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Asia dealt with incredible quick momentum of activity in just 30 years. Shenzhen going from a small fishing village to a megalopolis of 10 million is the epitome of this phenomenon. Between 1990 to 1995 Shenzhen increased population 300% 1.2 million to 4.4 million people. Where are these people coming from? Shanghai didn't have a Pudong skyscraper district just some decades ago, and then the entire area profile rated with mass urban planning architecture projects right away. Singapore asserted ultra successful separation from Malaysia, and solidifying this position. Vietnam became more capitalistic, less extreme communist. Taiwan having accomplished independent sovereignty already in the same time frame.
What on South Korea, Japan, and Malaysia especially?
Explain these astronomical changes anywhere in Asia with anecdotal stories, and stay extra specific with what you have encountered on topic. Maybe there is tons of stores opening recently, or a drastic alteration in the demographic, or an innovative mall opening that wasn't there just 1 year ago, and definitely thousands of buildings starting up not existing there before.
Asia dealt with incredible quick momentum of activity in just 30 years. Shenzhen going from a small fishing village to a megalopolis of 10 million is the epitome of this phenomenon. Between 1990 to 1995 Shenzhen increased population 300% 1.2 million to 4.4 million people. Where are these people coming from? Shanghai didn't have a Pudong skyscraper district just some decades ago, and then the entire area profile rated with mass urban planning architecture projects right away. Singapore asserted ultra successful separation from Malaysia, and solidifying this position. Vietnam became more capitalistic, less extreme communist. Taiwan having accomplished independent sovereignty already in the same time frame.
What on South Korea, Japan, and Malaysia especially?
Explain these astronomical changes anywhere in Asia with anecdotal stories, and stay extra specific with what you have encountered on topic. Maybe there is tons of stores opening recently, or a drastic alteration in the demographic, or an innovative mall opening that wasn't there just 1 year ago, and definitely thousands of buildings starting up not existing there before.
I got a shock when i saw a 20 story HDB apartment block going up less than 2 kilometers from my own block -a month ago, i didn't even saw it.
I think much of it is driven by the deep desire to make as much money as possible. People have money and want to shop as much as possible. Much of the economic development is based on making foreign investors feel as welcome as possible, plus specifically and purposefully creating a workforce that can meet the needs of global corporations.
I was walking idly on Sentosa island and came by Sentosa Cove - and got a shock; it was like 30% the size of Monaco, with ultra-luxury estates all around; I saw at least 20 large-sized yachts, a few mega-yachts, and no less than 40 supercars. I couldn't even identify it as part of Singapore. it was like a enclave for the global elite.
I got a shock when i saw a 20 story HDB apartment block going up less than 2 kilometers from my own block -a month ago, i didn't even saw it.
I think much of it is driven by the deep desire to make as much money as possible. People have money and want to shop as much as possible. Much of the economic development is based on making foreign investors feel as welcome as possible, plus specifically and purposefully creating a workforce that can meet the needs of global corporations.
I was walking idly on Sentosa island and came by Sentosa Cove - and got a shock; it was like 30% the size of Monaco, with ultra-luxury estates all around; I saw at least 20 large-sized yachts, a few mega-yachts, and no less than 40 supercars. I couldn't even identify it as part of Singapore. it was like a enclave for the global elite.
Sentosa Cove is an example of Singapore trying to move away from mass-manufacturing and trying to be a hub for everything (literally); logistics hub, aerospace hub, biomedical hub, tourism hub, oil and gas hub.
Sentosa island is the only place in Singapore where foreigners can freely own landed property. The idea is to turn sentosa into a place for the global 1%.
Asia dealt with incredible quick momentum of activity in just 30 years. Shenzhen going from a small fishing village to a megalopolis of 10 million is the epitome of this phenomenon. Between 1990 to 1995 Shenzhen increased population 300% 1.2 million to 4.4 million people. Where are these people coming from? Shanghai didn't have a Pudong skyscraper district just some decades ago, and then the entire area profile rated with mass urban planning architecture projects right away. Singapore asserted ultra successful separation from Malaysia, and solidifying this position. Vietnam became more capitalistic, less extreme communist. Taiwan having accomplished independent sovereignty already in the same time frame.
What on South Korea, Japan, and Malaysia especially?
Explain these astronomical changes anywhere in Asia with anecdotal stories, and stay extra specific with what you have encountered on topic. Maybe there is tons of stores opening recently, or a drastic alteration in the demographic, or an innovative mall opening that wasn't there just 1 year ago, and definitely thousands of buildings starting up not existing there before.
Many Asian governments are obsessed with the idea of "aerotropolis"; that is, in my own perhaps misguided wrong terms; to bring a world-class airport, then design a mini-city around it, with areas for business activities, and industrial output. For example, office parks, small-scale factories, hospitals (for medical tourism), residential areas - all positioned around the airport. The idea is that air traffic, both cargo and passenger, will drive the economic development of the area around the airport.
