– by Wayne Xing

Date of Publish: 2011-09-21

In little more than a quarter of a century, China has transformed from a country of bicycles to a county of automobiles, surpassing the U.S. as the world’s largest vehicle producing country.

How does such a rapid transformation, though not yet complete, affect the lives of millions of Chinese citizens in the urban and rural areas? How do people of all walks of life dream or perceive the automobile as a family car? What kind of problems do consumers and society face with the growing number of individual ownership of automobiles in China? How would such ownership affect the direction of the industry in the next five to 10 years? How do decision makers, urban planners and automakers deal with the pressing issues of energy resources, environmental pollution, traffic safety and growing urban gridlocks? What are the best solutions for the world’s most populous country to resolve its individual mobility needs in the long run?

With these questions in mind, CBU/CAR editors and reporters will embark on a driving expedition in three Chinese-made cars through 17 provinces leaving Beijing on September 25. The purpose of “China on Wheels” expedition in the next 45 days is to study and understand the transformation of individual mobility in China and the social meaning of such a transformation. Our findings will be published through daily articles, blogs, micro-blogs on www.chinaautoreview.com in English and on www.cbuauto.com.cn and www.auto.sohu.com in Chinese. We welcome our readers to follow us on this expedition and interact with us in our research, interviews and discoveries.

We appreciate the kind support of Dongfeng Passenger Vehicle, Jianghuai Automobile Corp. and Hawtai Motor in providing us with their independently branded cars, the Eolus H30 Cross, the Rein SUV and the B11, for the driving expedition. We will be happy to find out and write about how these Chinese-made cars will stand the test of driving through all kinds of roads and terrains traveling for thousands of kilometers.  

I must also thank Spencer Wynn, deputy art director of the Toronto Star, who approached me in early 2010 with the driving expedition idea. Unfortunately when cars were ready early last fall, we could not proceed because Spencer was unable to get visa.

See you on the roads!