with drilling and hammering going on too. Now: mountain towns are an option. Try Zhaojue in the south of Sichuan province. I am thinking of Lake Qinghai, but I didn't want to go over the National Day holiday owing to the crowds of people who travel during the holidays. My Chinese friends think I am mad. Why would I want to go to a quiet place that wasn't renao?

[woliveri]

Josh,

ha ha.. Why indeed. I'm leaving China tomorrow for the states so I guess I'll have some quiet (until I get a visit from my sister's dogs ).

wushijiao, you pegged it. YanChang Lu near the number 1 subway station. ha ha...

Well, they are finishing up the hospital now just in time for my departure. The next several years will probably be so quiet I would love it.. ha ha

[wushijiao]

Well, they are finishing up the hospital now just in time for my departure

So your moving away?

Too bad, in a way. I do think that that area is kind of nice now, and it is fairly cheap for Shanghai. I first lived on Yanchang Lu from 2004-5. At that time, the subway stop wasn't ready. The denist office wasn't there. The big appartment complexs on the other side of Yanchang weren't there. The mall certainly wasn't there. So, all that changed really quickly within a two or three year span. Also, I always liked reading in the Zhabei park, and the Daning lingshi park is pretty good for working out in.