Household Energy Transitions in Rural and Urban China

Aaron Xia interviews his father, Qiang Xia, about household energy usage while growing up in China in the 1970s and 80s. Xia reflects on the differences in transportation, household energy usage, and cooking that he noticed when moving from a village to a city. He also discusses the country's transition from coal to natural gas, along with changes in the economy and in energy usage resulting from China's Open Door Policy in 1978. Xia reflects on his move to the United States in 2002, comparing the countries' economic development. Xia also discusses improvements in the standard of living in China within the past twenty years.