The Pace of Change

After a few weeks out of China, it’s always exciting to see what has changed, and how much.

When I previously spent a week in Xian, I came back to find all of the road between Sanlitun and the office had been dug up.  By the time I came back from England, they’d all been put back again.

In fact, an awful lot of change has happened in the run up to the leadership handover.  New kerbs, roads, and clampdowns.  It’s been rumoured that taxis were ordered to keep doors and windows locked in some parts of town to prevent drive-by-leafleting!

Still, in just four weeks, one new cycle shop has opened, two restaurants and a bar have closed down, three more have opened up and there’s at least three wine shops within walking distance that weren’t there before.

It certainly keeps me on my toes.  I must admit, I didn’t take a cut through on the way back from the airport last week for the simple reason that I couldn’t be sure what was previously a road wasn’t now a wall/restaurant/sky scraper…

It’s seldom dull.