Qatar: Richest State in the World

No， America， Japan and Switzerland are not the richest countries in the world. The latest data indicates that Qatar， a desert country in Mid-East， is the richest. The per capita GDP of the petroleum producer in 2010 was 90，140 US dollar. And miraculously Qatar has just been awarded the right to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup， adding another dimension to the legendary kingdom.

Doha， the capital of Qatar， used to be a fishing town with arrays of adobe houses. Many residents risked their lives trying to gather pearls from the sea. Radical changes have taken place since the discovery of oil in Qatar.

We were invited to pay a visit to Doha recently. Our first view of the capital came as our plane slowly approached. The stars glimmered in the sky and Doha beamed in bright lights. After we touched down and took a ride through the city， we were amazed by the broad and clean streets and arrays of high-rises. For a while we felt as if we were in Manhattan or Hong Kong. We were surprised to see that car owners just leave their luxurious Benz or Rolls-Royce at road side without worrying about them being stolen. Some shop owners even do not shut down their shops at night. They just leave without locking the doors.

After learning more about the city， we found that Doha boasts very good security. The city basically has no poverty-stricken people and crime rate is extremely low. We can literarily compare Doha to Peach Blossom Stream in an ancient Chinese essay that describes a rural Shangri-La where people don’t lock their houses at night and don’t pick up things people leave behind them in streets.

Though the city has experienced exponential growth， Doha has a long history and maintains its old town where we experienced well-preserved Arabic charms. The most representative place is probably Souq Waqif (The Old Market). Inside the old market are clusters of 2-storied houses in traditional Arab architectural style. Hundreds of shops spread like a labyrinth crisscrossed by lanes. In the evening， the market looks and sounds western， for you see visitors sipping coffee and enjoying western pastry and chatting.

Qatar is a conservative country with well preserved ancient tradition. We visited farms where we were received by men in long white gowns. We visited a farm produce market where we see all the vendors were men. We rarely saw Qatar women anywhere. But women in Qatar are not cut off from the fashion world. They are mad about fashion too. We learned from a Chinese student from Tianjin who was studying in Doha that her female classmates wore world brand fashions. If they failed to find something in Qatar， they would fly to Dubai， only 40 minutes away. If Dubai fails to satisfy their needs， they go to Europe or America.

Qatar， a country of just above 10，000 square kilometers in size and with a population of 1.64 million， is the world’s number three oil exporter and number one natural gas exporter. No wonder it is fabulously rich!

Qatar Airline came into being in 1994 and its growth rate at 40% a year is one of the fastest in the world. The company has placed an order of over 200 jets with a total amount of 40 billion. Moreover， Doha International Airport， its hardware refurbished with an investment of more than one billion， is one of the best airports in the world.

In 2000 Australia spent 65 million US dollar staging the spectacular opening ceremony of Sidney Olympic Games. The host was proud of the luxuries. But Doha threw in 180 million US dollar for the opening ceremony of 2006 Doha Asian Games. The organizing committee also provided more than 10，000 athletes and 5，000 journalists with high-end apartments and free dinners. Journalists were offered free air tickets in first-class seats to attend a press conference. Qatar spent 2.8 billion US dollar for the Asian Games. But the country probably regarded the amount a drop in the sea!

Qatar people love sports so much that the country imports sports stars to win medals. International footballers such as Batistuta and Effenberg were employed to play in Qatar’s football clubs. In 2000， Qatar imported 8 weightlifters from Bulgaria and one of them grabbed a bronze medal in 2000 Sidney Olympic Games for his new motherland. It is calculated that they spent 100 million US dollars for the bronze. In 2003， a Kenyan-born runner grabbed a gold medal on behalf of Qatar at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics 17 days after he was nationalized.

Qatar is proud of Islamic Art Museum built on the sea three years ago. The $300-million museum boasts a collection of artifacts spanning about a millennium from the 7th century to 18th century. As a matter of fact， the museum houses the largest collection of Arabic artifacts in Middle East.

The test of wealth in Qatar is not luxury cars or villas. You can’t judge people by their cars or houses， for they all own big cars and big houses. In Qatar， you judge people’s wealth by trees they have in their gardens. The country does not have a river. Nor does it have wells. Freshwater is more expensive than oil. Only the richest families have rows of trees on their estates. Qatar people love jewelry. Local gold jewelry shops enjoy brisk business. Qatar people are big-hearted. They are enthusiastic donors to mosques and public undertakings. □