A big concern on top of urban transportation planner’s mind is how to speed up the traffic: putting more buses on the road will jam the roads even worse and deteriorate the air; building more subway is costly and time consuming. Well, here is an cheaper, greener and fast alternative to lighten their mind up a bit: the straddling bus, first exhibited on the 13th Beijing International High-tech Expo in May this year. In the near future, the model is to be put into pilot use in Beijing’s Mentougou District .

Proposed by Shenzhen Hashi Future Parking Equipment Co., Ltd, the model looks like a subway or light-rail train bestriding the road. It is 4-4.5 m high with two levels: passengers board on the upper level while other vehicles lower than 2 m can go through under. Powered by electricity and solar energy, the bus can speed up to 60 km/h carrying 1200-1400 passengers at a time without blocking other vehicles’ way. Also it costs about 500 million yuan to build the bus and a 40-km-long path for it, only 10% of building equivalent subway. It is said that the bus can reduce traffic jams by 20-30%.

Here is the presentation by Song Youzhou, chairman of  Shenzhen Hashi Future Parking Equipment Co., Ltd.

“What you can see from the video is traffic jams, what you can hear is noise, and there is also invisible air pollution. At present, there are mainly 4 types of public transits in China: subway, light-rail train, BRT, and normal bus. They have advantages and disadvantages, for example, subway costs a lot and takes long time to build; BRT takes up road spaces and produces noises as well as pollution to the air. How to develop environmental-friendly public transportation? Straddling bus provides a solution. Let’s watch a demonstration.

The straddling bus combines the advantages of BRT, it is also a substitution for BRT and subway in the future. As you all know, the majority vehicle on the road is car, the shortest vehicle is also car. Normally our overpass is 4.5-5.5 m high. The highlight innovation of straddling bus is that it runs above car and under overpass. Its biggest strength is saving road spaces, efficient and high in capacity. It can reduce up to 25-30% traffic jams on main routes. Running at an average 40 km/h, it can take 1200 people at a time, which means 300 passengers per cart.

Another strength of straddling bus is its short construction life cycle: only 1 year to build 40 km. Whereas building 40-km subway will take 3 years at best. Also the straddling bus will not need the large parking lot that normal buses demand. It can park at its own stop without affecting the passage of cars. This is what the interior looks like: it has huge skylight that will eliminate passengers’ sense of depression when enter.

There are two parts in building the straddling bus. One is remodeling the road, the other is building station platforms. Two ways to remodel the road: we can go with laying rails on both sides of car lane, which save 30% energy; or we can paint two white lines on both sides and use auto-pilot technology in the bus, which will follow the lines and run stable.

There are also two ways in dealing with station platform. One is to load/unload through the sides; the other is using the built-in ladder so that passengers can go up and to the overpass through the ceiling door.

Straddling bus is completely powered by municipal electricity and solar energy system. In terms of electricity, the setting is called relay direct current electrification. The bus itself is electrical conductor, two rails built on top to allow the charging post to run along with the bus, the next charging post will be on the rails before the earlier one leaves, that is why we call it relay charging. It is new invention, not available yet in other places.

The set here is super capacitor, a device that can charge, discharge and store electricity quickly. The power it stores during the stop can support the bus till the next stop where another round of charging takes place, achieving zero toxic gas throughout the process.

About the ultrasonic waves put forth from the end of the bus, that is to keep those high cars or trucks away from entering the tunnel. Using laser ray to scan, cars get too close to the passage will activate the alarm on the bus end. Inside the bus, there are turning lights that indicate a the bus is intending to make a turn to warn the cars inside. Also radar scanning system is embedded on the walls to warn cars from getting too close to the bus wheels.

Nowadays many big cities have remodeled their traffic signaling system, to prioritize public buses, that is to say when a bus reaches a crossing, red light on the other side of the fork will turn on automatically to give buses the right of way. Our straddling bus can learn from this BRT method. The car can make the turn with the bus if that is the direction it wants to go too; if not, the red light will be on to stop the cars beneath while the bus take the turn.

The bus is 6 m in width and 4-4.5 m high. How will people get off the bus if an accident happens to such a huge bus? Here I introduce the most advanced escaping system in the world. In the case of fire or other emergencies, the escaping door will open automatically. I believe many of you have been on a plane. Planes are equipped with inflated ladder so people can slide down on it in emergency. I put the escaping concept into the straddling bus. It is the fastest way to escape.

The bus can save up to 860 ton of fuel per year, reducing 2,640 ton of carbon emission. Presently we have passed the first stage demonstration and will get through all of the technical invalidation by the end of August. Beijing’s Mentougou District is carrying out a eco-community project, it has already planned out 186 km for our straddling bus. Construction will begin at year end.

Thank you”.

What inspired me was the talent fo the disabled people.

What excellent formation and co-ordination.

Hats off to them !!!

What do you say?

Cliffs of Moher

From the Grand Canyon to the Matterhorn, the world’s most iconic vistas are part of the travel canon for good reason. They induce wanderlust. They get us thinking about the four corners of the earth as well as humankind’s minor place in the scheme of things. And when we see them in person, we are startled and humbled by their physical magnificence.

Why It’s Amazing: Stand on the blustery edge of Ireland’s steep, rocky Atlantic-battered cliffs and you’ll feel as though you’ve arrived at the true end of the world, with nothing but 2,000 miles of briny Atlantic swells between you and Newfoundland.

