Hong Kong, thanks to the British influence, is more like Taiwan in its economic patterns, but democracy as we understand it, and as the Taiwanese are alse well along in understanding and practice, is not nearly as evident. Still , Hong Kong has a good deal of autonomy, has its own coinage system, and its well-entrenched capitalistic economy seems to flourish relatively unchanged since the Communists took over at the end of the last century. Nevertheless, Beijing keeps close tabs on Hong Kong, and its heavy hand would undoubtedly be quickly felt if Hong Kong appeared to be drifting away from its control. Eastern China is where the largest number of the more than 1.2 billion Chinese people live, but while Beijing is the capital, Shnghai is a far more impressive and attractive city. Beijing boasts of having the Great Wall, its gorgeous gardens, and Tiananmen Square, but we found it to be as shabby and trashy as many sections of our own national capital.
Shanghai is where the action is, and the sky seems filled with construction cranes.
China must have more high rise and skyscraping buildings than any other country, and still they are building both for business and for residences. One simply has to experience the crowds in China to begin to grasp the implications of its vast population. If the 400 million bicycles are ever replaced by even one fourth that number of cars, China will perish in permanent gridlock. From Xian west, China is an amalgam of diverse cultures and nationalities. Two of the world's largest deserts, the Gobi and Taklaman, cover a large part of the west, limiting agriculture and ground transportation, and camels are still important beasts of burden.