Everything in China is on another scale, it’s a place of superlatives; 
the largest population, the biggest migration of people, the oldest history, the fastest growing economy and now, to add to the hundreds of new roads springing up all over the place, a brand new railway station which will act as a hub for the main rail route through China.
It will be especially useful for Shanghai to Beijing and also across to the west. Soon, if you want to go anywhere in the country, the chances are you’ll pass through Nanjing South Railway Station.
It did feel a bit like driving into Soweto township though. Here were we, sitting in a big black Mercedes driving over potholes, through dirt and dust, passing huts and tiny shops and infants playing in the dirt on the dust track which passes for a road.
After winding through what appeared to be an old industrial site we arrived. All around us were residential blocks where the workers live and a few offices for the site management.
We put on hard hats and went onto the site. From every angle the place is impressive, 15 platforms, four massive ticket halls and 7000 workers working round the clock to get it finished by May 28th.
Of course everyone stared at the westerners – I think a lot of them were from the countryside so had probably not seen any westerners. Certainly the engineer’s daughter, who was 15 and had good English, had never seen a westerner before lunching with me and Keith today.
However, even though the “starometer” was registering very high everyone was super-friendly, waving and shouting hello and “Happy New Year”. 
New Year’s Day is the biggest day of the year for a family and so I was surprised to know that the Feng family were planning on spending it in a hut on a building site. However, I realised that, a the boss, he had to give moral support to the workers and be seen to be there instead of being at home in front of the TV.