Impressed by the flashing lights were you? It's a rotten shithole mate, and every Chinese person I know would get out if they could.
No. My comment was based on the fact that Beijing, Shenzen and Shanghai would easily outdo London, Paris and Amsterdam as modern cities...and the fact the chinese economy is a hell of a lot bigger than what I expected it to be.
I also made the effort to head out West to the Xinjiang province to see the OTHER side of China...Urumqi, Turfan, Kashgar, Yarkland, Hotan and then made my way back to Xian...so I had a good look at the other side of China, most tourist don't get to see before shaping my comments.
I have been in and out of Asia for well over 15 years..Singapore, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Bangkok....all are making big strides forward as the center of economy globally for the future....
And I realized why, there is some truth to the comments some experts have made that times are a-changing..and europe and the america's will no longer be THE super powers of the world...in times to come...Asia will...and they will be dictating politics in the future...global politics...
Which is why, if I did ever retire, I would choose Bangkok, Singapore or Shanghai as a place I would live in...ANYDAY, over paris, new york, london or any european city...