Over the past decade, the number of vehicles in China has doubled every three years – from 5 million in 2000 to over 80 million in 2011. If this continues, China will have an extra 400 million cars by 2020. That’s four cars to every 10 people – the current level of Western Europe. These extra cars will need fuel, but the rate at which new oil fields are being discovered has been insufficient to meet demand since 1980. Preparing for an energy crisis, China is now the world’s largest producer of solar panels.
Solar Car inventor Chen Shengui, 54, from Jiangjiang explains his experience:
If streetlights can be powered by the sun, so can cars. I first drove my solar car in March 2008, and people gathered together to see, blocking the street. I drove past a two-kilometer queue of drivers at a gas station. They stopped me and said, ‘Please put your car on the market soon; we can’t afford the oil.’ This car is the first of its kind. It’s a witness to history. Solar cars are a revolution comparable with the steam engine or computers. Some people love gambling, some play cards. I don’t. This is what I like. Building my own car is meaningful. Every time I solved a problem, I improved myself.”

Exhibition: TRANSPORT – homemade vehicles from around the world
6 – 18 September 2011, Hong Miao Art Gallery, 50 Shitan Lane, 496 East Nanjing Lu.