From an ordinary detail on the road, we can see the difference between China and the United States从马路上的一个普通细节，看中美两国的区别

 From an ordinary detail on the road, we can see the difference between China and the United States

Today's topic, to be precise, should be "the difference between China and the world", and the United States is only an important comparison parameter. But the inspiration for this topic came from chatting with American friends, so it makes sense to involve the United States.

I often say that I traveled to 40 countries by self-driving, and went to 47 states in the United States. I was trapped in the country with a mask for three years. Looking back now, it was a blessing in disguise. Let's take a look at the changes in the country. I gradually realized that a brand-new social organization model in human history is emerging. If you don’t have a foreign travel experience as a reference, you may not be aware of this great change.

In a nutshell, the biggest difference between China and the world lies in its organizational capabilities armed to the teeth. Many things, in the eyes of Chinese people, are commonplace, but in the eyes of foreigners, they are inconceivable. Sometimes, they even feel scary. Let me tell you slowly.

The foreign cities I have driven to far exceed those in China. The reason is very simple. In foreign countries, especially in the United States, public transportation is very poor, and driving is the only option. In China, high-speed rail and subways extend in all directions, but driving is congested. In my eyes, the biggest difference between Chinese and foreign roads is the street trees.

Ningbo Qianhe North Road

There is a very inconspicuous road in the urban area of Ningbo called "Qianhe North Road". Many Ningbo people may not have heard of it. The turf is neat and the trees are towering, so that pedestrians can escape from the scorching sun in summer. Camphor trees are easy to breed diseases and insect pests. Every year after winter, garden workers have to brush a layer of lime slurry on the camphor trees to prevent the invasion of diseases and insect pests. The most interesting thing is that under each tree, there are herbaceous "scallions" planted. Every summer, the white petals and yellow stamens are very beautiful. In principle, there should not be an inch of bare soil.

This is not an isolated case, but a common phenomenon in Ningbo. I have never seen any other country that invests as much in urban greening as China does. We have reached a point of refinement. When I was young, I often heard a myth called Singapore. Later, when I went to Singapore, I realized that people did not dig out the details to this extent.

Many people may not believe that the level of maintenance and management of any street park in Ningbo exceeds that of Central Park in New York. The tall Central Park in American dramas actually has potholes on the grass, water everywhere, and garbage floating around. The large lawn in front of the White House in the United States looks tall from a distance. When you look closer, it is almost the same as a vegetable field. In 2019, I specially took a video of the White House lawn and sent it to Moments. Many people did not believe it. This is The legendary White House lawn.

In New York, except for Central Park and Manhattan, almost all roads have no street trees. Some people may have said that New York was planned early, every inch of land was expensive, and no tree pit was reserved.

In fact, in the well-planned capital of the United States, Washington, Independence Avenue connecting the Capitol and the Washington Monument, the greening is also very average, which is the core area of the entire United States.

Overlooking Washington from the air, it is indeed full of greenery, but when you look closer, the management and maintenance are very rough. The greening in the United States basically fends for itself and no one manages it. But the United States has a good life, superior natural conditions, large land, few people, and not many industries, and the overall environment is still good.

downtown washington road

This is a typical Washington street. The overall greening is not bad, but there is a lack of management and planning. There are big trees and small trees. Weeds grow under the trees.

And the affluent areas of Washington DC, such as McLean, are another scene. There are big houses hidden in the forest, and the lawns of every household are as flat as carpets, but those are maintained with private funds.

los angeles roads

If you still feel that it is not enough to explain the problem, then let’s go to the new towns in the west to see that there are not necessarily street trees there. If you have the conditions, you can open Google Street View and go to a random road in Los Angeles. Basically, a few trees are sparsely planted. Trees, without much planning, let alone post-management, are in a state of self-destruction, and a large number of tree pits are idle.

Some people may think that the United States is the only one like this. According to my self-driving experience of tens of thousands of kilometers, the situation in Europe is similar to that in the United States. Even in Japan, street trees are not standard equipment on the road.

Japan's National Highway No. 1 has neither street trees nor a median

Seeing this, some people may say that it is because the overall greening rate in western countries is high and there is no need to pay attention to street trees. Indeed, I thought so too, but after careful study of the data, I found that this may not be the case.

The world's forest coverage, representative countries are as follows: Japan 64%, South Korea 61%, Norway 60%, Sweden 54%, Brazil 56%, Canada 44%, Germany 30%, the United States 30%, France 29%, China 24% %, Egypt 0%.

It seems that China's coverage rate is not high. In fact, the reason behind this is that the complexity of China's landforms has not been considered. In the west, we have large areas of deserts, plateaus, grasslands, and some provinces, such as Henan and Hebei. China, Jiangsu, etc. have a large area of cultivated land. In short, it is roughly estimated that more than 50% of the country's land area is not suitable for tree growth.

