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I have been living and doing business in China for the better part of eight years. I arrived in the summer of 1991 as a "Foreign Expert in Business" after being recruited by the Province of Shaanxi. I was to teach at the Post and Telecom University in Xi'an, the ancient capital and home of the Terra-cotta soldiers along with the many tombs and temples from the Qing dynasty - from about 2000 years ago. As a Foreign Expert, I was allowed housing and a special Resident Visa with my very own "special Chinese passport". I was paid a high salary, by local standards, which amounted to the equivalent of US$ 100 per month, 25% of which was paid in actual hard currency the rest being a mix of local Renminbi (RMB) and Foreign Exchange Currency (FEC) the later of which is no longer used.  I remember being paid the first time and realizing that while in College I used to make more in tips on a good night at the steak house I worked at, but that was a different time and whole different place. I was now in China, the infamous Middle Kingdom, the land of the forbidden "Three T's" - Taiwan, Tibet and Tianamen Square. This was to be the start of my long and ongoing love/hate relationship with China. I have long since moved on from the University days of Xi'an and have married a local lady and we have set up a wholly owned Chinese Consulting company based in Beijing. I have never really left China since my first arrival and during this entire period, China and the Chinese people have never ceased to amaze me. To say China is changing, is an overused term and one that is equally guilty of being a vast understatement. Gone are the days, at least in the bigger cities, of Coca Cola being the only Western product available. I can remember the feeling I had seven years ago when I first noticed a package of M&M's (plain) on a shelf in a hotel. I immediately bought them, it seemed as if they were old friends, and I ate the entire pack, one M&M at a time. It must have taken me thirty minutes to finish them all. Now in China we have Budweiser, Pringles and even  Diet Coke. McDonalds and KFC can be seen opening new restaurants on almost every corner. And I am sure it is only a matter of time before 7-11 and Circle K are fighting for these same corners. Progress has come to China.

Youthful dance steps .

Gone also are the days of every person, whether it be in the Post Office, State Retail Store or even a small restaurant, uttering the words "meiyou". Meiyou (pronounced "mayo") roughly translated means - don't have, don't want or can't be bothered. Even when one spoke near perfect Chinese - a rare occurrence (at least for me) - to hear these simple two words mumbled in response to almost any question I asked, was enough to send even the most patient "old China hand" to the breaking point of exasperation. Needless to say the first words I learned in Chinese were meiyou. This mastery of meiyou was followed closely by another foreign favorite - "laowei", which is the actual word for foreigner.The word laowei literally means - old outsider, and is pronounced "loud" (without the d) and "why". This was a word used by almost every Chinese person within fifty yards of a foreigner, and after awhile it became almost as irritating as meiyou. If you were walking on the street or standing in a store and you heard this word, even without fully understanding the accompanying words of Chinese, and without trying to feel paranoid, you always knew they were talking about you. 

Well times have changed and the big cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou  and especially Shanghai are thriving developed world class cities. If a person, young or old, truly wants to experience another culture and become a part of one of the worlds fastest and strongest economies, then China is where you should go. With a little effort and patience, almost any "laowei" will be able to master enough of the language and understand enough of the culture to live fairly well. The crime rate is  low, the opportunities many and with the passing of each and every year, it has, and will, become easier to live in China. Yes there are problems, as with all countries, but there is also good money to be made with opportunities that no one should pass up. China will continue to evolve and change, and as she does, she will gain the confidence and economic power to set her own path for the future. China is too big to ignore as she has more than twenty percent of the entire human population residing within her borders. China will not go away as she has shown the world great determination and sacrifice for stability, and she has already weathered some storms that have set other countries adrift. 

For me, China is similar to the Internet as she has become a puzzling phenomena almost overnight, while at the same time, has commanded the attention of the entire world? I suppose I could further the comparison by saying, that China, like the Internet has the ability to pull me in deeper and deeper, because the more I learn, the more I want to understand. And after having spent so many years in China, I have come to the conclusion that China is something that no one person can ever fully understand or master, but the challenge to try, is always there, and shall remain so for quite some time. So I shall plod on in my quest to master this perplexing Chinese puzzle.