China

China recently launched the state-sponsored Tianditu.cn or "Map World," the country's homegrown answer to Google Maps. While it's an impressive initial effort, the mapping system does resemble Google's a little too much, and it also performs poorly once you navigate outside of Chinese borders.  Read More

Just under a year ago we reported on a method to clean polluted water and soil by infusing them with pressurized ozone gas microbubbles. The process was developed by Andy Hong at the University of Utah and has now moved out of the lab and is being put the test in a demonstration project in eastern China. If all goes to plan the process has the potential to boost a wide range of environmental cleanup efforts around the world.  Read More

We usually accept it as a given that we can't change the weather. When it comes to extreme situations like hurricanes or earthquakes, such disasters are labeled "acts of god" because we generally feel helpless to in the face of nature's wrath. But recently an ambitious Japanese manufacturing firm Ise Kogyo has boldly claimed that they can help weaken the impact of typhoons. And even more surprising, the company's weapon of choice is the submarine.  Read More

Anyone who’s had a look at our Yez concept car story will know that the Chinese Government haven’t taken any half measures with Expo 2010 in Shanghai. In an absolutely frightening display of power and wealth it splashed out roughly US$60 billion on the event – that’s more than the GDP of two thirds of the world’s nations. China’s foreign currency reserves currently amount to the greatest fortune ever assembled anywhere at any time on planet earth – US$2.5 trillion – and they're only just getting started with accumulating wealth. The theme of the Shanghai expo is “Better City – Better Life” and, while a lot of the focus is on technological inventions and advancements, the goal of the Chinese Pavilion is to show the past, present and future. There is no better illustration of this than the centerpiece of the Pavilion – a stunning digital tapestry that takes one of China’s most famous paintings and updates it for the 21st Century. If you were impressed by the beautiful moving scroll that wowed audiences at the Beijing Olympics opening and closing ceremonies in 2008, then prepare to be blown away all over again.  Read More

China is home to more people than any other country on Earth, and they're moving into megacities at a rate that's simply unprecedented. Managing a transport plan for such a colossal number of people presents a traffic congestion and pollution quandary the likes of which we've simply never seen before. The Straddling Bus is an amazing public transport solution that drives over the top of the cars on a slightly modified road, able to stop without interrupting the traffic flow and to glide over the top of congestion. This go-go-gadget bus is far quicker and 90 percent cheaper to build than a new subway route, it's solar/grid electric powered and it's no pipe dream – construction starts at the end of this year.  Read More

The Bubble Bike is an ingenious low cost transport solution for Northern China where temperatures drop well below zero in winter and the roads are not nearly as suitable for scooters and motorcycles as they are in summer. The recipient of a 2009 Red Star Design Award (China’s equivalent of the red dot awards), the full-electric, three-wheel Bubble Bike sells in China for RMB 5000 (around US$730).  Read More

Luckily there aren’t many countries that drive on the opposite side of the road and share borders. However, they do exist, such as China, which drives on the right, and the former British colony of Hong Kong, and former Portuguese colony of Macau, both which drive on the left. This can pose an interesting problem for engineers and road planners, but Dutch architectural firm, NL Architects, has come up with a bridge with a twist – a concept that not only puts the drivers on the correct side of the road physically, but helps reinforce that fact visually to help get the drivers into the mindset of driving on the opposite side of the road.  Read More

World trade suffered the biggest decline in more than 70 years in 2009, but is set to rebound with 9.5% growth in 2010, according to the WTO. The global economic crisis sparked a 12.2% contraction in the volume of global trade, though measured in US dollars, global exports fell by a whopping 23% from the 2008 peak, due mainly to falling oil prices and a sharp contraction in global demand for all types of goods, especially consumer durables (e.g. automobiles) and investment goods (e.g. industrial machinery). Though China's exports fell by 16% in value in 2009, China finally became the world's largest exporter in 2009, a mantle it can be expected to hold for the forseeable future.  Read More

For anyone who has ever lamented those clunky USB hubs, there might be a far more elegant solution around the corner. Thanks to clever design student Jiang Gonglue, we might not be too far off from seeing something like this 'Infinite USB' connector, which allows an unlimited number of devices to plug into one USB port.  Read More