Forums > Living in Kunming > Incessant noise in Residential Areas I live close to Bei Shi Qu across from Soho Jun Yuan and nearby Bei Zhan Sui Dao. Anyway, about 6 months ago a large scale construction project began right outside our window. (It's going on in massive proportions all around this area) As it has progressed, there are now crane arms swinging 4 meters from our upstairs 6th floor bathroom window, generators running non-stop, hammers beating into steel beams, trucks hauling rocks throughout the night, etc, etc . I'm no newbie to China and have dealt with this on and off here and there for almost 8 years, whether it be jackhammers re-flooring a neighbor's apartment at 6 a.m. on a Saturday, outside construction, or just good old Chinese yelling and screaming.
We are lucky to have a bathroom to act as a semi-sound barrier in the room we sleep, so the noise is a bit more faint, but there is no where else in the two story apt. that is remotely tolerable to relax the vast majority of the time. I paid a visit to the 居民委员会 (residential commitee) to handle some office address transfer papers and enquired offhand about noise laws....supposedly, construction is supposed to stop at 1 a.m., but the the head banging and ruckus really starts pumpin' just about then over here.....and of course the real answer was actually 没办法. These are the folks that handle noise violations, residential disruptions, etc.
Much to my dismay, our kind landlady was even willing to install double paned sound proofing windows but of course her request was rejected by management on the grounds that it would make our place incongruent with the rest of the apts' facades facing the outside. My favorite part about this is that some of you may remember Kunming's project of installing harmonius and conformant aluminum and flimsy bars on the outside of all the old buildings around the city in a haphazard beautification scheme (that replaced the sturdy, ugly, but safe garden spaces). Of course, within days after this was implemented at our previous apt. on Yuan Xi Lu, I had to scare off a guy with a beer bottle who had broken into my kitchen. He had simply ripped off a couple of the bars, hopped in, and was sure we'd be out watching the world cup after he had clocked the foreigners' joint. I had fun with a local government official one afternoon after I complained and to hammer down and polish my point, I proceeded to tear down 15 or so bars with my bear hands in a matter of 3 or 4 minutes. Of course, nothing was done and we moved. 为人民服务 my ass Mr. Mao.
Anyhow, I know I'm not the only one of the millions here affected by this shit, and the simple answer is to move, but this is probably one of the nicest places I've lived in, and the same thing will happen in one form or another somewhere else. Has anyone happened to bang the mayor's daughter? Maybe we could all chip in, buy him a case of maotai, and a slip him a few wan to get his lazy tan guan ass up and actually implement some reasonable living conditions for the people here.
Yours Sincerely,
Dash Pierce
