Sparks sprayed a corner of the Ankai factory in Hefei, China's Anhui province. A man wearing a maroon mechanic's outfit used an electric sander to smooth a welded connection on the frame of a bus. The buzzing sound of his worked echoed throughout the building the size of a football field.

Only a handful of employees were still at the factory by the time Tempo arrived on the scene, around early evening. "Most have gone home," Ankai brand manager Pu Z