San Francisco, CA
China’s Pearl River Delta outpaces Tokyo, San Francisco bay areas
TWISTY ICON Formally named Guangzhou TV Astronomical and Sightseeing Tower, Canton Tower is seen with the Liede Bridge on the foreground, during a night cruise along the Pearl River. —Ronnel Domingo
Carrying mostly Tsinoy tourists and some Philippine-based journalists, the chartered bus has traversed about 17 kilometers of the newly opened sea bridge across the foggy Pearl River estuary. And then the mist parted to reveal the diamond-shaped island in the middle of the water ahead.
Named as West Artificial Island, it is shaped like the body of a kite, with the bridge representing its lengthy tail. The island serves as the mouth of a 6.8-kilometer undersea tunnel, the other end of which emerges onto Shenzhen.
This is the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link, tagged at more than $6 billion and opened to traffic last June 30.
This tollway connects two eponymous cities of China’s Guangdong province, and complements the similar bridge-tunnel complex that opened in 2018—the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge—which is more than twice as long and two and a half times as costly.
These two high-profile projects are but hints of the economic might of an area that represents one-ninth of China’s $17.8-trillion national economy in 2023 and dubbed as the workshop or factory of the world.
Article continues after this advertisement
Indeed, just about two hours of flight time across and away from the rising tensions in the South China Sea, particularly the portion that is called West Philippine Sea, there is a parallel and less abrasive buzz.
Article continues after this advertisement
It is the rumbling of the economic juggernaut that is the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), which is considered a counterpart or rival not only to America’s Silicon Valley on the other side of the Pacific but also to the nearer Tokyo-Yokohama Metropolitan Area.
Accounting for about 11 percent of the world’s second-largest economy after the United States means the economic output of the GBA is comparable to that of Australia or South Korea—each valued at about $1.7 trillion, according to the World Bank.
In a commentary, DBS Bank notes that the GBA rang up $2 trillion in 2023. It is “one of the top bay areas in the world,” having surpassed the Tokyo Bay Area ($1.8 trillion) and much more so the San Francisco Bay Area ($1.3 trillion).
Just as the technology and innovation enclave of Silicon Valley in Northern California made waves in the past several decades, the GBA has been and is continuing to shape the world as we know it today.
DBS cites six factors that underpin the GBA—its strategic infrastructure, high-tech manufacturing, being a trade and e-commerce center, a financial center, robust private consumption and resilient property market.
‘9 plus 2’
The tourist bus made the crossing in late August, carrying a test group that sampled a Guangdong route, which ran through five of the nine cities of Guangdong that comprise the GBA along with the two special autonomous regions of Hong Kong and Macao.
The swing-around covered Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Foshan, Zhongshan and Zhuhai.
The sortie was organized by Shenzhen Airlines and Caloocan City-based New Goldmines Tours and Travels, which also offers other destinations across China.
When asked why a Filipino tourist would choose New Goldmines’ Shenzhen package—over, say, Shanghai or Beijing or other more known destinations—proprietor Ruben Co says it is not about choosing one over another.
“If you want to immerse yourself in 3,000 years of Chinese history, go to Xian (City in Shanxi province). If you want history from the past 500 years, go to Beijing; 200 years, go to Shanghai; for the past century, go to Guangdong,” says Co.
Indeed, how can any noodle dish-loving Filipino not want to see the storied city at the apex of the Pearl River Delta—Guangzhou, also known as Canton?
The skyline of this capital city of Guangdong is undeniably modern, overlaying its past as a peripheral region far removed from the economic and political centers of the imperial dynasties.
The most popular sight on the horizon is the Canton Tower, which stands at a bank of the Pearl River itself. Nicknamed “Small Waist” due to its twisting shape, the 604-meter-tall broadcasting structure is second only to Japan’s Tokyo Skytree, the world’s tallest tower.
But there are other notable buildings; Guangzhou is home to four of the world’s 100 tallest skyscrapers, according to the United States-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
These include the Guangzhou CTF Financial Centre (eighth-tallest, at 530 meters, with 111 floors), Guangzhou International Finance Centre (27th, 439 m, 101 floors), CITIC Plaza (44th, 390 m, 80 floors) and The Pinnacle (83rd, 350 m, 60 floors).
