A video of what looks like quartz breaking through the surface of a roadway is making the rounds on TikTok. I don’t get over there much, being suspicious of the Chinese social media platform over concerns of it spying on its users, as the Financial Times reports. OK, fine. Actually, I just don’t get the humor on there because I’m old. As it turns out, TikTok’s native country may be the origin of the ripped up, pock-marked road, and the shoddy construction that’s plagued China could be to blame.
The video in question is a months-old repost that traces back to the r/China subreddit, where Reddit users cite the “tofu-dreg projects” so common in the Eastern superpower. They go on to blame hasty road construction for the rock clusters breaking through the asphalt. Here is the video, per TikTok:
Ignore the creepy music and even creepier comments about “human ascension” and “frequency rising,” whatever the hell that means. The problem here, allegedly, is road construction was rushed and a proper foundation for the asphalt was not laid. This may have led to layers of soil eroding as a result of heavy rain or flooding, then leading to quartz or other hard rocks bursting through the asphalt. And crappy construction is a very real problem in China, according to NPR.
It is often linked to corruption or schedules that value quick completion over proper construction — or both. “Tofu-dregs” refers to a common phrase that describes hasty or poorly-made infrastructure projects including roads, bridges and schools. China has been developing at a fast rate, and its government officials have been accused of covering up unsafe projects. In 2008, many poorly-built schools collapsed following an earthquake in Sichuan province, and the New York Times reported on hush money paid to the parents of children who died in the crumbling buildings.
China’s rush to develop and expand construction has likewise garnered a bad reputation around the world, with some of its projects mired in allegations of corruption and shoddy work that falls apart, per the Wall Street Journal. That lack of quality construction doesn’t seem to be limited to its overseas projects, however, as Chinese roads in major cities and beyond develop large sink holes and are cracked clean through by crystal chunks.