If compared with similar landforms, China's forest coverage rate has long been world-class.

Many people think that the Japanese are crowded and the land is small. In fact, Japan is not small, with an area of 378,000 square kilometers, even larger than Germany, and its population density is lower than that of the provinces in southeastern China. Even so, Japan's "world's first" forest coverage rate is only 64. % only. In contrast, provinces with higher population density in China have the same mountainous landforms. The coverage rate of Fujian (66.8%) has surpassed that of Japan, Jiangxi (61.5%), Zhejiang (59.43%), and Guangxi (60.17%) ) can almost be on par with Japan, and Guangdong (53.52%) and Hainan (57.36%) are also more than most developed countries.

In other words, within the reach of manpower, China's forest coverage is already world-class.

In the past, Chinese people liked to talk about high-speed rail and 5G, leading developed countries. In fact, those are all hardware. As long as the money is in place, it is relatively easy. The most difficult thing is environmental governance, which requires large investment and slow results, and requires decades of long-term planning. Unexpectedly, we actually did it. Now I see near my home, under the blue sky and white clouds, big trees cover the sky, and I even feel unreal, that is, just a few years ago, every household was still hoarding air purifiers, and now, they have long been forgotten by everyone back.

Just over 20 years ago, I clearly remember that almost all the rivers were polluted, and there were not many trees on the mountains, and I often heard that people felled them illegally. Looking back at my hometown now, the mountain has been covered by forests, and there are often news of wild boars hurting people. It's only been a short period of twenty years, and I really don't know how it was done.

Hangzhou Elevated Flowers

Recently, I discovered the new skills of China Malu, which refreshed my cognition again. And behind this new skill, there is also an unusual "mysterious ability" hidden.

Because there are few opportunities to drive in domestic cities, my impression of domestic highways is still at least ten years ago. For example, I used to think that in the whole world, only the elevated roads in Shanghai and Ningbo were planted with flowers. The original cold and ugly concrete forests became soft and beautiful because of the embellishment of flowers. When the flowers are in full bloom, it is a kind of enjoyment to drive on the elevated road.

Some time ago, I drove to Hangzhou, only to find that Hangzhou is also like this, and the elevated road is full of roses. Later, I searched on the Internet and entered the name of the city + elevated + flower sea, and I could find many cities in the south, such as Chengdu, Wuhan, Nanjing, Nanchang, Shenzhen and other southern cities, where flowers are grown on elevated. Especially in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, because they are close to the tropics, there is plenty of light and heat, and the flowers on the elevated are flourishing.

Some people may say, you are making too much of a fuss, planting flowers on the elevated, is it so exaggerated? Everyone knows that planting trees is easy, but growing flowers is difficult, especially potted flowers, which are even more difficult. Because the soil layer is shallow, it is not easy to water regularly. I dare say that looking at the whole world, maybe China can do it.

In order to realize the elevated sea of flowers, two core competencies must be possessed.

industrial capacity

Some people may wonder why the elevated flower planting involves industrial capacity. Yes, flowers and plants seem to belong to agriculture and forestry, but in essence they are industries.

We have a neighbor in the north, Mongolia, which has a large land, few people, and many cattle and sheep. In the early days of the last mask, the President of Mongolia personally drove 3,000 sheep and sent them to Hubei. Many netizens were moved, and they all expressed that courtesy is light and affection is heavy!

In this regard, I have seen the weak industry in Outer Mongolia. Have you ever heard of Mongolian animal husbandry products? Such as milk powder, packaged milk, meat products, wool products? nothing! Because in essence, when agriculture and animal husbandry develop to a certain extent, it is an industry, and it is also a high-tech industry! What Mongolia lacks the most is industrial capacity.

Why is New Zealand so rich without mining or industry? Because New Zealand's agriculture and animal husbandry are high value-added products, backed by the support of the entire Western industry. For example, New Zealand's kiwifruit originated in China, but after being cultivated in New Zealand, it can be sold at a better price than Chinese kiwifruit, because behind New Zealand's kiwifruit is a long and advanced industrial chain, including breeding, Cultivation, selection, packaging, shipping, marketing, branding...

There are also many delicious kiwis in China, but we have not been able to cultivate a brand like Zespri. In the world, there are very few people who know that kiwis come from China, but almost all urban middle-class people know it. Zespri is the best kiwi.

Also relying on agriculture and animal husbandry to establish a country, Mongolia's annual GDP is 15 billion U.S. dollars, and the per capita is only 4,000 U.S. dollars. The per capita GDP of New Zealand is 48,000 US dollars, which is 12 times that of Mongolia. A company in Inner Mongolia, Yili Group, will have a revenue of 110 billion (US$16 billion) in 2022, exceeding the GDP of the entire Outer Mongolia.