Shenzhen beats this with a dozen of such buildings—the most in any one city—including the Ping An Finance Centre, fifth tallest in the world at 599 m and with 115 floors. Little wonder, considering that the city is home to one of China’s three stock exchanges, adding to those in Beijing and Shanghai.
Shenzhen’s shortest entry in the list is the One Shenzhen Bay Tower 7, 94th at 341 meters and with 71 floors.
Land of the crane
Still, there are more that are being built, showing that the GBA’s brisk growth is still underway. Looking around as the bus breezes along the intercity tollways, one cannot miss the continuing proliferation of construction cranes. Thus, the now old yet persisting pun that the “crane” is China’s national animal (apologies to the giant panda).
Indeed, there is a forest of high-rise residential buildings across the GBA, the population of which is approaching 90 million or about four-fifths of the Philippines’.
Robin Tan, one of the Tsinoys in the group, could not reconcile what is now a metropolis compared to the Shenzhen that he saw in the 1980s.
Tan had the opportunity to cross over the border from adjacent Hong Kong—then still under the British—when Shenzhen was newly designated as one of China’s first special economic zones.
He was visiting with a former classmate, a resident of Hong Kong who went to high school in the Philippines.
It was a time of openness and reforms when, with Deng Xiaoping at the helm, China was “hiding capabilities and biding time.”
“All I saw was a fishing village, surrounded by farmlands,” Tan says. “Back then, Shenzhen locals highly prized items that were available only in Hong Kong, like some home appliances.”
Now, Shenzhen and the GBA churn out everything and anything that one might need or simply want. In fact, Guangzhou hosts the twice-yearly Canton Fair, aka the China Import and Export Fair.
China’s tourism industry has latched on to a line of a poem that Mao Zedong wrote in the 1930s, during a period of retreat amid escalating civil war, which avers that one who failed to reach the Great Wall is “not a true man” or “not a true hero.”
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.
Throughout the past century, travelers have embraced America and marveled at the wonders of Japan, despite tribulations inflicted by these nations. Hence, it seems a no-brainer that we should also know more about the latest big player in the neighborhood.
Cross that big street
Major arteries like Market Street and Van Ness constitute mental borders for many drivers. If your destination is near a popular street, aim for the other side of it, where there’ll typically be more vacancies.
Stray uphill
Hills, too, create mental obstacles for people looking for parking. If you’re willing to walk up one of San Francisco’s many hills either before or after the show, you’ll find more spots.
Always check signs
Pay attention to posted time restrictions to avoid tickets. Some meters in San Francisco mercilessly run until 10pm. Also, street cleaning hours can start at 12am, before some shows get out.
Know when you’re beaten
Some neighborhoods are hopeless. North Beach, Nob Hill, Divisadero — forget about it. The sooner you accept this, the more inner peace you will find.
Trust your gut
I acknowledge that I am a 6’1” man, and not everyone feels as comfortable as I do walking alone at night. If you’re not a local, and you’re feeling unsure, read up on the neighborhood beforehand.
Realize the ‘right’ way can be painful too
If you’re tempted to suck it up and pay for a parking lot or garage, remember: after the show, you may be stuck for a long time in a parking-lot traffic jam as cars try to get out all at once.
Okay! On with my list, with suggested free parking areas marked red.
Where to find parking for Davies Symphony Hall, War Memorial Opera House, Herbst Theater or Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
East side of Gough Street, between Golden Gate and McAllister
Pro tip: Park on the left side of the street. Quick eats to go are almost nonexistent in the area, so pick up any pre-show provisions you may need at the Super Sam corner store.
Where to find parking for SFJAZZ, Rickshaw Stop or Mr. Tipple’s Jazz Club
North side of Oak Street between Buchanan and Octavia
Pro tip: The right lanes are almost always congested due to the upcoming freeway onramp. Watch for cars speeding down the hill behind you in the left lanes, and nose in rather than backing into the spot, if possible.
Where to find parking for the Castro Theater
Castro Street, between 14th and 16th
Pro tip: Separated from the Castro by Market Street, and up the hill a little, most people don’t think of parking here. I found a cool old metal dustpan on the street here once. Still use it.
Where to find parking for the Chapel
South Van Ness Avenue between 17th and 21st
Pro tip: Parking in the Mission District can be maddening; find solace on either the east or west side of the main artery on the edge of the neighborhood. Say hi to Whiz Burger for me.
