Cool motorsport stuff in China?

[Beej]

So I've been here since Sunday. Spent a couple days in Hong Kong, will be spending the remainder in Guangzhou, Beijing, and Shanghai.

It was only after day tripping in Macau and being reminded of the GP there that I realized there might be some other cool motorsport stuff to see here. Anyway, I think a few other MMers have passed through and figured it was worth asking. Anything cool here, from kart track to museum?

Cheers!

[premiershine9]

Jealous- post pics if you do find something!

[Steve85]

From the videos I've seen, I believe if you head to Nearest 4-Way Stop, China you will see that they play Demolition Derby all day long. It's pretty cool, there are no vehicle restrictions... and hell, you can even enter as a Pedestrian.

[Beej]

From the videos I've seen, I believe if you head to Nearest 4-Way Stop, China you will see that they play Demolition Derby all day long. It's pretty cool, there are no vehicle restrictions... and hell, you can even enter as a Pedestrian.

I lol'd, and it's entirely true. Hands down the most stressful cab rides I've had anywhere. At the same time, I don't think I saw a motor go over like 1.5k rpms - dudes were in 4th gear before even getting through the intersection.

Anyway, not much in the way of cool car shots. Macau GP:


And there were TONS of cars we don't get here and it's stupid we don't. Scirocco's aren't as cool in person (but they're not bad looking), BMW 1 hatches are cool/weird, they have this weird like MK2.5 Jetta that makes up 75% of the horrendous taxi force, and the China knock-off's were hilarious. I think this one was supposed to be a Jag:


Not sure if it's true, but one cabby said all cabs (which were diesel) use this fuel that has invisible emissions, but is actually worse for the environment - just so you don't see the black smoke. And yeah, the smog in both Beijing and Shanghai was seriously bad.

We did hire a private car/driver for a full day, and got a Chinese car. I gave it a healthy "meh" - comfy, not too loud, kinda boring. Better than expected. It was news to me that they have some pretty interesting laws for foreign companies. For example: Audi wants to sell their shit in China - and it's indeed popular there. Audi then has to partner with a Chinese manufacturer - not sure of the exact relationship/requirements, but the intent is for knowledge sharing. Not cool, but not a bad idea when you have as much ground to cover as China. It was news to me, and I wonder how far such policies go.

[G.Irish]

It was news to me that they have some pretty interesting laws for foreign companies. For example: Audi wants to sell their shit in China - and it's indeed popular there. Audi then has to partner with a Chinese manufacturer - not sure of the exact relationship/requirements, but the intent is for knowledge sharing. Not cool, but not a bad idea when you have as much
ground to cover as China. It was news to me, and I wonder how far such policies go.

Yeah it's a great deal for the Chinese but I have to wonder what price foreign firms will pay in the future. China does that kind of deal for all manner of technology businesses from electronics to aircraft and I think it even goes as far as some defense technologies.

Of course, getting access to knowledge and properly taking advantage of it are not the same thing. When the Chinese auto industry ramps up it's not a given that the knowledge sharing will allow them outcompete the foreign partners, at least not globally. I think what China will end up doing is giving their domestic manufacturers huge advantages against foreign firms once they come of age.