In rush to urbanize, China flattens 700 mountains

In rush to urbanize, China flattens 700 mountains

BIG WAVE GULLY, LANZHOU, China — The hills are alive with the sound of machines. As dozens of excavators gouge the slopes, and countless trucks groan past to dump yellow earth into the valley below, Ye Xingwu pauses from repair work to reflect on their landscape-shattering task in the desolate mountains of the northwest Gansu province.

Despite environmental concerns about the project's feasibility and long-term impact on this arid, polluted region, a government-hired private developer is slicing the tops off 700 low-level, barren mountains and filling in the valleys to create a 10-square-mile base for "Lanzhou New City," 8 miles from Gansu's grimy capital.

"I feel so proud of this project; China is amazing," says Ye, 40, his hands dripping with engine oil from his excavator. "This is the largest mountain-moving project ever in China. It shows China's power."

Critics worry that the rapid pace is steaming past environmental concerns and happening without social reforms crucial to integrating rural migrants. Here in Big Wave Gully, Ye and hundreds of other workers offer a dramatic illustration of how urbanization is transforming China. Hemmed in by hills and the Yellow River, and under government orders not to use arable land, the fast-growing city of Lanzhou has chosen to literally flatten the natural obstacles in the way of progress.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/02/02/china-mountain-flattening/1881505/