Cary, a small town in North Carolina, has a land area of 155 square kilometers, almost as big as many towns in Guangdong, but its population in 2020 is only170,000. Nevertheless, Kerry is the largest town in North Carolina, and its population is among the highest in the United States.
Few people in China know about Kerry. Before I went to America, my only contact with Kerry Town was one of my classmates.
Lu is a classmate in different classes in junior high school, a classmate in senior high school and a graduate student in different departments of the same school. Since we left Nankai University in the early 1968+0990' s, we haven't seen each other again. It was many years before we knew that he had settled in Kerian, on the other side of the earth.
The direct purpose of my last trip to America was not to see Lu, but to run the Chicago Marathon. Ma Zhi is one of the six major Grand Slam marathons in the world, and its winning percentage is very low. When I signed up, I just held a tentative attitude. I didn't expect that I could win the lottery so lucky.
Ma Zhi is probably the most suitable foreign competition for Chinese mainland people, because it is usually arranged at the beginning of 10, just in time for our National Day holiday. You can enjoy yourself in America before the game, and there is still a lot of time difference.
A rare trip to the United States is to meet this old classmate who has not seen for more than 20 years and has deep feelings. So, after the international flight to new york landed, I didn't go to Chicago directly, but turned a corner and boarded the flight to Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina.
After studying the map, it is found that Chicago is in the "rust zone" of the United States, that is, the cold old industrial zone in the north, while Kerry belongs to the emerging industrial zone in the "sunshine zone" in the south. The spatial distance between the two cities is more than 1300 km, and there are great differences in urban style, industrial development mode and lifestyle.
The latitude of Chicago is equivalent to that of Shenyang in China. It is cold in winter and windy, so it is called "windy city". After the founding of the United States, the earliest industrial bases were concentrated in the north of the country. Since 1950s and 1960s, thousands of Americans have migrated from northern cities to the south with industrial immigrants.
With the decline of the old industrial base in the northeast, the high-quality industrial population flows to the warm areas in the south with the industry, which is very similar to the United States.
The latitude of Kaili is roughly equivalent to that of northern Jiangsu and southern Shandong, with four distinct seasons. Although it is not directly adjacent to the sea, it benefits from the warm and humid air flow in the Atlantic Ocean. It is warm and humid all year round, with less extreme weather and abundant rainfall, which is more comfortable than other cities in the same latitude. Because of the good protection of natural environment and high forest coverage, the harmony between man and nature has always been the life label of North Carolina.
Looking down from the plane in Raleigh, the whole view is lush forest vegetation and various lake waters. For a moment, I will have an illusion that I am not here to run the city marathon, but to visit.
Twilight in Lake Johnson Park (Shu Dong/photo)
Lu personally picked me up at Raleigh airport, driving a tall and powerful Ford F- 150.
Unexpectedly, it is only a little more than 10 from the airport to his home, and it takes no more than 20 minutes to drive home. It turns out that Kerry and Raleigh are two adjacent cities, both of which belong to Wake County.
Out of the airport, on the highway, I didn't see a building with more than five floors. Almost all buildings are not higher than the crowns of surrounding trees, and most buildings can only be seen through the gaps between trees; The buildings are also quite distant and far apart. In short, except the blue sky, there are trees, forests and green spaces everywhere.
No wonder the F 150 pickup truck, with its huge volume and huge displacement, is always in the top ten among the best-selling models in North America. It is indeed particularly suitable for Mercedes-Benz in this densely forested, sparsely populated and high-flying place.
For 300 years, the traditional leading industry in North Carolina has been agriculture. In this way, the green here is naturally rich.
What puzzles me deeply is that in recent years, North Carolina's economic aggregate ranks in the top ten in the United States every year, and it is obviously impossible to do this by agriculture alone. Is there any secret hidden in this?
While chatting with my classmate Lu, I habitually opened the mobile phone map to study the surrounding geographical environment, and suddenly found that Kerry was not only next to Raleigh, but also next to a city and a small town: Durham and Chapel Hill.
Rowley-Durham-Chapel Hill! Isn't this the famous triangle?