Behind the flower sea on the elevated road is an industrialized operation process. In Ningbo alone, the elevated road that needs to grow flowers is more than 50 kilometers long. Behind it is a complete set of one-stop industries of cultivation, logistics, construction, and maintenance, which is simply impossible for ordinary developing countries.

Only with the ability of industrialization can the lowest cost and highest efficiency be used to achieve the best effect, otherwise any urban flower beautification project is unsustainable.

Taking Hangzhou as an example, the elevated rose has been planted for 14 years. How is such an amazing rose maintained every year? Will there be high costs?

In fact, it is not what everyone thinks. According to the information provided by the nursery of Hangzhou Road and Bridge Group, planting roses not only does not cost money, but also saves money. If it is planting seasonal flowers, the flowering season is less, the flowering period is short, and it needs to be changed six or seven times a year. As for rose flowers, as long as they are properly maintained, they can bloom every month and grow every year. Today, after mechanization and large-scale upgrades, the maintenance quota for Hangzhou rose per square meter is only 10 yuan.

Organizational skills

So here comes the question. Developed countries like Europe and the United States not only have money, but also have industrial capabilities. Why are there no flowers on the elevated roads in Europe, America and Japan, and there are few street trees on both sides of the road?

Anyone who has ever driven in a foreign country should know that outside of China, there are almost no hard indicators for road greening. Are there boulevards in European and American countries? Of course, France has the Champs Elysees (to be honest, compared with the street trees in Ningbo, the maintenance level is very average), and the United States also has many beautiful boulevards.

In private communities in Europe and the United States, or in key areas, the greening is very beautiful. Not only are there no rigid greening standards for urban roads, but there are also no street trees on expressways, or even isolation belts.

As for the reason, it is because of the lack of sufficient "organizational ability".

From a technical point of view, the management level of Chinese cities is already world-class. This level is very disproportionate to China's per capita GDP of more than 10,000 US dollars. In other words, it is to use the economic capabilities of developing countries to surpass the management level of developed countries. Behind this level of management lies a unique organizational capability. In my opinion, China has made a mistake. On the one hand, it has inherited the organizational capabilities of the planned economy, and on the other hand, it has combined the efficiency and innovation of the market economy.

I like to study some commonplace things in daily life.

A few days ago, I got up early and rode a bicycle in Ningbo Yinzhou Higher Education Park. The total mileage was about 10 kilometers. There were at least 2 rows of road trees along the road, and there were many, 6 rows, and 4 rows were also very common. It is conservatively estimated that there are at least 3 rows of roadside trees on average for each section of road, one tree every 5 meters, and at least 6,000 trees for 10 kilometers.

According to my observation, only 4 trees have problems: Among them, 1 tree has been necrotic and its leaves have withered. 2 trees have been removed leaving tree pits awaiting replanting. There is also a tree that has just been replanted, and the trunk is still tied with straw ropes, and drips are still hanging on the branches. In professional terms, this is called "infusion to promote activation technology". I can also be considered a well-informed person. I have traveled to forty countries, and I have only seen this practice in China.

I remember that more than 20 years ago, the survival rate of street trees in China was very low, and the relevant units only planted them but did not raise them. At that time, the economy was underdeveloped, and there were many idlers, and many of them liked to vandalize public property because their hands were itchy. In the past ten or twenty years, the maintenance level of street trees in various parts of China has made a breakthrough.

Our usual road greening is managed by a very efficient organization. Once the trees are necrotic, not only must they be replaced and replanted, but also carefully maintained to ensure the survival rate of the trees.

Ningbo Xuefu Road

Xuefu Road in Yinzhou District is a very inconspicuous road. There are two rows of trees on the road. Visually, there is a tree every less than 5 meters. It is well maintained and has little traffic. There are only two lanes. The road is not wide and the trees are tall , under the attack of street trees, Xuefu Road has almost formed a tree hole. In summer, the perceived temperature on Xuefu Road is 3-5°C lower than that of the nearby open roads.

This is a road in Yinzhou District, Ningbo, with four lanes. On each side of the road, there are 3 rows of road trees, a total of 6 rows. They are all camphor trees, exuding a faint fragrance.

In the urban area of Ningbo, how many such road greenings are there? I don’t have statistics, and I can’t find the data, but according to my living experience in Ningbo for more than 20 years, roads with more than 4 rows of street trees account for about 30%~40%, and 2 rows of street trees are standard. Always form two green walls!

If you are interested, you can check "Baidu's panoramic map".