Where to find parking for the Great American Music Hall
Franklin Street between Ellis and Geary
Pro tip: I’ve also found Geary Boulevard, between Van Ness and Franklin, to usually have open spots. (Plus, you’re right next to Tommy’s Joynt for post-show eats.)
Where to find parking for the Regency Ballroom
Franklin Street between Post and Bush
Pro tip: Separated from the venue by Van Ness, and up the hill a little, most people don’t think of parking here. Aim for the left side of this one-way thoroughfare, where parking is usually more open. Pour one out for the closed Walgreens.
Where to find parking for Mabuhay Gardens or On Broadway
Leavenworth Street between Francisco and Chestnut
Pro tip: Trying to find parking in North Beach is like repeatedly hitting yourself in the face with a hammer for a half hour. I park an entire mile away, and enjoy the walk along Columbus, which is teeming with action on weekends.
Where to find parking for the Midway
Illinois Street between 23rd and 25th
Pro tip: Do not be seduced by the road leading toward Pier 80; it looks wide open, but is full of private parking, and Pier 80 itself will be closed off.
Where to find parking for Chase Center
16th Street between Carolina and Connecticut
Pro tip: For concert parking, the Chase Center garage currently charges $75. Ahem. I think you’ll agree that a nice 10-minute stroll down 16th Street is a better alternative.
Where to find parking for the Bottom of the Hill
16th Street between Carolina and Connecticut
Pro tip: Parking’s not nearly as plentiful as it used to be here; be aware of the new-ish protected bike lanes on 17th and the many time restrictions. (Also, bring presents for the excellent staff at one of the city’s best clubs before it closes at the end of the year.)
Where to find parking for the Fillmore
Geary Boulevard between Divisadero and Scott
Pro tip: I agonized for years driving in circles on neighborhood streets until finding this wonderful stretch of Geary, down the road and on a slight curve, where no one thinks to park.
Where to find parking for the Warfield
Folsom Street between 7th and 6th
Pro tip: This one’s tough, being close to both Union Square and the Tenderloin. I shoot for the less-populated area south of Market and walk up 6th Street, home of harm-reduction services, pizza-by-the-slice joints, SROs and Tú Lan.
Where to find parking for the Brick and Mortar Music Hall or Public Works
Gough Street between Market and McCoppin
Pro tip: This is on an odd little diagonal block that’s off of most people’s radar, on the other side of a freeway overpass. It’s never let me down.
Where to find parking for Oracle Park
Harrison Street between 3rd and 4th
Pro tip: Optimal ballpark spots used to change each year. In a coincidence that I won’t overanalyze, I’ve had luck parking on this block ever since Buster Posey left the Giants in 2021.
Where to find parking for the Masonic
Van Ness Avenue or Franklin Street between Sacramento and Pine
Pro tip: Sorry, man. You will not find parking on Nob Hill. You can try driving up California while looking for a spot, but likely, you’ll have to head back and make the five-block walk.
Where to find parking for August Hall
Mission or Howard Streets, between 5th and 6th
Pro tip: The “park up the hill” trick doesn’t work here, since the nearby hill is Nob Hill. If you strike out on Mission or Howard, Folsom is often open.
Where to find parking for the DNA Lounge
Treat Street between Florida and Alameda
Pro tip: Luckily the DNA is surrounded by a pretzel of strange, short, wiggly streets, good for finding parking; head south of the freeway overpass to this hidden curve. (It’s where I parked when I saw Prince at the tiny club in 2013; yes of course I am bragging.)
Where to find parking for Golden Gate Park, Outside Lands or Hardly Strictly
Clement Street between 34th and 38th
Pro tip: The best way to get to these festivals is to throw a bike in the trunk, park near Ocean Beach, and ride in past the bison to the free bicycle parking area. Barring that, your other best bet is to park up the (very) steep hill, near the VA hospital.
Where to find parking for the Cow Palace
Geneva Avenue between Stoneridge and Carter
Pro tip: I don’t really have a pro tip for this one. I just want to say that there should be more concerts at the Cow Palace, which is cool as hell.