Anyone who has done industrial research knows that the "development model" that has provided surging impetus for China's economic development in recent years largely refers to the "industrial park model" promoted by the government. The originator of the government-promoted industrial park model is not in China or Silicon Valley, but in a place called TheResearchTrianglePark (RTP).
Our Ford F 150 is driving within the RTP Park at this time!
I was a little confused for an instant. I couldn't connect a highly respected and highly developed high-tech industrial park with this endless green ocean.
There are a lot of materials and books to study RTP. Outsiders may not imagine that in the United States, where land ownership and marketization are extremely high, the cause promoted by the government can be so successful.
The reason why there is the word "research" in the name of RTP is because the real starting point of this park is three universities. The three universities are Duke University (in Durham), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (in Chapel Hill) and North Carolina State University (in Raleigh).
The land of RTP is located in this triangle area, hence the name.
From 65438 to 0959, the government, universities and enterprises jointly formed the Research Triangle Park Committee and formally established RTP. Through policy support and guidance, the government has closely integrated the teaching ability and scientific research strength of these three universities with local scientific and technological enterprises, forming the industrial ecology of "official, production, learning and research" that we are familiar with now.
The daily management and operation of the park is the responsibility of the non-profit organization ResearchTriangleFoundation. The foundation also has the participation of government, universities and enterprises.
RTP is very distinctive in administrative jurisdiction. It is a non-state district and a typical administrative system with American characteristics.
The so-called non-organic area is actually that all the subjects on this land do not pay taxes to the government. So how to manage the company? Every non-organic area is different. In RTP, enterprises and individuals pay taxes to the foundation; The foundation is responsible for providing public goods in this area. Obviously, the mode of unincorporated areas is more autonomous, flexible and efficient than the popular British "statutory body" mode in Hong Kong and Singapore.
The foundation owns all the land and infrastructure in the park and is responsible for the planning and construction of the park. It is planned to lease or sell the land in the park to technology enterprises. All the land and property rents, transfer income and taxes obtained from its operation are used to improve the infrastructure and service level of the Science Park.
After more than 60 years of operation, RTP has gathered more than a dozen industrial clusters, the largest of which is biotechnology and medicine industry, followed by information technology and software. RTP has attracted nearly 300 scientific research enterprises and tens of thousands of employees.
Once the Science Park and the surrounding universities form a joint force, its driving role is very impressive. RTP not only changed North Carolina's industrial institutions in one fell swoop, but also promoted the leap of North Carolina's overall economic strength.
It is worth mentioning that Lenovo moved its American headquarters here after acquiring IBM's computer business as a whole.
After the reform and opening up, the industrial park model has always been regarded as the standard by local governments in China. On this basis, industrial parks and new industrial cities have gradually formed. Many people even come to Wan Li to study RTP.
A middle-class residential community in Kerry town (East Sichuan/map)
Kerry, a small town, has caught up with the good times. Right in the center of this huge triangular area, geographically next to RTP. Nevertheless, it is still a standard town, and its residents and enterprises need to pay taxes to the government.
In the 1960s, the total population of Kerry was just over 3,000, and the main industry in the town was tobacco. Since RTP came into being, it has naturally been transformed into a residential area supporting the park.
After several decades, the population of the town has increased several times, and it has undoubtedly become one of the richest towns in the United States.
Lu's home is in a typical middle-class community. The house is very new, the style is unified, and the residential environment is clean and tidy. Most of the community residents are new immigrant families.
Lu also specially took me to see another apartment he rented in a small town. This newly developed three-story apartment is compact and suitable for low-income people or single residents who work here for a short time. According to domestic standards, these low-density apartments surrounded by forests and abundant parking spaces can be called "foreign houses".
Jiali apartment community (Shudong/map)
With a strong industrial base and abundant employment opportunities, this town is undoubtedly attractive to new immigrants-this is also the basis for the prosperity of all small towns in the United States. However, it is not enough just to have the opportunity to make money. American elites pay more attention to education and quality of life than we do.
Kerry is similar to Shenzhen to some extent. It can be said that it is a brand-new city dominated by immigrants and well-educated elite families, but the difference is that Kerry has more supporting resources such as education and medical care.