"Taiping South Road" in Taicang, Jiangsu

One year, I went to Taicang, Jiangsu, and took a random photo on the local "Taiping South Road". It looks plain, but there are actually many details worth seeing. The green belt on the roadside not only has trees, shrubs, but also herbs and flowers. All kinds of plants are scattered high and low, and the shrubs are very flat.

I deliberately went to see the real scene on Baidu Maps. In this same place, the herbs and flowers change regularly according to the seasons. Invariably, the shrubs were trimmed very level.

In Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas, this kind of greening standard is so common that many people turn a blind eye to it.

I checked the data of Taicang. I don’t know if I don’t check it. Taicang is a typical small city in Jiangsu, with a population of about 510,000. It is not well-known, but its economy is developed. In 2020, its GDP will reach 138.6 billion yuan, and its per capita GDP will reach 270,000, equivalent to 42,000 US dollars, surpassing Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. It is not surprising that such a wealthy place has such exquisite urban management.

West Suburbs of Shanghai

This is a road in the suburbs of Shanghai, with rice fields and orchards on both sides of the road. At that time, I drove from Ningbo to Nantong and passed through the western suburbs of Shanghai. For the first time, I realized that there is still a large area of farmland in Shanghai, a place where every inch of land is expensive.

Guangzhou Yuexiu Old Town

This is a road in the old city of Yuexiu, Guangzhou. At that time, I went to the nearby Diandu Detan for morning tea. There were towering trees on both sides. In summer, walking under the trees felt much cooler. Although the old town is relatively narrow and the roadsides are full of cars, it is full of smoke and fire, and life is convenient.

Hainan Coconut Grove Avenue

This is an unknown road in the west of Hainan, with a total of 4 rows of coconut trees planted.

Many people have been to Hainan, but not many people have been to Ledong Li Autonomous County in the west of Hainan. The populations of Ledong County in Hainan and Taicang City in Jiangsu are similar. Taicang is 510,000 and Ledong is 480,000. However, the scale of the economy varies greatly. The GDP of Ledong County is only 15.1 billion, which is equivalent to 11% of Taicang.

Although the local street trees are not as neat and tidy as in southern Jiangsu, there are street trees on both sides of the main road.

I drove around the island of Hainan by myself. The level of road construction in Hainan is very high, and the expressways extend in all directions. Except for expressways, Hainan's provincial and rural roads are almost all brand new. It can be seen that they are the results of construction in recent years. The central government's "transfer payment" has invested heavily in underdeveloped areas.

At the beginning of 2023, I went to Hainan Island again. This trip was mainly concentrated in Qionghai in the east. No matter the expressway, provincial road, county road, or urban street, there are street trees on both sides of the road. Many places have formed a tree hole. Compared with Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, the maintenance of trees is not so delicate, but Hainan has plenty of light and heat, and the trees are easy to grow. As long as there is no human damage, a single tree can grow into a forest.

Regarding the examples of street trees across the country, I will stop here first. All in all, according to my experience, street trees are standard equipment on major roads throughout China. You can hardly find a bare road without greenery in Chinese cities.

These scenes, in the eyes of many people, are too ordinary! But behind this ordinary, there is a very extraordinary organizational ability. This is a kind of uncompromising organizational ability that works in unison across the country, from cities to villages! Looking at the whole world, probably only China has it.

write at the end

At the beginning of this article, I said that the inspiration for this article came from an American friend who has lived in China for a long time. Compared with his own experience in the United States, he can often see things that we are blind to. For example, he believes that compared with China's organizational capabilities, almost all other countries can be described as "bulk". The most obvious example is the management capacity of Chinese cities.

The Soviet Union, the last rival of the United States, also had terrible organizational capabilities, but the Soviet Union did not have China's industrial strength and lacked innovation capabilities.

During the Cold War era, the United States did not worry about the penetration of the Soviet Union at all, because the economy of the Soviet Union was not worth mentioning in front of the West at that time. Today’s young Americans are using TikTok, playing Chinese mobile games, and using DJI drones to buy Chinese goods from temu and shein. Almost in the blink of an eye, China has changed from a supplier of cheap goods to Become a giant that infiltrates American society in all directions... The ghosts of xxxx are wandering over the United States.

In the eyes of this China hand, those American politicians seem to have failed to see the essence of China. In his opinion, the organizational capabilities of the eastern powers are the most terrifying.

The competition in modern warfare is logistics, which requires the explosive power of industrial production capacity, that is, an extreme organizational ability. He said that the United States has neither industrial production capacity nor explosive power. American politicians have angered China without knowing what to do. In his own words, We are creating what we fear. (We are creating what we fear).

In fact, a few think tanks in the United States have also seen this issue, such as Elbridge Colby, who is a representative hawk in the United States.

Some time ago, he tweeted: The US Navy can't keep up with the PLA in shipbuilding, their shipyards have more capacity, one shipyard has more capacity than all our shipyards combined, this is a true threat.