Where to find parking for Stern Grove
Portola Drive between San Fernando and Santa Clara
Pro tip: Park across the major artery of 19th, and up the hill a little bit. And, since Stern Grove concerts always take place on Sundays, there are no two-hour parking restrictions to contend with.
Where to find parking for the Independent
Divisadero Street between O’Farrell and Turk
Pro tip: You’ll have to go back in time to when you could park at the DMV lot, because this neighborhood is impossible now. I go down the hill a ways, and usually find a spot north of Primo Pizza.
Where to find parking for the Black Cat
East side of Van Ness Avenue, between Turk and Ellis
Pro tip: Aim for Van Ness, the west boundary of the Tenderloin. For a major thoroughfare, Van Ness often surprises me with open spots, especially on the east side heading north.
Where to find parking for Cafe du Nord or Swedish American Hall
16th Street between Guerrero and Sanchez
Pro tip: Once the daycare that’s just east of Dolores on 16th closes for the day, the white curb — which tends to scare off many drivers — is free for you to park at. Bonus points for the view of the Mission Dolores basilica, just a beautiful building.
The SF venues you don’t need my help parking at
San Francisco is having a civic nervous breakdown because the brother of President Donald Trump’s son-in-law is buying a minority stake in the Giants.
Not Donald Trump. Not Jared Kushner. Joshua Kushner. And not control of the team. A minority stake.
Apparently, that is enough to send parts of San Francisco’s activist and media culture into full panic mode.
One Giants employee posted a video from Oracle Park turning in their uniform and quitting because Kushner was buying into the team.
Social media lit up with complaints about “MAGA ownership” and Trump-world influence invading one of San Francisco’s most beloved civic institutions.
There is just one problem. Joshua Kushner is not exactly Steve Bannon in a Giants cap.
He has historically donated heavily to Democrats and has occupied a very different political lane than his brother Jared and the Trump orbit. But nuance never stood a chance here.
For some in San Francisco, the name “Kushner” was enough. That is the story.
The Giants are not some random expansion franchise nobody cares about. They are one of the oldest and most storied franchises in Major League Baseball history — with eight World Series titles and a lineage that includes Willie Mays, Barry Bonds, Buster Posey, Madison Bumgarner, and Bruce Bochy.
Oracle Park is one of the great settings in American sports. Giants-Dodgers is still one of baseball’s defining rivalries. Generations of Northern Californians are emotionally attached to this team.
Which is precisely why the reaction has been so revealing.
Nobody was arguing about payroll. Nobody was debating the farm system. Nobody was asking whether this helps the Giants close the gap with the Dodgers in the NL West.
The panic was political from the first pitch.
That tells you where we are now.
Sports ownership used to be judged mostly by whether owners were competent, stable, and willing to spend money to win. Now it is an ideological background check.
Who donated to whom? Who attended what fundraiser? Whose brother married whose daughter? Who might show up in the owner’s suite?This is what happens when politics becomes religion. Everything becomes a loyalty test. Even baseball.
The irony is almost too perfect.
San Francisco is not exactly at risk of becoming a MAGA beachhead because a Democratic donor with the wrong last name bought a small piece of the Giants. But symbolic politics runs the city now.
In Democrat circles in San Francisco, politics is not just something people believe. It is something they perform. It is identity. It is status. It is social sorting.
So even indirect association becomes contamination. Joshua Kushner does not have to be Trump. He does not even have to be conservative. He just has to be Kushner.
That is enough.
To be fair, Giants ownership was already politically sensitive. Current owner Charles Johnson has drawn years of criticism for conservative political donations.
So this latest development landed on dry grass.
Still, the reaction says more about San Francisco’s liberal elite than it does about the Giants. The city’s activist class cannot even let baseball remain baseball.
A minority owner becomes a political emergency. A family connection becomes a scandal. A business transaction becomes a moral crisis.
This is not normal.
Fans used to argue about batting orders and pitching rotations. Now they investigate ownership family trees.
And the Giants are not being bought by Donald Trump. They are not being turned into a Trump campaign surrogate. They are not replacing team mascot Lou Seal with a MAGA hat.
A minority stake is changing hands. That’s it.
Yet for the loudest voices in San Francisco, even that apparently requires public anguish.
If this is the reaction to the brother of Trump’s son-in-law buying a minority piece of the Giants, imagine what happens if Donald Trump ever throws out the first pitch at Oracle Park.
