During the Olympics, China showed the world that it can throw a heck
of a coming out party. But traveling here afterward, one sees the many
complexities and challenges facing this vast and ancient land.
Especially in the rural areas--where most people still live--the
impressive economic rise of China has penetrated only superficially.
True, the Communist Party, which still runs nearly everything, brought
electricity and other development here in the early 1980s. But while
some appliances like television and telephones are increasingly common,
indoor plumbing, electric ovens and… more