Unbelievable. So much work must have gone into producing this. Can I ask, is there a team of people working on this? So much analysis leaped upon analysis. Reads like a sci-fi novel mixed with wuxia drama series mixed with uptotheminute science manual mixed with... mixed with.. I dont know, some kind of magic? Would really love to know if there are a team of people beyond all this analysis and reporting. What about the quotes from the engineers etc? Can you link to those sources?
Thanks so much for your kind message. For now since Hefei was the inaugural city i had enough time to work on the Articles BUT now that we are going to city 2 i might reduce the scope to just one article per city given the fact that i still have to do a documentary of the city. The engineer interviews referenced were conducted as part of the research for Hefei's 2021-2035 Master Plan development process, officially published here:
Lile, I cannot express enough how amazed I am at the scope, breadth and depth of your project. I spent quite a few hours of my Saturday afternoon reading, rereading and going into a deepdive through the links of your substack and website. Apart from the depth of planning, wide research, and large scope of the project, your conceptual clarity is formidable. Understandable that you would only do one post per city: i did really enjoy the two part series on Hefei though. Still, even producing one per week - not to mention the documentary - would be time-consuming. Thank you for all your hard work. It makes me want to move to Hefei - or at least visit!!!
You actually don't know how impactful your comments have been. I am sitting here reviewing everything that has happened over the past 4 months and realised that it was worth it. The lack of sleep dry runs, restarts and finally starting in earnest means its the right direction. I am so sad about reducing the scope BUT i realised i might fail to manage and burn out for now until we have a broader team then one article should do and then the video. BUT as i was researching on the video i really enjoyed the 5 wealth giants of Hefei, maybe it was because of the insights that ended up shaping the city. So i am having yet another rethink on the video itself as its leaning more on the economy of the city than the general life. Maybe i feel there are many others who will cover the general life of a city from a touring and life point of view than the mechanics of making a city great or fall. I am really leaning towards the mechanics of a city. For example in Hefei the Anhui Govt gave NIO (the EV Company) a bail out that not only served NIO BUT ended up creating the Anhu EV Ecosystem anchored in Hefei through NIO but now thousands of companies have sprung up and NIO can not leave because leaving costs more than whatever any other city can give them. This is what am finding myself enjoying and we shall see how it turns out maybe after three or cities we shall have clarity.
I'm so happy that my comments were so impactful Lile. If it's only you doing this, one post per week PLUS a video is already almost too much. One post a week is doable but a video takes so much time.
As for what to make the video about, my advice is to don' t forget your purpose and remind yourself of the concept clarity you have. Only YOU have that. as you say, others talk about economic management, and others talk about touring a city. the 'mechanics' of a city, as you call it in this note, the whole raison d'etre of your blog, which is finding some kind of essence inside the history and culture of a city and how that propels it forward, is uniquely you. In the case of Hefei, it was how floods and disasters produced innovation, and how ancient innovations, (Tang canals, Ming dynasty farming logs) provided insight and propulsion for modern innovation.
So if you are going to use the NIO EV company as an example, think about how this relates to your concept clarity, the essential underpinning of the city narrative, in your telling.
You nailed it, the connections. What are those connections that pre date history as we know it that are now visible in today's City as we see it. We get to see them at work in different ways and in some cases its the cities using those passed on lessons to influence how they deal with the Economic Giants and inherently shape the city. Its those connecting dotes and how to bring them up in the documentary is how e should learn as we move from city to city.
Unbelievable. So much work must have gone into producing this. Can I ask, is there a team of people working on this? So much analysis leaped upon analysis. Reads like a sci-fi novel mixed with wuxia drama series mixed with uptotheminute science manual mixed with... mixed with.. I dont know, some kind of magic? Would really love to know if there are a team of people beyond all this analysis and reporting. What about the quotes from the engineers etc? Can you link to those sources?
Thanks so much for your kind message. For now since Hefei was the inaugural city i had enough time to work on the Articles BUT now that we are going to city 2 i might reduce the scope to just one article per city given the fact that i still have to do a documentary of the city. The engineer interviews referenced were conducted as part of the research for Hefei's 2021-2035 Master Plan development process, officially published here:
http://www.hefei.gov.cn/zhengwu/public/xxgk/tzgg/202106/t20210630_123456.html Please note that Chinese Govt site have an IP restriction.
Lile, I cannot express enough how amazed I am at the scope, breadth and depth of your project. I spent quite a few hours of my Saturday afternoon reading, rereading and going into a deepdive through the links of your substack and website. Apart from the depth of planning, wide research, and large scope of the project, your conceptual clarity is formidable. Understandable that you would only do one post per city: i did really enjoy the two part series on Hefei though. Still, even producing one per week - not to mention the documentary - would be time-consuming. Thank you for all your hard work. It makes me want to move to Hefei - or at least visit!!!
You actually don't know how impactful your comments have been. I am sitting here reviewing everything that has happened over the past 4 months and realised that it was worth it. The lack of sleep dry runs, restarts and finally starting in earnest means its the right direction. I am so sad about reducing the scope BUT i realised i might fail to manage and burn out for now until we have a broader team then one article should do and then the video. BUT as i was researching on the video i really enjoyed the 5 wealth giants of Hefei, maybe it was because of the insights that ended up shaping the city. So i am having yet another rethink on the video itself as its leaning more on the economy of the city than the general life. Maybe i feel there are many others who will cover the general life of a city from a touring and life point of view than the mechanics of making a city great or fall. I am really leaning towards the mechanics of a city. For example in Hefei the Anhui Govt gave NIO (the EV Company) a bail out that not only served NIO BUT ended up creating the Anhu EV Ecosystem anchored in Hefei through NIO but now thousands of companies have sprung up and NIO can not leave because leaving costs more than whatever any other city can give them. This is what am finding myself enjoying and we shall see how it turns out maybe after three or cities we shall have clarity.
I'm so happy that my comments were so impactful Lile. If it's only you doing this, one post per week PLUS a video is already almost too much. One post a week is doable but a video takes so much time.
As for what to make the video about, my advice is to don' t forget your purpose and remind yourself of the concept clarity you have. Only YOU have that. as you say, others talk about economic management, and others talk about touring a city. the 'mechanics' of a city, as you call it in this note, the whole raison d'etre of your blog, which is finding some kind of essence inside the history and culture of a city and how that propels it forward, is uniquely you. In the case of Hefei, it was how floods and disasters produced innovation, and how ancient innovations, (Tang canals, Ming dynasty farming logs) provided insight and propulsion for modern innovation.
So if you are going to use the NIO EV company as an example, think about how this relates to your concept clarity, the essential underpinning of the city narrative, in your telling.
You nailed it, the connections. What are those connections that pre date history as we know it that are now visible in today's City as we see it. We get to see them at work in different ways and in some cases its the cities using those passed on lessons to influence how they deal with the Economic Giants and inherently shape the city. Its those connecting dotes and how to bring them up in the documentary is how e should learn as we move from city to city.