It is also possible these are being used literally. "on the one side of the car is a wall, on the other side is a red ford escort. The fact that "side" was used instead of "hand" makes me wonder if this is not correct. We would all need to see more context to know for sure.

It's the same thing as "on the one hand... on the other..." 就是一方面。。。甚麼甚麼。。。一方面。比如：這個東西很好，一方面很便宜，一方面很有用。

1. On the one hand/side, I can see why he is mad, but on the other side/hand, I can see why she was offended by his comment too. (You can also say "I could" instead of "I can" but Americans usually say "I can" in this case.) 2. On the one side/hand, I can see why he wants to move to China--it is a beautiful country and he can learn Chinese there through immersion there--but on the other side/hand, I can also see why his girlfriend is annoyed by his decision, especially since this means they will either have to take a break from their relationship or try to maintain a long distance one. 3. I don't know what to do. On the one side/hand, I could stay here and help my dad with the camp this year. On the other side/hand, I could go to Hawaii for the summer to visit friends.

I'm often correcting my students when they use "on the one side... on the other side" to state an opinion. What they say is understandable, but not natural. The reason they use a slightly odd phrase (to English ears) is that they've translated the phrase from their own language literally.

Perhaps Jim is correct. On the one side of the river there are large trees ... and on the other side I can see a row of houses.