For some reason, the musical road reminds me of the advertisements you'll find in Beijing's subway system -- the ones that are displayed between stations, when the train's in motion. By the way, how does that actually work? Is it simply one long continuous LCD screen? Well... the answer, as provided by the Beijinger's trusty IT manager, lies in technology called subway zoetropes.
Tech Check: Weird New Technology Makes Beijing Road Literally Sing Patriotic Anthem
If you're planning a road trip to Qianlingshan Park, don't bother making a playlist or even opening your iTunes. The soundtrack for your drive can instead be provided by a nearby lonely stretch of highway that literally sings after being outfitted with new technology.
This abandoned 300-meter-long section of the road is lined with numerous slots, each a few centimeters apart. As cars drive by and their tires provide friction, the slots emit a melody.
And just what song was selected for these drivers? No, not Tom Cochrane's "Life Is a Highway," or Gordon Lightfoot's "Carefree Highway," but instead the patriotic anthem of "Ode to the Motherland," which is played for about half a minute for drivers maintaining speeds of 35-40km per hour on this road.
Turns out AC/DC's "Highway to Hell," might have been more appropriate, considering the circumstances that lead locals to install this system in the road. An ECNS news report mentions how the road was initially a primary route for truck drivers transporting coal, and how it was abandoned after the local mine closed. "Some locals started building the musical road and connected it with Qianlingshan Park at the beginning of this year," the author notes, leaving one to hope that more visitors will be drawn by the musical gimmick and the park's scenery so that locals aren't left with completely bleak prospects now that the mine has shutdown.
Seeing as the Qianlingshan Park-adjacent road was abandoned, it's music emitting system was likely not put in place for safety reasons, unlike other similar song playing stretches of pavement like the one on America's Route 66 (pictured at top) which "not only entertains but uses 'rumble strips' to play music and prevent motorists from speeding or falling asleep at the wheel," according to a department of transportation rep interviewed by ABC News.
To that end, we can only hope that more singing avenues and highways open in and around Beijing to cut down on the city's infamous road rage.
More stories by this author here.
Email: kylemullin@thebeijinger.com
Twitter: @MulKyle
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