Sentosa Cove is an example of Singapore trying to move away from mass-manufacturing and trying to be a hub for everything (literally); logistics hub, aerospace hub, biomedical hub, tourism hub, oil and gas hub.
Sentosa island is the only place in Singapore where foreigners can freely own landed property. The idea is to turn sentosa into a place for the global 1%.
Part of why all this happened is because it was nearly impossible to compete with China during the 2000s in mass manufacturing; There was no way to compete with China, many manufacturing jobs in ASEAN were lost to China.
Singapore was forced to double-down on the oil and gas refining sector and to move into higher-value chain industries like biologics manufacturing, where a set of strong IP laws attracted global pharmaceutical MNCs.
Part of why all this happened is because it was nearly impossible to compete with China during the 2000s in mass manufacturing; There was no way to compete with China, many manufacturing jobs in ASEAN were lost to China.
Singapore was forced to double-down on the oil and gas refining sector and to move into higher-value chain industries like biologics manufacturing, where a set of strong IP laws attracted global pharmaceutical MNCs.
many ASEAN nations have undergone significant change in infrastructure; especially in the building of new airports, highways and high-speed rails.
china is the new superpower of the Asia-Pacific regions, mostly because of economy and trade. China is eagerly pushing for Free trade Agreements with all of the region, while the US has locked itself out due to its reluctance to sign FTAs or the TPP.
as such, many economic development is driven from the China boom. In contrast, we see the United States as retreating.
there are now very few exports Asian nations want to even buy from the US. However, the US still maintain supremacy in 2 areas:
1.Higher education i.e the Ivy league universities and the top 50 universities, like NYU
2. Aerospace weapons technology: F15/F16 fighter jets, Apache helicopters, Chinooks, C130 (the germans build better tanks and the french build more cost-efficient warships)
Real estate is driven up by mainland chinese millionaire class; ultra-luxury high-rise estates all over the island.
Asia dealt with incredible quick momentum of activity in just 30 years. Shenzhen going from a small fishing village to a megalopolis of 10 million is the epitome of this phenomenon. Between 1990 to 1995 Shenzhen increased population 300% 1.2 million to 4.4 million people. Where are these people coming from? Shanghai didn't have a Pudong skyscraper district just some decades ago, and then the entire area profile rated with mass urban planning architecture projects right away. Singapore asserted ultra successful separation from Malaysia, and solidifying this position. Vietnam became more capitalistic, less extreme communist. Taiwan having accomplished independent sovereignty already in the same time frame.
What on South Korea, Japan, and Malaysia especially?
Explain these astronomical changes anywhere in Asia with anecdotal stories, and stay extra specific with what you have encountered on topic. Maybe there is tons of stores opening recently, or a drastic alteration in the demographic, or an innovative mall opening that wasn't there just 1 year ago, and definitely thousands of buildings starting up not existing there before.
I'm Vietnamese-Australian, came here when I was 4 in 1986...the following denotes my visits back to Vietnam and just what improvements have been made since:
1995: First ever visit and first ever time I travelled outside Australia since arriving in Australia. Hated Vietnam - very unremarkable, all my time was spent in Ho Chi Minh City. My granny was one of the better off residents since she had foreign $ from Australia and Canada (where my uncles resided)...There were very few tourists, attractions and cars. Heck, my granny had an air conditioner and that was considered very luxury. Many beggars on the streets and you could tell most people weren't very well off, clothes/fashion resembled that of the past decade. Department stores few and far between, very difficult to source any Western products.
The skyline here is probably as tall as the suburb of Box Hill in Melbourne today. Nightlife is dead as despite the fact that I was only 15, my uncle took me on a scooter around night, the only places open were coffee shops.
2000: Saw a stark improvement since 1995, basically more of any related to consumer/western goods and the skyline started to build it. It was still mostly scooters on the streets.
2005: Death of my grandpa, so didn't get to see much, but you could definitely see the gradual improvement. A hell of a lot more foreign investment coming in from the Taiwanese, Koreans, Singaporeans but probably more overseas Vietnamese money. Higher class restaurants and bars started to appear. What I noticed was a lot more skyscrapers added.
2010: Pretty much of the same development on top of 2005 but basically roads and now congested and I think cars were pretty much common now. If you owned a car in 1995 HCMC it was a damn luxury. Other than that, I saw a lot more foreign tourists and the logical additions of tourist attractions.
2014: Went over to attend a cousin's wedding, these days I think if anything it's not far off tier 2 Asian cities like Taipei or You name it, they mostly have it. The women these days wear pretty much anything fashionable in the West and dare I say it, show as much skin. You have a glitzy skyline, chic bars, crowds of Westerners, clogged roads full of cars.
It's not up the the likes of Bangkok, Hong Kong, Seoul or Tokyo....but vs 1995 HCMC? It's day and night, heck its like its on another planet! Heck, if you told my 15 year old self that this city existed in Vietnam, I would have thought you were describing some fantasy city in Vietnam.