Twitter boss Musk, follow up below: It is of great strategic significance.

But a small number of experts in the United States only see the problem itself, and it is extremely difficult to improve the organizational capabilities of the United States to the level of China.

My American friend said earnestly that if China uses this organizational capability to improve the environment and improve people's living standards, it will be a blessing to the whole world. (The implication is that if such organizational capabilities are used to produce weapons, it will be a disaster for the West.)

He believes that the best choice for China is not to be as knowledgeable as the United States. With China's current capabilities, as long as it concentrates on its own affairs, no country in the world has the ability to become China's enemy.

Before I knew it, I wrote more than 7,000 words. Looking back now, I still feel unreal. Am I exaggerating? Or is it true that China's environmental quality has gradually caught up with the level of developed countries? The fans of this official account come from all over the world. You are welcome to leave a message. I will definitely release all of them for everyone to judge.

从马路上的一个普通细节，看中美两国的区别

今天的题目，确切地说，应该是「中国与世界的区别」，美国只是其中重要的对照参数。但这个题目的灵感来自和美国朋友的聊天，所以，扯上美国，也说得通。

我经常说，自驾走了四十个国家，去了美国的47个州，三年口罩，我被困在国内，如今回头看，也算是因祸得福，以前急着往外跑，这三年才静下心来看看国内的变化。我才逐渐意识到，人类历史上一个全新的社会组织模式正浮出水面，如果没有国外旅行的经历做参照，你可能都没有意识到这场巨变的发生。

一言以蔽之，中国与世界最大的不同在于，武装到牙齿的组织能力。很多事情，在中国人看来，稀松平常，但在外国人看来，是不可思议，有时候，甚至感到害怕，且听我慢慢道来。

我开车去过的外国城市，远超过中国的城市，原因很简单，国外，尤其是美国，公共交通很差，开车是唯一的选择。而国内，高铁、地铁四通八达，开车反而拥堵。在我眼里，中外马路最大的区别在于——行道树。

宁波前河北路

宁波市区有一条非常不起眼的道路，叫「前河北路」，可能很多宁波人都没有听说过。草皮整齐，大树参天，夏天行人可以躲开烈日烧灼。樟树容易滋生病虫害，每年入冬后，园林工人都要给樟树刷上一层石灰浆，以防病虫侵袭。最有意思的是，每一棵树下面，都种了草本的「葱莲」，每到夏季，白色的花瓣，黄色的花蕊，非常漂亮。原则上，就是不能出现一寸裸土。

这不是个例，而是整个宁波的普遍现象，我没有见过任何其它国家，在城市绿化方面，像中国这样投入，我们已经到了一种精雕细琢的地步。我小时候，经常听一个神话，叫新加坡，后来去了新加坡，才发现，人家也没有把细节抠到这种程度。

可能很多人不相信，宁波随便一个街心公园，养护管理水平，都超过纽约的中央公园，美剧里高大上的中央公园，实际上，草地坑坑洼洼，到处积水，垃圾乱飘。美国白宫前的大草坪，远看也很高大上，走近一看，几乎和菜地一样，2019年，我特意拍了一个白宫草皮视频，发到朋友圈，很多人都不相信，这就是传说中的白宫草坪。

在纽约，除了中央公园曼哈顿，几乎所有的道路，都没有行道树。可能有人说了，那是纽约规划早，寸土寸金，没有预留树坑。

其实，规划整齐的美国首都华盛顿，连接国会大厦和华盛顿纪念碑的独立大道，绿化也很一般，这可是整个美国最核心的区域。

从空中俯瞰华盛顿，的确绿意盎然，但走近细看，管理养护，非常粗糙。美国的绿化，基本自生自灭，无人管理。但美国命好，自然条件优越，地大人少，工业不多，整体的环境依然不错。

华盛顿市区道路

这就是比较典型的华盛顿街道，整体绿化还不错，但缺乏管理和规划，有大树，也有小树，树底下，杂草丛生，树木夭折后，也没人管，树坑长期闲置。

而华盛顿DC的富人区，比如McLean，又是另外一番景象，一座座大house隐藏在森林里，家家户户的草坪像地毯一样平整，但那些都是私人出钱维护的。

洛杉矶道路

如果还是觉得不够说明问题，那么我们去西部的新城镇看看，那里也不见得有行道树，大家有条件的话，可以打开Google街景，随机去一个洛杉矶市内道路，基本上都是稀稀拉拉种几棵树，没啥规划，更没有后期管理，处于自生自灭的状态，大量树坑闲置。