Compulsory education in the United States is from kindergarten to grade 12 (K- 12). Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) is the largest public school district in North Carolina, located in Kerry.
Wake County has a total population of * * * 165438+ 10,000, and there are more than 90 primary and secondary schools under the jurisdiction of WCPSS, including 27 high schools, 33 middle schools, primary schools 104 and 8 junior colleges. In addition, there are 9 charter schools and 3 1 private schools in the county (both K- 12).
Such rich educational resources are enough to shame many cities in China.
This town is also unambiguous in terms of quality of life.
CaryTowneCenter is one of the main commercial centers in Kerry, with a commercial building area of * * * more than 90,000 square meters, local second floor, more than 4,800 parking spaces, and more than 100 merchants, only JCPenny, Belk and Dillard department stores have them. It has been more than 40 years since 1979 opened.
On the other hand, in small towns in China, if the population did not reach more than 500,000, probably no business would dare to open such a large-scale shopping mall.
CaryTowneCenter is not the only shopping center in town. I searched the shopping center near Lujia on Google Maps. There are at least a dozen shopping centers within a 20-minute drive! Among them, there are four or five in Kerry Town.
Lu's favorite shopping center is SouthPointMall in Durham, which is less than 20 minutes' drive. This shopping center is bigger, with a total area of 1.2 million square meters and more than 6,400 parking spaces.
Only by visiting the shopping malls in small towns in the United States can we appreciate the development of American business culture, and American business life has penetrated into every remote corner of the United States.
At the same time, I also think that small towns in the United States are actually cities, and there is no substantial difference in quality of life between them and central cities. On the contrary, the neighborhood here is closer, and you can enjoy more sunshine and green.
Twenty or thirty years ago, the biggest cost of living in small towns in America was probably commuting to work. Now that there is an industrial park model, even this only short board has been made up.
In recent years, Kerry has been a star town in the United States. Because the United States is called a small town or a big city, it is called a "city". Kerry won the honor of being the safest city in the United States and the most popular city for professionals. In 20 16 years, it was even rated as the first of the top ten prosperous cities in the United States.
In Nandian Shopping Mall, there are very few customers on weekdays. (Shu Dong/map)
I visited two or three shopping centers in Kerry Town and nearby. While sighing about the quality life of American townspeople, I felt a sweat for the operators of shopping centers.
Shopping centers in big cities like new york and Chicago can do it. In smaller cities, especially small towns like Kerry, the crowds in shopping centers can be described as "empty" on weekdays-this was the case before the epidemic. As a China person, how can a store survive with so few people?
Then carefully observe the waiter's expression, they are very calm; Commodity prices are innocent, maintaining an almost completely coordinated price system in the United States. Everything is so natural and peaceful.
Kerry's government website shows that a new shopping center will be opened in the town in 2022!
From the name point of view, LakeJohnsonPark should be regarded as Kerry's official city park. After dinner, the Lu classmates will take me for a walk here.
There is no habit of turning on the lights at night in domestic parks. The twilight sky blends with the endless and dark forest in the distance, just like the background in the depths of the stage. The lake has formed a wide stage, and the lights on the lake are like actors who are working hard. Pedestrians whispering in twos and threes completely melt into the light and shadow of nature and become spectators.
If you don't look at the mobile phone map, it is difficult for a foreigner to accurately judge what a park is in a small town like Kerry. According to my standards, the whole town is a big park; From the perspective of pedestrians, this town can only see trees and the sky most of the time.
An environment like Kerry is perfect for a warm-up run a few miles before a marathon. I didn't choose a regular park, but ran into the dense jungle.
There is a very famous running route-American Tobacco Route (ATT) in the depths of Kerry jungle. Decades ago, the tobacco industry and trade in Kerry and its surrounding areas were relatively developed. ATT used to be a railway, belonging to a famous American tobacco company, specializing in transporting tobacco.
In the1970s, most railways were demolished due to the construction of the Jordan Reservoir. But it was in the 1980 s that the use of this abandoned railway line was seriously considered at the planning level. 1992 was not completed until the formal ATT master plan was formulated. Since then, the trail has been built step by step. In fact, some sections were not put into use until 20 14.
