Visiting The Dragon

Judy Sullivan and sister Hoskins are ending long trek on Great Wall.

Forget everything you thought you knew about China. Having visited there 20 years ago, almost to the day, the China of 2008 that I recently re-visited is far different from the China of 1988. From a purely "tourist's standpoint," the China of today stands squarely in the center of the intersection of market economy capitalism and communist ideology. They buy, sell, copy and market everything while still holding fast to the "Big Brother is watching you" communist form of government. That being said, it seems, at least currently, to be a well-blended atmosphere. While readily accepting the odd and even driving days (due to extreme pollution), and flooding of their homes for the Three Gorges Dam Project, they unabashedly sell "Rolex" watches and "Gucci" handbags on the streets.