也许有人觉得，是不是只有美国这样，按照我几万公里的自驾体验，欧洲的情况和美国差不多，甚至在日本，行道树也不是道路标配。

日本国道一号，既没有行道树，也没有中央隔离带

看到这里，也许有人会说，那是因为西方国家的整体绿化率高，不需要注重行道树，的确，我原来也是这样想的，但仔细研究过数据后，才发现，事实未必如此。

世界森林覆盖率，有代表性的国家如下：日本64%、韩国61%、挪威60%、瑞典54%、巴西56%、加拿大44%、德国30%、美国30%、法国29%、中国24% 、埃及0%。

看上去中国的覆盖率并不高，其实这背后的原因是，没有考虑到中国地貌的复杂性，在西部，我们有大面积的沙漠荒漠、高原、草原，还有一些省份，比如河南、河北、江苏等，耕地面积大，总之，所有不适合树木生长的国土面积，粗略估计超过50%。

如果在类似地貌的情况下比较，中国的森林覆盖率早就是世界级水平。

很多人以为日本人多地狭，其实日本不小，面积37.8万平方公里，甚至比德国还大，人口密度小于中国东南部各省，即便如此，日本「世界第一」的森林覆盖率也就是64%而已，相比之下，中国人口密度更高的省份，同样多山地貌，福建（66.8%）的覆盖率，已经超过日本，江西（61.5%）、浙江（59.43%）、广西（60.17%）几乎可以与日本看齐，广东（53.52%）、海南（57.36%），也超过多数发达国家。

换句话说，在人力所能及的范围内，中国的森林覆盖率，已经是世界一流水平。

以前，中国人都喜欢说高铁、5G，领先发达国家，其实，那些都属于硬件，只要钱到位，相对容易。难的是环境治理，投入大、见效慢，需要几十年的长远规划。没想到，我们居然也做到了。如今我看到自家附近，蓝天白云下，大树遮天蔽日，甚至有一种不真实感，也就是短短几年之前，家家户户还在囤积空气净化器，如今，早就被大家抛在脑后。

就在二十几年前，我清晰记得，几乎所有的河流都是污染的，山上的树也不多，经常听说有人盗伐。如今再回老家看看，山头已经被森林覆盖，经常传出野猪伤人的新闻。也就短短二十几年，真不知道是怎么做到的。

杭州高架花卉

最近，我又发现中国马路的新技能，再次刷新了我的认知。而这种新技能背后，也是隐藏着不同寻常的「神秘能力」。

因为在国内城市开车机会少，我对于国内公路的印象，依然停留在至少十年之前。举例来说，我曾经认为，全世界只有上海和宁波的高架上，种植花卉，原本冷冰冰的丑陋水泥森林，因为有了鲜花的点缀，就变得柔美了。每当鲜花盛开的时候，在高架上开车，感觉就是一种享受。

前段时间，我开车去杭州，才发现，原来杭州也是这样，高架上种满了月季。后来到网上一查，输入城市名字+高架+花海，可以查到南方的很多城市，比如，成都、武汉、南京、南昌、深圳等南方城市，高架都种花。尤其是广州、深圳，因为靠近热带，光热充足，高架上的花卉繁盛。

可能有人说，你也太小题大做了，高架上种花，有这么夸张吗？大家都知道植树容易，养花难，尤其是盆栽的花卉，更难。因为土壤层浅，光定期浇水，就很不容易。我敢说，放眼全世界，可能就中国能做到。

要实现高架花海，其实必须具备2个核心能力。

工业能力

可能有人会好奇，为啥高架种花也要扯到工业能力。没错，花花草草看起来属于农林业，但本质上却是工业。

我们有一个北方邻居蒙古国，地大、人少、牛羊多。上次口罩初期，蒙古国总统亲自赶了3000只羊，送给湖北。让很多网友感动，纷纷表示，礼轻情意重！

对此，我却看到了外蒙孱弱的工业，大家可曾听说过，蒙古国的畜牧业产品？比如奶粉、包装奶、肉制品、羊毛产品？都没有！因为本质上说，农牧业发展到一定程度，那就是工业，而且还是高科技工业！蒙古最缺的就是工业能力。

为什么新西兰既没有矿业，也没有工业，却那么富裕？因为新西兰的农牧业都是高附加值产品，背后是整个西方工业的支持。比如说，新西兰的奇异果，发源于中国，但经过新西兰的培育，就能比中国的猕猴桃卖更好的价格，因为，新西兰奇异果的背后，是一个漫长而高级的产业链，包含育种、种植、筛选、包装、运输、营销、品牌……

中国也有很多好吃的猕猴桃，但是，我们还不能培育出一个像Zespri（佳沛）这样的品牌，在世界上，知道猕猴桃出自中国的人，寥寥无几，但几乎所有城市中产都知道，新西兰的Zespri（佳沛）是最好的猕猴桃。