Jon Fleischman, a longtime strategist in California politics and a lifelong baseball fan, writes at SoDoesItMatter.com.
San Francisco, CA
Casting shade on shadows: S.F. supervisor seeks to bar using shadows to block new housing
Shadows cast by tall and not-so-tall buildings alike have long been used to block housing in San Francisco, and Supervisor Bilal Mahmood wants it to end.
The District 5 legislator is announcing a law on Thursday that would eliminate the ability for people to say shadows cast by a building are an “environmental concern” that can be used to delay, and possibly block, new housing.
“In San Francisco, we’ve literally paid the price of being too afraid of our own shadow,” Mahmood said, pointing to data showing that shadow-based concerns were used to delay or block 2,195 housing units in 11 projects since 2017.
Whenever a new housing project is proposed in the city, its developer must create an environmental impact report on a variety of factors, like toxic waste and seismic hazards.
San Francisco requires that report to include a shadow analysis noting whether the new building will cast shade on any open space in the city. Mahmood’s legislation would get rid of that requirement; it is not in state guidelines, and most California cities do not consider shadows an environmental factor.
The environmental impact report is intended to help politicians make an informed decision about whether to approve or deny a development proposal. But any resident can file an appeal if they think environmental impacts were not fully considered, which can delay, block, or alter projects.
Shadows ultimately led to a delay for the infamous 469 Stevenson St. project from 2021, a 495 unit building on the site of a Nordstrom parking lot in SoMa.
Some SoMa residents were concerned that the project, which contained about 100 affordable housing units, would gentrify the area.
But gentrification alone is not a legal reason for supervisors to block a project. So residents filed an appeal alleging the project’s environmental impacts were improperly evaluated. The Board of Supervisors ended up siding with them in an 8-3 vote, citing shadows cast on nearby Mint Plaza in their decision.
The developer was forced back to the drawing board and had to redo his environmental report, delaying the project by several years.
Even when projects are 100 percent affordable, shadows cast uncertainty: Residents near 16th and Mission’s “La Maravilla” housing project, a 380-unit project next door to Marshall Elementary that broke ground last month, raised concerns that the development would darken the school’s playground. That forced the nonprofit developers to hold meetings and negotiate with residents about the issue.
Mahmood said even if appeals are ultimately rejected, the length and cost of the appeals process makes it difficult to produce housing projects and leads developers to avoid building in San Francisco.
“The housing problems we’re facing are death by a thousand cuts,” said Witt Turner of the Housing Action Coalition, a proponent of the bill. “We need to start sewing them up one by one.”
San Francisco is required by the state to plan for 36,000 more housing units by 2030, and the city’s best guess is that even under the most favorable scenarios developers will build less than half of that, and in four times as much time.
Mahmood, a YIMBY, has made streamlining housing a focus of his 15 months in office. His new legislation eliminates certain intermediate appeals and hearings and shortens appeal timelines, mostly from 30 days to 15 days.
The bill will be evaluated by the planning commission and the Board of Supervisors in early summer.
The bill is no silver bullet, however. Environmental appeals often cite more than just shadows when seeking to change projects. In the case of the Nordstrom parking lot building, for example, a failure to properly consider the seismic impact of a building was also a component of the decision.
YIMBYs have long pursued reform to CEQA, a California law outlining the environmental appeals process.
“We shouldn’t let outdated laws get in the way of building housing, which is actually important to making progress on our climate goals,” Mahmood said.
-
Politics39 seconds agoTrump leaves China with breakthroughs — and unfinished business on Xi’s biggest fights
-
Health7 minutes agoCancer-related brain fog may improve with 2 simple treatments, scientists say
-
Sports13 minutes agoSky vs Mercury betting preview: Why the over 166.5 looks like the play in this WNBA matchup
-
Technology19 minutes agoIs that traffic ticket text a scam or real?
-
Business25 minutes agoAltadena’s latest roadblock to rebuilding: Sewage
-
Entertainment31 minutes agoBreaking down Drake’s Temu haul of an album drop
-
Lifestyle37 minutes agoL.A. Affairs: He wanted to get kinky. But was his Madonna-whore complex a deal-breaker?
-
Politics43 minutes agoReport: Conditions at immigrant detention centers in California have worsened under Trump