As I sit in my hotel room in Guangzhou, I am amazed at the changes I have seen in China since we were here 6 years ago. Economic reform is everywhere, and just effective January 1st, motorcycles are no longer allowed in Guangzhou. Our guide said that it is due to safety issues since you might often see entire families of Mom, Dad and child all on one motorcycle weaving in and out of traffic.





When we were here in 2000, bicycles were everywhere in Bejing, but motorcycles were all you saw in southern China. Clearly economic reform had started in the South. I suppose motorcycles were rampant just last month too, but now after a few weeks grace period, those on motorcycles will be fined. You of course still see bicyles loaded with everything imaginable, as evidenced by this photo that Jeff took of a woman carrying propane tanks.

You can’t go anywhere in the big cities of China without seeing construction on almost every street it seems. Just last night we struggled to sleep as workers unloaded metal pipes right outside our hotel at 1 and 2 a.m. It didn't matter that people were trying to sleep; work needed to be done. The old is constantly being torn down for the new, and sadly, change is happening so fast that many adoptive families who have wanted to see places such as their child’s abandonment site have discovered that what may have been a small market where their child was abandoned is now the site of a gleaming new department store or apartment building.

What has surprised me the most, however, is the change in people’s willingness to discuss their government and politics. I have been both shocked and amazed at the stories our guides have been willing to share on this trip.



When we came 6 years ago to China, I queried our guide in Wuhan on her feelings about Chairman Mao. She told me what a great man he was and why she thought so. I wasn't sure at the time if she truly believed it or if it was the propaganda that she was allowed to spout while her true feelings remained guarded. When I asked about some of the negatives of Chairman Mao and the Cultural Revolution, she wasn’t really willing to offer up any opinions. It was as if I had pressed a remote control that raised a glass wall between us so I let the topic drop. Clearly I had crossed a boundary that made her very uncomfortable.

Continued...