Although I learned an incredible amount about Chinese cities and culture, there is much more to learn. China will be faced with many problems in the coming years and it will be interesting to see how they will be dealt with.
I’m specifically interested in how Shanghai and Beijing will deal with their growing pollution problems. Beijing especially. One of the days we were in Beijing, the air quality was worse than it was in New York City the day following the September 11th attacks. Although you could easily breath in the cities, there were times that the pollution was very noticeable.
If I could do the trip over again I would spend a greater amount of time in Pudong. It’s a growing and lively part of Shanghai that remained mostly unexplored while we were there.
Above everything else this trip greatly broadened my cultural horizons. I left China with a new sense of respect for other peoples way of life. The trip also made me even more grateful for the basic commodities we’re given as Americans; such net neutrality, (mostly) clean air, and clean drinking water. The trip has permanently changed my outlook on life. Anyone that is able to go to China should do so at least once in their life.