Anyway re China, as Bill suggests almost Any Google will produce interesting results & be prepared to be stunned if they have lots of pics of Shanghai or Beijing (or almost *any* of the major cities across the country).

The massive shopping malls stocked with worldwide produce, the brand names one sees (incl Starbucks, Pizza Hut, KFC, Pepsi, Coke, Maccer Ds, Wong's Peking Duck :-) etc: etc:), the private enterprise 3-5 star hotels, the advertising on TV, the advertising hordings, the English names & words everywhere, the numbers & variety of cars in the past 10 years (absolutely staggering).

Bejing in little over 12 years went from a city of drab dress, lots of bicycles, few cars, wide empty boulevards, to a smog filled, grid-locked, scyscraper packed city, gaily dressed citizens, advertising everywhere, husstle & busstle, etc: etc:.

Beijing now has 6 massive major Ring roads, a subway system, a fully replaced international airport (the old one was a national disgrace 12 years ago - I could tell some barely believable stories about it).

I still find it hard to grasp how fast buildings & roads appear in China - iut truly staggers me and I always wondered how I could explain it to other people who hadn't seen it for themselves with their own eyes. Some of these buildings are spectacular.

12 years ago China had a dual currency system. The FEC (Foreign Exchange Certificate) and the Yuan (Remin B). We could only use FEC & locals paid a different (dirt cheap) price in Yuan - today that has all gone & we all pay the same prices - internal tourism in China is a staggering growth industry, the growing Chinese middle class are on the move & can now travel overseas quite freely - both Aust & NZ expect their biggest growth in tourists from any region will be toursist from China. Both Aust & NZ are having to warn the growing swarms of these tourists against the shysters and rip-off merchants who are beining to prey on them - most are not used to the crime we have in NZ & Aust (but I have to admit - us Aussies are all from crim stock & our police force has corruption so built into it that noone can eradicate it - the last police commisioner brough in esp from London's Scotland yard with the mission to break the cycle, in the end got sent away having failed.

Tourism to China is only just scratching the surface. Massive effort is being put into restoration & creation of tourist facilities. We have seen some wonderful locations, world heritage sites, that make visiting them a lifetime's treat.

Be prepared to be amazed when the Olympics get held here - many will wonder where this amazing place really is. (well it snuck in under the radar of perception, asnd at supersonic speed). China seems unstoppable at the moment.


Cheers

Doug