Hangzhou: Still Sound Like a Good Idea?

[Kendra Howe]

Ladies and gentlemen, let me share with you a frustrating experience I had in Hangzhou:

• It has been almost half a month since I had a good night’s sleep, day in and day out, with noise everywhere!
  • Specifically, the constant sounds of construction work and renovations are making it impossible to find peace and quiet.
• Today is Saturday, and I was awakened again by the sounds of construction starting at around 7 AM – it was so loud that my heart jumped out at the start! I just couldn’t stand it anymore, so I complained to the city authorities by calling their hotline.
  • This “mayor’s hotline” is similar to your local public service hotlines – residents usually find it useful when they need to solve some problems.
• Can you guess what happened? They told me that in Hangzhou, construction work can legally last from 6 AM to 10 PM, including weekends and holidays!
  • Attention everyone who plans to visit Hangzhou:
    • There will be noise from construction sites as early as 6 AM and as late as 10 PM.
    • Yes, you haven’t misread the schedule – even on weekends and statutory holidays, you don’t expect silence at all!
    • Therefore, if you are sensitive to sound or want to enjoy some peace during your holidays, you should consider staying away from construction sites when booking hotels.
• Hangzhou, can you do better to attract visitors?
  • Just think about how hard it would be to rest after working into the wee hours or enjoying the nightlife – the constant sounds from construction would wake you up as early as 6 in the morning, without guaranteeing any basic rest.
  • Would anyone come to experience such a city? (It seems like Hangzhou is growing at breakneck speed – there are always ongoing construction projects everywhere and this might just be evidence of the “Hangzhou speed,” but maintaining a healthy lifestyle really is important!)

[Ada Muller]

It's so incredibly noisy, come and investigate! I'm about to break down.

[Theodore Wiza]

I have no idea when the construction next to my place will finally be done.

[Shawna Keebler-Satterfield]

You've had it for half a month? I've been dealing with this for two months now. Complaining is useless. I asked before how long until completion, and they told me about 20 days. Well, another month has passed, and it's still nowhere near finished .

[Elaine Boyle PhD]

It's useless. They even made multiple follow-up calls to me.

[Mr. Jody Bednar]

And then there are the construction trucks running non-stop in the middle of the night. My house is separated from the road by a river, and I'm on the top floor, yet it's still incredibly noisy. I called to complain, and they said it's compliant.

[Justin Zieme]

Where's the evidence that it's compliant?

[Ken Fahey]

I've been putting up with this noise for half a year now.

[Susie Kutch-Green]

It's been so noisy that they've come to investigate several times already.

[Robyn Monahan]

I'm planning to move out.

[Velma Thompson]

So, it turns out it's not considered a 'nuisance' after 6 PM. No wonder when we went at 7 PM to ask them to stop drilling, they completely ignored us and were so arrogant, basically saying, 'Go ahead and sue us if you've got the nerve!'