From a small town outside of Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, he looked perfectly airbrushed to be the face of the upcoming Shanghai Expo: the proud craftsman behind the city and its successes.
Dusty and dignified in his work clothes and helmet, he had a look as genial and warm as Premier Wen Jiabao, now affably known among Chinese people as “Grandpa Wen”.
His pride and joy was his daughter who, now at 23, is studying real estate at the Zhejiang University of Technology. That would make her the first university educated offspring in the family.
It’s funny how life comes full circle. The father is helping to demolish old buildings to make way for new ones, while his daughter is studying for a license to eventually sell the gleaming new buildings her father had helped build.
October 2009