I'd imagine by 2020 odd, they'd add more skyscrapers and cars. They really need a metro train system!
From my point of view, Bangkok Thailand has undergone some amazing changes over the last 3 decades. The city was quite large 25-30 years ago, but the greater metropolitan area has continued growing. I spent some time in the Sukhumvit Road area in the early 90's. Among some of the changes that I've noticed over the years is the increase in the number of high-rise buildings, and the addition of the BTS Skytrain.
Skytrain
Back in the early 90's, the Skytrain didn't exist, although construction of the support pillars were starting to go up around the Chatuchak Park area. There was no construction for the Skytrain out in the Sukhumvit Road area at that time. You could walk along Sukhumvit and see blue sky (when it wasn't smoggy). It's not so easy to have that kind of view today. There were actually times when there was barely any traffic on the road, but other times when traffic jams were the norm.
Below is a photo I took around 1992. The location was from a pedestrian bridge that crossed Sukhumvit near Soi 8. The direction is facing east. To the right, is the branch of Bangkok Bank, and just on the other side was a lot that was a gas station. The tall building in the distance on the right side of the road is the Times Square Building. On the left side of the photo, you can see a vertical yellow sign with red letters. It's hard to read, but it says Miami Hotel. The hotel was just a few steps on Soi 13 just off Sukhumvit. As I recall, I took that photo in the morning before rush hour began. As you can see, no skytrain. Such a view today (if there was no skytrain) would include a lot more high-rise buildings.
Here's another one I took in 1992 from the same footbridge but facing the opposite direction. The was during the morning rush hour. If there was no Skytrain, the view would include a good number of high-rise buildings in the distance.
Here's a link showing a couple of photos of what that general area of Sukhumvit Road looks like today. This is near Soi 18. It's quite a contrast. You can click the side arrow to switch to the second photo. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/F...t_Road_-01.jpg
I also came across a short YT video showing Sukhumvit Road near Soi 1 in 1987.
It was probably taken with an 8mm or 16mm home movie camera.
And this is a link showing "Then and Now" comparison photos of different cities, including Bangkok. The view of Bangkok is from the Lumpini Park area showing buildings along the Sukhumvit Road area off in the distance. The photos are from 1988 and 2007. It's quite a change over a 19-year period of time. Then & Now: The Stunning Speed of Urban Development | Urbanist
I'm Vietnamese-Australian, came here when I was 4 in 1986...the following denotes my visits back to Vietnam and just what improvements have been made since:
1995: First ever visit and first ever time I travelled outside Australia since arriving in Australia. Hated Vietnam - very unremarkable, all my time was spent in Ho Chi Minh City. My granny was one of the better off residents since she had foreign $ from Australia and Canada (where my uncles resided)...There were very few tourists, attractions and cars. Heck, my granny had an air conditioner and that was considered very luxury. Many beggars on the streets and you could tell most people weren't very well off, clothes/fashion resembled that of the past decade. Department stores few and far between, very difficult to source any Western products.
The skyline here is probably as tall as the suburb of Box Hill in Melbourne today. Nightlife is dead as despite the fact that I was only 15, my uncle took me on a scooter around night, the only places open were coffee shops.
2000: Saw a stark improvement since 1995, basically more of any related to consumer/western goods and the skyline started to build it. It was still mostly scooters on the streets.
2005: Death of my grandpa, so didn't get to see much, but you could definitely see the gradual improvement. A hell of a lot more foreign investment coming in from the Taiwanese, Koreans, Singaporeans but probably more overseas Vietnamese money. Higher class restaurants and bars started to appear. What I noticed was a lot more skyscrapers added.
2010: Pretty much of the same development on top of 2005 but basically roads and now congested and I think cars were pretty much common now. If you owned a car in 1995 HCMC it was a damn luxury. Other than that, I saw a lot more foreign tourists and the logical additions of tourist attractions.
2014: Went over to attend a cousin's wedding, these days I think if anything it's not far off tier 2 Asian cities like Taipei or You name it, they mostly have it. The women these days wear pretty much anything fashionable in the West and dare I say it, show as much skin. You have a glitzy skyline, chic bars, crowds of Westerners, clogged roads full of cars.
It's not up the the likes of Bangkok, Hong Kong, Seoul or Tokyo....but vs 1995 HCMC? It's day and night, heck its like its on another planet! Heck, if you told my 15 year old self that this city existed in Vietnam, I would have thought you were describing some fantasy city in Vietnam.
I'd imagine by 2020 odd, they'd add more skyscrapers and cars. They really need a metro train system!
Potential booster from more FDI; HCM has really grown; never been there, but my research says it is comparable to becoming a mega-city; and it will have more and more space to grow. An emerging middle-class that also presents opportunities for FMCG companies.
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