For those who may not have seen it, I posted the following at Caribbean Free Photo this past Friday. In St. Kitts I also happened to run into one of the developers of the project, whose understanding was that some of the Chinese construction workers are petty convicts:

This rather quaint archway marks the entrance to the construction site for Grenada’s new National Stadium in Queen’s Park, which is being built with funding, expertise and manpower provided by the People’s Republic of China. With 500-plus construction workers from China living and working on the site, the area has virtually been transformed into a Chinese village, complete with garden.

The Grenadian and Chinese flags, billowing in the wind above the National Stadium construction site

One thing that struck me on my visit there earlier this week was the fact that while all of the Chinese workers wore hard hats, soft canvas shoes seemed to be acceptable as worksite footwear. When I made the observation to the Grenadian project manager, he replied that “that’s their culture.” According to the project manager, the Chinese workers take daily post-lunch siestas and don’t drink cold water. “Only hot water and tea,” he said, which would explain the ubiquitous khaki-coloured canteens.

Chinese construction workers in Grenada