同样是依靠农牧业立国，蒙古国一年的GDP为150亿美元，人均才4000美元。而新西兰的人均GDP为48000美元，是蒙古国的12倍。我国内蒙古的一家企业，伊利集团，2022年的营收就高达1100亿（160亿美元），超过整个外蒙的GDP。

高架上的花海，背后也是一个工业化运作过程，仅宁波一个城市，需要种花的高架，就长达50多公里。背后是一套完整的培育、物流、施工、养护一条龙产业，普通的发展中国家，根本办不到。

只有具备了工业化能力，才能用最低的成本，最高的效率，达到最好的效果，否则任何城市花卉美化项目，都是不可持续的。

以杭州为例，高架种植月季已经有14年，每年如此惊艳的月季，究竟是如何养护的？是否会有很高的成本？

其实，并不是大家所想的那样，根据杭州路桥集团苗圃提供的信息，种月季不但不烧钱，反而还省钱。如果是种植时令花卉，花季少，花期短，一年要换六七次。而月季花，只要养护到位，每个月都能开花，且年年生长。如今，经过机械化、规模化升级，杭州月季花一平方米养护定额仅为10元。

组织能力

那么问题来了，像欧美发达国家，不但有钱，还有工业能力，为什么欧美日不但高架上没有花，连马路两旁的行道树都很少呢？

但凡在国外自驾过的朋友，应该都知道，在中国之外，几乎不存在公路绿化的硬性指标。欧美国家有没有林荫大道？当然有，法国有香榭丽舍大道（说实话，与宁波的行道树比起来，养护水平很一般），美国也有很多漂亮的林荫大道。

在欧美的私人小区，或者重点地带，绿化搞得非常漂亮。不但城市道路没有硬性绿化标准，高速公路也没有行道树，甚至没有隔离带。

至于原因，就是因为缺乏足够的「组织能力」。

从技术角度看，中国城市的管理水平，已经是世界一流。这种水平和中国人均一万多美元的GDP，很不相称。换句话说，就是用发展中国家的经济能力，超过了发达国家的管理水平。这种管理水平背后，是一种独一无二的组织能力。在我看来，中国误打误撞，一方面继承了计划经济的组织能力，另一方面，又结合了市场经济的高效和创新。

我喜欢研究一些日常生活中，司空见惯的事情。

前几天，我早起，在宁波鄞州高教园区骑自行车，总里程大约10公里，沿途的道路，最少有2排行道树，多的，有6排，4排也很常见。保守估计，平均每段路至少3排行道树，每5米一棵，10公里，至少6000棵树。

据我观察，只有4棵树出现问题：其中，1棵树已经坏死，树叶凋谢。2棵树已经被移走，留下树坑，等待补种。还有1棵树是刚刚补种的，树干上还绑着稻草绳，树枝上还挂着点滴。用专业的话讲，这叫“输液促活技术”。我也算是一个见多识广的人，走了四十个国家，只有在中国见过这种做法。

我记得二十几年前，中国的行道树成活率很低，相关单位，只种不养。当时经济不发达，游手好闲的人多，很多人手痒，就喜欢破坏公物。而最近一二十年，中国各地的行道树养护水平，有突破性飞跃。

我们司空见惯的道路绿化，背后有一个非常高效的机构管理，一旦出现树木坏死，不仅要更换补种，还要悉心养护，保证树木的成活率。

宁波学府路

鄞州区的学府路，是一条非常不起眼的道路，2排行道树，目测每隔不到5米就有一棵树，养护得很好，车流很少，只有双车道，路不宽，树很高，在行道树的夹击之下，学府路几乎已经形成一个树洞。夏天的时候，相比附近开阔大马路，学府路的体感温度要低3~5℃。

这是宁波鄞州区的一条道路，四车道，路的每边，各有3排行道树，一共6排。都是樟树，散发着淡淡的清香。

在宁波市区，这样的道路绿化有多少？我没有统计，也查不到数据，但根据我在宁波二十来年的生活经验，4排以上行道树的道路，大概占30%~40%吧，2排行道树是标配，到了夏天，道路两边总能形成两堵绿墙！

有兴趣的话，大家可以查“百度的全景地图”。

江苏太仓「太平南路」

有一年，我去了一趟江苏太仓，在当地的「太平南路」，随手拍下一张照片。貌似平淡无奇，其实有很多细节值得看，路边的绿化带，不但有乔木，有灌木，还有草本花卉。各种植物，高低错落，灌木修得非常平整。

