Railway stations that are as appealing and efficient as Terminal 3 at Changi. Silent cities like Shanghai, where the hum of electric vehicles has largely replaced traffic noise. Fully articulated humanoid robots walking the streets, or smaller versions delivering food to your hotel room. Face recognition is used to open hotel room doors, and people smile at ATMs so they can withdraw cash.
In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy famously observed, “I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” Many first-time visitors to China have a similar reaction. And that reaction is by no means limited to Westerners.
For the first-time visitor, be it for business or pleasure, China is radically different from the images portrayed in the media. Readers are accustomed to coverage of high-tech clean cities, but it’s not until they are on the ground that the extent of this can be fully appreciated.
