We have a few minutes before leaving this morning, so I thought I’d write about a few of our observations.

First, the level of service here, such as in the hotels, is quite something to experience. They have a lot of people in China, as you know, and it seems like they are determined to put them all to work at the luxury hotels. They employ people to open the door for you as you come in and out – one per door on a double door. They employ people to stand at the elevator to help you press the button to call the elevator, in case that is a challenge for you. They employ people at the top of the elevator to gesture in the general direction of the lobby. They even employ people in the washroom to show you to the stall, and turn on the water for you when they emerge (seems like they rely on you to do the flush yourself … or perhaps they check when you’re gone!). Sometimes this level of service is helpful, but most of the time it feels a bit annoying, and you just want a little space.

My second observation is that we have been amazed at the evolution of the form of government here into a midpoint between democracy/capitalism and autocracy/communism. The government seems to be a benign autocracy that looks favorably upon capitalist endeavors. The businessmen we spoke with last night seemed happy with the situation, and didn’t mind giving up a bit of personal liberty in exchange for a government that can plan long term and invest in the future. The growth of the economy here is extremely robust. You don’t see much poverty around, or beggars. The business environment is positive, with people generally able to do what they want, even if it means setting up their company in the Cayman Islands. They point out here that they graduate six million students each year from the university, which seems to be an emblem of their optimism about the future. Even with the serious financial crisis reverberating through the world today, the Chinese seem to be on a roll.

-- Donna