我特意去看了百度地图的实景，就在这同一个地方，草本花卉，根据季节的不同，定期更换。不变的是，灌木修得非常平整。

在江浙一带，这种绿化标准，非常普遍，以至于很多人熟视无睹。

我查了一下太仓的数据资料，不查不知道，一查吓一跳。太仓是一个典型的江苏小城市，人口大约51万，知名度不算高，但经济发达，2020年GDP高达1386亿元，人均GDP 高达27万，折合4.2万美元，超过台湾省、韩国、日本。这么富裕的地方，城市管理如此精致，也不足为奇。

上海西郊

这是上海郊区的一条公路，路两旁是稻田和果园。当时，我开车从宁波去南通，穿过上海西郊，第一次意识到，在上海这个寸土寸金的地方，居然还有大片的农田。

广州越秀老城区

这是广州越秀老城区的一条道路。当时，我去附近的点都德叹早茶，两边大树参天，夏天的时候，走在树下，感觉凉爽不少。老城区虽然比较狭窄，路边停满汽车，但烟火气撩人，生活方便。

海南椰林大道

这是海南西部的一条不知名道路，种了一共4排椰子树。

去过海南的人不少，但去过海南西部乐东黎族自治县的人，应该不多。海南乐东县和江苏太仓市的人口规模差不多，太仓为51万，乐东是48万。但经济规模相差巨大，乐东县的GDP只有151亿，相当于太仓的11%。

当地的行道树虽然没有苏南地区那么精致整齐，但，主要道路两侧都有行道树。

我在海南环岛自驾一圈，海南的公路建设水平很高，高速公路四通八达。除了高速公路，海南的省道、乡村道路几乎都是崭新的，看得出来，都是最近几年的建设成果，中央的“转移支付”对欠发达地区的投入非常大。

2023年初，我又去了一趟海南岛，这次的行程，主要集中在东部的琼海，无论高速公路，省道、县道，还是城市街道，公路两边都有行道树，很多地方已经形成一个树洞。相比江浙沪，树木的养护没那么精致，但海南光热充足，树好养，只要不人为破坏，都能独木成林。

关于全国各地行道树的例子，我就先说到这里。总而言之，根据我的经验，行道树是全中国主要道路的标配。你很难在中国的城市里找到一条光秃秃，没有绿化的马路。

这些场景，在很多人看起来，普通得不能再普通了！但是就在这普通的背后，却是很不普通的组织能力。这是一种举国上下，从城市到乡村，步调一致，不打折扣的组织能力！放眼全世界，大概也就中国具备。

写在最后

在本文开头，我说，这篇文章的灵感来自一个美国朋友，他长期生活在中国，对比自己在美国的经历，往往能看到一些，我们熟视无睹的事情。比如说，他认为，相比中国的组织能力，其它国家几乎都可以用「散装」来形容。最明显的例子，就是中国城市的管理能力。

美国上一个对手苏联，也具备可怕的组织能力，但苏联不具备中国的工业实力，也缺乏创新能力。

冷战时代，美国根本不担心苏联的渗透，因为当时苏联的经济在西方面前不值一提。而如今的美国年轻人，刷着TikTok，玩着中国的手游，用着大疆无人机，从temu和shein买中国货，几乎就在眨眼之间，中国从一个廉价商品的供应国，成为全方位渗透美国社会的巨无霸……xxxx的幽灵在美利坚上空游荡。

在这位中国通的眼里，美国那些政客似乎都没有看到中国的本质，在他认为，东方大国的组织能力，才是最可怕的。

现代战争比拼的是后勤，需要一种工业产能的爆发力，也就是一种极致的组织能力。他说，美国既没有工业产能，更没有爆发力。美国的政客，却不知好歹地激怒中国，用他的原话说，就是，We are creating what we fear.（我们正在创造我们害怕的东西）。

其实，这个问题美国少数智库也看到了，比如Elbridge Colby，他就是美国有代表性的鹰派。

前段时间，他发了一则推文：美国海军在造船方面跟不上PLA，他们的造船厂有更多的容量，一个造船厂的容量比我们所有造船厂的总和还要多，这是个真正的威胁。

Twitter老板马斯克，在下面跟帖：具有重大战略意义。

但美国少数专家也仅仅是看到问题本身，要把美国的组织能力提高到中国的水平，难如登天。

我的美国朋友语重心长地说，如果中国把这种组织能力，用在改善环境，提高人民生活水平，那么就是全世界的福气。（言外之意就是，如果用这种组织能力去生产武器，对西方来说，就是一场灾难。）

他认为，中国最好的选择就是，不要跟美国一般见识，以目前中国的能力，只要专心做好自己的事情，这个世界上没有任何国家，有能力成为中国的敌人。

不知不觉，写了七千多字，现在回头看，还有一种不真实感。是我夸张了？还是中国的环境质量，真的已经逐渐追上发达国家的水平了？本公众号的粉丝，来自全世界各地，欢迎你们留言，我一定全部放出来，供大家评判。