Governments at all levels in the United States are not so rich and the decision-making process is very complicated. The efficiency of urban construction is really low. If RTP hadn't developed better and better in recent years, the population had increased rapidly, and the tax revenue had also increased rapidly, this running path would probably remain on the drawing.
Atwick County Road Section (East Sichuan/Map)
The first impression of coming to the scene is typical North American style, simple and simple. ATT is more than 20 miles (about 40 kilometers) long, passing through Durham County, Chatham County and Wake County. As ATT is almost built on the original railway line, its most striking feature is that it is long and straight.
Many sections through Durham and Chatham have been transformed into asphalt pavements. Only this section of the road in Wake County is still a traditional stone powder slag road, which is very comfortable to run and has excellent foot feeling, and can effectively protect the knees.
The concentration of negative ions in pure air is very high. You won't feel tired after a trip. On the contrary, the effect of "lung washing" is very obvious. Extremely quiet environment, only accompanied by the rustling of running shoes and the friction of the road; Occasionally, I will meet children who train with the coach, and they will cheer me on enthusiastically.
ATT has many entrances and parking is convenient. There is an entrance, which is only a few minutes' drive from Lujia. It is also easy for him to pick up the car and deliver the goods.
I just ran a few miles experimentally. It stands to reason that if you don't run more than 20 kilometers at a time, you will be sorry for such an environment. Unfortunately, I will run all the horses in two days, so I have to "reluctantly give up what I love".
During running, I caught a glimpse of one or two old houses standing alone in the roadside jungle, which seemed to be "swallowed up" by nature at any time, which seemed a bit strange.
Signs on the roadside dispelled my doubts. It turns out that these old houses used to be tobacco warehouses along the railway. Illustrated with pictures and texts, the explanation card gives an emotional review of the contribution of the tobacco industry in the past 300 years-supporting the lives of thousands of families for generations and supporting the construction of cities, hospitals and universities. These tobacco warehouses used to have nearly 500 thousand in the United States. They carry historical memories, but they don't leave much. Finally, I call on every passerby to pay attention to this point and make efforts to protect this history.
Old tobacco warehouse next to the path (eastern Sichuan/map)
I stayed at my classmate Lu's house for three days. I haven't seen this good friend for years. I will look at him silently during the chat, hoping to observe his current living condition from his face. It is a face full of heart, quiet and firm belief. He seems to be completely integrated into Kerry's natural and indifferent environment, and he can't see any worries and pressures about life.
Lu usually pays great attention to exercise and fitness. According to domestic standards, his figure belongs to a young man in his twenties who is active in the gym. He is a typical muscular man.
Not impetuous, sincere and true, which is also manifested in Mrs. Lu. During Kerry's stay, the couple took turns to be my driver.
In a chat, Lu suggested that I could consider moving to Kerry for a long time after retirement. His suggestion is hard to say, but it is well founded. Kerry is an open town dominated by new immigrants, and it is quite tolerant of new immigrants. Today, there are about 30,000 China people living here, accounting for more than 20% of the total population. No wonder I wander around the town, run and feel kind everywhere. In recent years, Kerry's China Lantern Festival has become a business card, attracting tens of thousands of tourists every year.
On the other hand, Kerry's high-quality population structure is also famous in the United States. In 20 16, it was counted as the city with the highest proportion of doctors in the United States; According to the 20 17 American community survey, 65% of adults in Kerry have a college degree, which is the highest in any developed city.
Demographic structure in turn determines the lifestyle of the city. It is not surprising that such a high-quality population, coupled with Chinese, is rich in educational resources.
Unlike China, a small town born out of a traditional agricultural society, the residents of small towns in the United States are mostly gathered together because of the working relationship of enterprises. Although the residents of these towns are not related to each other by blood, because everyone's family life is closely related to local industries and enterprises, the neighborhood relationship is more intimate and interdependent.
According to the statistics of the town government, even in 2020, when the epidemic was raging, the property tax and sales tax of the Kerry government increased compared with 20 19. This shows that the local economic development is still strong, and residents' willingness to invest and consume is still sufficient.
Therefore, when I heard Lu's suggestion, I was a little moved.
Shu Dong