In a recent trip to Shanghai, China, for Shell Lubricants’ annual global media event, we were treated to a visit to a Chinese truck stop outside of town.
And as you can guess, it was a good bit different than your average American stop.
For starters, this truck stop — deemed a tiny one — had parking spaces for about 400 trucks. According to our tour guides, it’s not uncommon for a Chinese truck stop to hold upwards of 10,000 trucks.
And of shocking absence? Fuel islands. I’m not sure if this was out of the ordinary or if Chinese truckers just fuel their rigs elsewhere, but it was quite a departure from norm in the U.S., where fuel islands basically anchor most truck stops.
Here is a brief photo essay of our visit to the truck stop:
