--- title: Seven years from China | daily.dev description: David Heinemeier Hansson describes how dramatically China has changed since his last visit in 2019, racing in the World Endurance Championship. Returning to... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/seven-years-from-china-xgptie8he twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Seven years from China | daily.dev og:description: David Heinemeier Hansson describes how dramatically China has changed since his last visit in 2019, racing in the World Endurance Championship. Returning to... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/seven-years-from-china-xgptie8he og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/xGPTiE8he.png og:image:alt: Seven years from China og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Seven years from China **[David Heinemeier Hansson](https://daily.dev/sources/dhh)** · 8 min read · 3 upvotes · 1 comments ## Summary David Heinemeier Hansson describes how dramatically China has changed since his last visit in 2019, racing in the World Endurance Championship. Returning to Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and Beijing, he found gleaming cities, bullet trains, and clean air replacing the smog he remembered. He toured Xiaomi's nearly automated Beijing car factory, noting the company went from its first car in 2024 to over 40,000 deliveries a month, with 800,000 cars delivered in under three years. Its SU7 Ultra has over 1,500 hp and lapped the Nürburgring in 7:04 for $75,000. He notes the effort behind this pace comes at a cost, including the '9-9-6' work culture, and warns Europe and America risk falling behind, especially in AI, where he says every major company he visited had its own models, while asking what Europe has. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How fast does the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra lap the Nürburgring and what does it cost in China? The Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, a car with over 1,500 horsepower, lapped the Nürburgring in 7 minutes and 4 seconds and costs just $75,000 in China. Xiaomi went from launching its first car in 2024 to delivering over 40,000 cars per month, with more than 800,000 cars delivered in under three years. _Anyone weighing EV performance claims against price can follow Xiaomi coverage on daily.dev._ ### What is 9-9-6 work culture in China? 9-9-6 refers to a work schedule of 9am to 9pm, six days a week, commonly associated with intense Chinese tech and manufacturing companies. It reflects the sustained pace behind China's rapid industrial gains, though the arrangement carries a real human cost even as it has clearly driven extraordinary business results. _Developers comparing work culture across tech hubs can track these debates on daily.dev._ ## Community discussion Top comments from developers on daily.dev. **@randy** · 0 upvotes > One of the rare instances I am not sure what DHH is saying. Yes, China is moving quickly. That’s not a good thing for the West. China is not our friend… ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Xiaomi’s CEO admitted his SUV wasn’t cheap enough to beat Tesla. Then he launched one that is.](https://daily.dev/posts/xiaomi-s-ceo-admitted-his-suv-wasn-t-cheap-enough-to-beat-tesla-then-he-launched-one-that-is--w4obvgvl2) · The Next Web · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [BMW i7 facelift brings Gen6 cells from Rimac, 350\+ miles range, and drops Level 3 for cheaper Symbiotic Drive](https://daily.dev/posts/bmw-i7-facelift-brings-gen6-cells-from-rimac-350-miles-range-and-drops-level-3-for-cheaper-symbio-vkraustn9) · The Next Web · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [China’s Hesai will double production as lidar sensor industry shakes out](https://daily.dev/posts/china-s-hesai-will-double-production-as-lidar-sensor-industry-shakes-out-qx7xjdgve) · TechCrunch · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [BMW restructuring plan bets on AI and new models](https://daily.dev/posts/bmw-restructuring-plan-bets-on-ai-and-new-models-zd3kem6jw) · TechCentral · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#tech-news](https://daily.dev/tags/tech-news) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/seven-years-from-china-xgptie8he) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Seven years from China","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/seven-years-from-china-xgptie8he","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/seven-years-from-china-xgptie8he"},"datePublished":"2026-10-24T12:55:41.130Z","dateModified":"2026-10-24T12:56:08.404Z","description":"David Heinemeier Hansson describes how dramatically China has changed since his last visit in 2019, racing in the World Endurance Championship. 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Yes, China is moving quickly. That’s not a good thing for the West. China is not our friend…","datePublished":"2026-10-25T15:49:15.146Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/xGPTiE8he#c-513DNwHt6","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Randy","url":"https://daily.dev/randy","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--UjV4-KkB--/f_auto/v1708097210/avatars/avatar_HXYbbGcBO38Rfv7RrCBdA"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/seven-years-from-china-xgptie8he#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How fast does the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra lap the Nürburgring and what does it cost in China?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, a car with over 1,500 horsepower, lapped the Nürburgring in 7 minutes and 4 seconds and costs just $75,000 in China. Xiaomi went from launching its first car in 2024 to delivering over 40,000 cars per month, with more than 800,000 cars delivered in under three years. 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