Changchun- Automotive City Of China-Part 1

Changchun- Automotive City Of China

Mr. David has written to me from Changchun city. Every time I receive a mail from a Chinese fan I wonder, how little I know of China. Truthfully, I know much less about India. Little still is used for something perceptibly quantifiable, though knowledge is not a quantifiable thing yet the word ‘little’ means something more than nil. If you ask someone to express ‘little’ knowledge, he will indicate it by showing a small gap between his thumb and an index finger and that gap can be as small as the thickness of a hair or as big as the two fingers spread apart can express. Though the fingers stretched farthest apart won’t express little but in comparison with something quantified by stretching the arms apart it will be small. If after giving this lengthy explanation I say my knowledge about China can be likened to the gap of a hair between the thumb and the finger, I would indeed be exaggerating and if I use the same sign to express my knowledge about India it will not be far from truth.

I hear a lot of bad blood is spilled on the internet between India and China. I haven’t visited any such websites where abuses and counter abuses are freely flowing between the netizens but I know bitter slugfest is on at many sites. I don’t know what people try to prove by abusing one another or their countries. Before judging on others behavior, nature, achievements, one should do a little of self introspection. If I am good for nothing idiot, I don’t have any reason to swell my chest over my country’s launch of a rocket to Mars. You can’t band the whole race or a community together and castigate them all in one breath. There are good and bad people in every community and in every race.

Here on my blogs there has been some criticism but really no one has been abusive. A healthy criticism is good. Your best friends are your fiercest critics. Wives in principle are critical of their husbands ogling, snoring, drinking and lying but they love them nevertheless, I mean not never but less. Your parents seldom approve of your behavior when you are growing up. They seem to be always unhappy with your manners, your grades in school, your health and your selection of friends but their disapproval is born out of their fears, their concern about your welfare.

At least almost every Chinese who has commented here on my blog posts has expressed a desire of developing a strong bond of friendship with India. Most of the people who visit here show deep respect for Indian values and express their desire to see and learn more about India. Many of us here in India too want that the two countries must come closer and benefit from each other.

Mr. David whose Chinese name is ‘Su Qiang’ has a beautiful wife and a lovely son. I would have posted a picture of his beautiful family but he is shy of exposure. He has sent some beautiful pictures of his home town ‘Changchun’, so let us have vicarious pleasure of visiting his town, for we don’t know when will we get a chance to see his place in person. I hope when we go there as a group of friends, he will play a good host to us but for now let us savour the beauty of his place.

He says:-

[Note:- I have dabbled a little with his text but have retained its essence]

Nice to see your blogs on Chinese websites. Really appreciate the way you introduce the lives of the people of China to the Indians and help the people of the two countries know more about each other.

You are trying to create a good communication bridge between two countries. We hope Indian people can know more about China and understand that we really think Indian people are our friends. China is not a threat to India and nor do we want to harm India. I believe your people can know more about it through your blogs.

My hometown in Changchun city in Jilin Province. My home town is near North Korea

Most of the people who have introduced their cities through your blogs are from South China. Please see the attached pictures of my hometown. It is a beautiful city in North China and its scenery is totally different from that of South China.

If you like, you can google for Changchun city on the internet. Long time ago, it was a Japanese colony and there are still some old Japanese style buildings in our city.

Changchun is an industrial city and has China’s biggest car factory. My father worked in that factory. You can say Changchun is second or third level city of China. But life here is good and there is not much pressure like one finds when living in the first level city like Beijing or Shanghai. It is very cold in winter and most of the time the temperature stays around minus 20 degrees. Freezing!! Is not the right word to describe this hyperborean state because at these low temperatures even the thoughts freeze and one can’t take liberties with expression.

North China creates beauties. Hehe.. Most of the girls in our city are tall and white skinned like snow white.

Hope one day you come to visit my hometown and I can show you around.

Best Regards

So this is what Su Qiang had to say about his home town. In the next blog, I will tell you a lot of interesting history of the city of Changchun

Bye for now

Navneet

Reader Responses (from original publication)

This article was recreated on 06-Feb-2026. The original article was posted in Sulekha.com in 2012-13. It was copied and saved in my files on 18/09/2014.

The following responses were received when this article was originally published on an external platform.

All Comments

Suresh Rao / / 8 months ago

Navneet
Like this picture post a lot. Good to see such large scale development with landscape and infrastructure merging together. Hats off to developers of Changchung. Massive industrial development (the car factory for example) has been nicely integrated with scenic landscapes. Navneet: Thanks to you we are able to see all this here in Sulekha.

Changchun- Automotive City Of China-Part 1

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