A U.S. vlogger recently shared her insights on the American medical system, as well as her discoveries about China's healthcare system, which she gained through her interactions on the Chinese social media platform, RedNote.
Through RedNote, Chinese and American netizens engaged in unbiased discussions about life, welfare, education, and healthcare, revealing similarities and differences between the two countries and fostering a deeper understanding of each other's societies.
In her video, American vlogger Heather expressed her astonishment at discovering China's medical policies, which prompted her to delve deeper into the subject. She emphasized that a notable aspect of China's system is that the government bears the burden of medical expenses, rather than placing it on individual citizens.
Heather shared a personal experience that sparked her interest in comparing medical systems, in which she revealed a staggering hospital bill of 41, 000 US dollars that she once received after a 5-day stay without insurance. This prompted a private message from a Chinese netizen, who was curious about the astronomical cost and thought she was joking. This conversation marked the beginning of her exploration into the differences between the U.S. and Chinese medical systems.
"Somebody turned around and posted a photo of their bill for a nuclear magnetic resonance imaging. Here I had a friend pay 15,000 U.S. dollars out of pocket for that. Sitting there - 'Is the hospital made of gold or silver?' It is my favorite comment personally. 'I feel powerless after reading your experiences. Nothing like that is here in China. It's hard to believe that an MRI scan here only costs a little over 500 yuan (over 68 U.S. dollars) with an individual only needing to pay 54 yuan (about 7 U.S. dollars).' An ambulance will cost less than 10 U.S. dollars and they consider that expensive. Well, an ambulance here is at minimum 800 U.S. dollars. Their government pays for these kinds of medical things. They don't put the weight of those bills on their citizens. It's something I wish we had honestly. Whereas everything here is for-profit, even the nonprofit hospitals are for-profit. That bill I posted was for a non-profit hospital," she said.
Through her interactions, Heather discovered that many American netizens were surprised to learn that China's reality differs from the negative portrayal often presented in Western media.
"Everything I've been told my entire life has just been propaganda and horrible about China. Learning how much they actually value their education and that's why they push their children for better education because that is a forefront of their societal expectations - is good education. It's so mindblowingly polar opposite to here, where we gate-keep education behind high funds. I would much prefer health care that's affordable for all, food available for everybody, homes available for everybody, homes being at an affordable rate," she said.
American vlogger uncovers surprising truths about China's medical system
An innovative, China-developed intelligent caisson robot has played a crucial role in completing the main structure of the Changtai Yangtze River Bridge in east China's Jiangsu Province, with its key ability to see in muddy water allowing more real-time monitoring and flexible drilling.
This advanced technology has significantly shortened the time required to construct the underwater foundation work needed for this project, which is designed to become the world's largest span cable-stayed bridge.
Due to the bridge's unique construction requirements, traditional drilling methods were inadequate for meeting the load-bearing demands of the main tower. The bridge's foundation differs from conventional suspension bridges; its main tower caissons are located within the river.
Employing cylindrical caissons, each weighing 23,000 tons, more than three times the weight of the Eiffel Tower, and covering an area equivalent to 13 basketball courts, these underwater caissons represent the world's largest underwater foundation.
Measuring 5.9 meters in length and 3.6 meters in height, the intelligent caisson robot, designed as China's first of its kind, operates underwater like a small truck. This pioneering robot ensures stability in anchoring even the most enormous underwater caissons.
To achieve uniform soil extraction in underwater visualization so that the giant caisson can take root smoothly in the water, the engineering construction team spent two years developing this smart caisson robotics system.
"This robot has realized one of its biggest difference-making functions: its ability to see underwater. With sonar and high-definition cameras for deep and muddy water, it operates underwater with real-time visual monitoring and adjustment," said Yang Le, director of large equipment department under China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Bureau Group Co., Ltd., responsible for the project construction.
Once deployed, the operator can adjust the robot's position using built-in range-finders and monitoring devices to its best working status.
"The drill in front has two functions: crush and absorb. By rotating the drill, the soil of various kinds is crushed and carried away by pipelines. Above the drill head is an 18-mega-pascal high-pressure water jet, which can break through hard soil layers and extract debris before suction. We also have a 380-cubic-meter-per-hour suction pump to remove sediment at an operation rate of 200 cubic meters per hour," Yang said.
The robotic arm's 360-degree mobility ensures even sediment extraction, which is critical for stabilizing the 300-meter caissons.
The robot also revolutionized underwater sediment removal, addressing risks of uneven excavation and tilt in traditional open caisson construction using air suction machines, which were also labor-intensive.
"In the past, soil extraction during caisson construction relied on vertical conduits and air suction methods. We could only rely on our experience, and such traditional ways are prone to uneven excavation and tilt of caissons," said Yang.
With the help of intelligent caisson robots, the construction team completed excavating and sinking the main tower caissons for the bridge two months ahead of schedule, ensuring that the main tower is more stable and securely anchored.
"Previous regular mud suction equipment required six workers per shift to move 40 cubic meters of sediment hourly. This robot only takes one man to operate in the operation room to increase the mud suction amount to 200 cubic meters per hour. That is four to six times faster," Yang said.
The Changtai Yangtze River Bridge is expected to open to traffic this year, reducing travel time between Changzhou and Taizhou to just 20 minutes.
China-developed robot helps construct giant bridge in muddy water
China-developed robot helps construct giant bridge in muddy water
