mrbluze writes:
"Projected to cost around US$37 billion, China has resurrected plans for an underwater tunnel 123km in length, Daily Mail reports that 'the tunnel will run from the port city of Dalian in northeastern Liaoning province to Yantai city in eastern Shandong, slashing travel time to 40 minutes.'
China first announced plans in 1994 to build the tunnel, at an estimated cost of $10 billion, with completion set before 2010. But 20 years on, the project remains stuck in the planning stage. The project has also been proposed at the annual session of China's parliament every year since 2009.
A world wonder, or just another pipe dream?"
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So, as I write this, day one has officially come to an end. I'm still somewhat in shock over it. Last night when I was editing the database to change over hostnames and such, I was thinking, man, it would be great if we got 100 regular users by tomorrow. Turns out I was wrong. By a factor of ten. Holy cow, people. I'm still in a state of disbelief, partially due to the epic turnout, but also because our very modest server hardware hasn't soiled itself from the influx (the numbers are, well, "impressive" is a way to put it). Anyway, I wanted to do a bit of a writeup of where we stand now, what works, and what doesn't. Check it out (and some raw numbers) after the break! Warning, it is a bit lengthy.
China's President has pledged $124 billion for a new "Silk Road" connecting Asia, Africa, and Europe:
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday urged major multilateral institutions to join his new Belt and Road Initiative, stressing the importance of rejecting protectionism in seeking global economic growth.
Addressing other world leaders at a summit on the initiative in Beijing, Xi said it was necessary to coordinate policies with the development goals of institutions including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), ASEAN, African Union and the European Union.
Xi pledged $124 billion on Sunday for his new Silk Road which aims to bolster China's global leadership ambitions by expanding links between Asia, Africa, Europe and beyond, as U.S. President Donald Trump promotes "America First".
No one is totally sure. At the most basic level, One Belt, One Road (OBOR) is a collection of interlinking trade deals and infrastructure projects throughout Eurasia and the Pacific, but the definition of what exactly qualifies as an OBOR project or which countries are even involved in the initiative is incredibly fuzzy. "It means everything and it means nothing at the same time," said Christopher Balding, a professor of economics at Peking University. [...] According to Chinese state media, some $1 trillion has already been invested in OBOR, with another several trillion due to be invested over the next decade.
Fuzzier story at CNN. More at Wikipedia.
Related: China Plans World's Longest Tunnel
China to Spend $182 Billion on Network Infrastructure
China Invests $45 Billion in Megacity Project
China Finances and Builds $13 Billion Railway in Kenya
China Plans $503 Billion Investment in High-Speed Rail by 2020
(Score: 3, Funny) by chromas on Sunday February 16 2014, @08:58PM
This is where refugees will get their uncensored Internet—the underground series-of-tubes.
(Score: 1) by mrbluze on Sunday February 16 2014, @11:00PM
And we can be sure that if those tubes leak, they'll fill up with prawn.
Do it yourself, 'cause no one else will do it yourself.
(Score: 3, Funny) by chromas on Monday February 17 2014, @01:02AM
Mmm, hardcore prawnography.
(Score: 3, Funny) by combatserver on Monday February 17 2014, @12:38AM
Everyone is behind schedule--I haven't heard of a single person "digging a hole to China" that has completed the project. They all seem to stop at hot-tub installation depth.
I hope I can change this later...
(Score: 1) by unitron on Monday February 17 2014, @05:37AM
...to see if anybody in either of those cities had any desire to go to the other one?
something something Slashcott something something Beta something something
(Score: 1) by stroucki on Monday February 17 2014, @05:46AM
The 8 hour ferry already saves massive travel time, and how many people actually want to go to Yantai from Dalian?
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 17 2014, @05:54AM
It's still less money than the 2-week long party that is going on right now. At least they'll be left with something useful at the end of it...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 17 2014, @08:58AM
... in the great escape: they're digging tunnels!
(Score: 1) by kwerle on Monday February 17 2014, @05:18PM
A tunnel in China is not being built.
This is not news. This is un-news. This is the kind of fluff crap that I never want to see.
Upon completing the tunnel, I would not mind seeing an in depth on the tech used to build the tunnel and interesting engineering solutions. But only barely. It's a freaking tunnel.
None like this, please.