SYDNEY, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Standing on a busy street corner in a Chinese city with near silence as electric vehicles (EVs) glide past huge numbers of trees was a "strange experience" for Australian historian John Queripel, who has been to China five times over the past decade -- one that upended his preconceptions of what a modern metropolis should sound and look like.
"It is a true transformation, a recognition of just how seriously China is tackling the challenge presented by the global ecological crisis," remarked Queripel, who is also a writer and social commentator based in Newcastle, Australia, and has continuously shared his insight into China's green development in his articles.
Acknowledging that China has undergone massive economic development over the past half-century, he noted that such growth often came at an environmental price. However, "in the past decade that has radically changed as China has become increasingly aware of the need for a good natural environment as a basis of fulfilling human living," he asserted.
As Queripel further noted, this environmental commitment has propelled China to global leadership in multiple arenas: the rollout of renewable energy, production of EVs, and forest re-planting.
"Certainly on any visit to China, one cannot but help see massive numbers of solar panels and wind turbines," he observed, pointing out that "this movement in China to clean energy and a sustainable environment is now unstoppable", and "the very real possibility that it may become the world's first electro-state, with that being increasingly generated by renewable sources, is an amazing achievement."
What also struck him is that "China progressively came to realize the important power of past traditions in framing the new", as he commented in a recent opinion piece.
"Increasingly, the long 5,000-year Chinese tradition has come to inform government policy, that respect for not only Chinese, but of all traditions, informing the Global Civilization Initiative," Queripel wrote.
"In visits to China, I have been fortunate enough to experience some of that, from staying in a Beijing hutong, time spent in Pingyao, and visits to historical sites: the Terracotta Warriors, the Yungang Grottos, and the Hengshan hanging temple, among others. Increasingly, modern Chinese film and art makes strong reference to China's past," he added.
Upon first visiting in 2016 Queripel was amazed by China's "incredibly efficient wide-ranging public transport system", particularly its high-speed rail, which subsequently has continued to expand to a current some 50,000 kilometers.
"It's more rail than the rest of the world combined. It's phenomenal," the 72-year-old told Xinhua. "It must be a culture shock with the people of my age in China. Massive change." ■