Secret Viewing Spot: The view of the ocean from atop Moher is breathtaking, but

experiencing it on the water is sublime. Hop on a surfboard at the nearby Lahinch Surf School and try to conquer Aill na Searrach, also known as the giant wave of Moher.

When to Go: Crowds dissipate in October, when you’ll also find the best swells.

Great Wall of China

Why It’s Amazing: Millions of people over the course of 21 centuries helped construct,

rebuild, and maintain the Great Wall of China, which dips, rises, and bends across the country for some 6,000 miles. The theory that it’s visible from space is now debated, but its immense engineering achievement and man-made beauty are unquestionable.

Secret Viewing Spot: You’ll find the otherworldly ruins of unrestored wall segments in Gubeikou, a less-visited part of the Yanshan Mountain range in the northeast of Miyun County.

When to Go: October’s brisk temperatures and lighter foot traffic make for ideal wall hiking.

Paris Skyline

Why It’s Amazing: Napoleon is credited for transforming the City of Light during the Second Empire, but it was engineer Gustave Eiffel who helped define the cityscape with a colossal iron lattice tower, which has become a symbol of romance that can be seen sparkling from even the remotest corners of Paris’s 20th Arrondissement.

Secret Viewing Spot: The glimmering, glass-walled Nomiya is a temporary, 12-seat restaurant and art installation on top of the Palais de Tokyo museum; it’s open until July 2010.

When to Go: Winter. Yes, it’s chilly, but the twinkling lights and cold Seine breeze create a tableau that is pure Paris.

The Matterhorn

Why It’s Amazing: Five hundred mountain climbers have died attempting to reach the rocky 14,692-foot summit of Switzerland’s majestic Matterhorn. The snow-covered, sawtoothed peak has a pyramidal summit that has become the textbook illustration of alpinism’s golden age and all its triumphs.

Secret Viewing Spot: Ascend Gornergrat by railway and exit at quiet Rotenboden station. Walk down the 3-kilometer path to Lake Riffelsee, which on clear days offers majestic reflections of the mountain.

When to Go: The trail to Lake Riffelsee is open from July to October; the later you go, the less crowded it will be..

Grand Canyon

Why It’s Amazing: It’s big. Real big. We’re talking 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide,

and one mile deep. While it’s not the world’s deepest or widest canyon, it’s undoubtedly the most colorful. The Grand Canyon also exposes ancient Proterozoic and Paleozoic strata—two billion years of earth’s rust-hued history—a visual experience that is not easily captured on film and can’t be found anywhere else in the world.

Secret Viewing Spot: Head toward tranquil Shoshone Point, an unmarked trail on a dirt road off East Rim Drive between mileposts 244 and 245.

When to Go: March to May, before the RVs arrive.

Machu Picchu

Why It’s Amazing: Though many theories exist about Machu Picchu’s purpose (a prison,

a resort, an agricultural test site, an aristocratic estate), there’s no denying the cosmic beauty of these methodically carved, fog-covered peaks, engineered by the Incas in the 15th century. To witness dawn spilling over the lush Peruvian Urubamba Valley is an unforgettable experience.

Secret Viewing Spot: Only the first 400 visitors to the site are given access to Huayna

Picchu, the peak that overlooks Machu Picchu’s ruins and offers spectacular vistas of the surrounding cloud forest.

When to Go: June is a quiet month; on Sundays many tourists head to the nearby Pisac Market instead.

Tiger’s Nest

Why It’s Amazing: The Tiger’s Nest (or Paro Taktsang Monastery) clings like lichen to rocky cliffs in Bhutan’s Paro Valley and creates an awed silence among visitors, broken only by the sound of rustling prayer flags and chanting monks.

Secret Viewing Spot: The best vistas are from the gardens of Sangtopelri and hermitages atop the mountain above Tiger’s Nest, accessed by the winding trail used by monks.

When to Go: April and May, for the spring flowers and Paro Festival.

Great Barrier Reef

Why It’s Amazing: The world’s largest reef system, off the coast of Australia, casts a cerulean underwater glow that is unlike any color you’ll find above the surface. Thousands of species live on the reef, including endemic sea-dragons, giant cuttlefish, saltwater crocodiles, and 125 species of sharks.

Secret Viewing Spot: Try off-beach diving and snorkeling from tranquil Lady Elliot Island, home to a population of manta rays and renowned for its crystal-clear waters.

When to Go: September and October, when visibility is at its best and whales are breeding.

Today China celebrates it National Day. Congratulations to all the Chinese, all over the world (well you can find one in almost every corner of the world).

The Mao-led 1949 communist takeover ended years of foreign domination and war, while three decades of economic reforms initiated by late leader Deng Xiaoping enriched China and propelled it back into the ranks of world powers.

It formally kicked off mass celebrations of 60 years of communist rule on Thursday with a 60-gun salute that rung out across Beijing’s

historic Tiananmen Square.

China will glorify the nation’s six-decade revival as a global power with a tightly choreographed display of mass patriotism including a military parade and spectacular pageant depicting the Communist Party-led rebirth.

The Chinese authorities want to send a clear message: that China has re-emerged as an undeniable force in the world. Well it can’t be denied, given the fact that most of the products (right from low grade toys to high end electronics) these days carry the tag “Made in China” and people have got uses to them. They have proliferated in almost every sphere of daily life and one does use a “Made in China” product in his daily life.

The world cannot do without it and it’s image stand as solid as the famous Grand China wall.