First Impression: 
When you go around Beijing, you would find it to be a city filled with energy and youth. The people are friendly and can be seen talking with total strangers without hesitation. In fact at times you would find them trying to talk with you in Chinese even after they hear you talking in English or some other language. China looks very different after you visit it. The old impressions get washed off in minutes and you get a fresh air of a country busy doing business and implementing technology to create an advanced nation.
When you go around Beijing, you would find it to be a city filled with energy and youth. The people are friendly and can be seen talking with total strangers without hesitation. In fact at times you would find them trying to talk with you in Chinese even after they hear you talking in English or some other language. China looks very different after you visit it. The old impressions get washed off in minutes and you get a fresh air of a country busy doing business and implementing technology to create an advanced nation. 
Proof: In spite of the critics, the fact is that China has arrived at the world scene and the streets of its cities and the energy of its people are a living proof. Ground Level Details for a Visitor to China: If you travel by road in a taxi, you would find that the drivers are not intrusive in general. The taxis are well equipped with gadgets and a fair price can in general be expected. The only care that you must take is that you must have your destination address written for the driver in Chinese. However, a word of caution,....when you are moving towards exit at Beijing airport, do not get tempted if someone approaches you speaking in English with a promise to arrange a taxi for you with an English speaking driver. Follow the crowd to the exit where you would find taxis waiting for passengers and there would be policemen guiding you if so required. If you do not follow this caution, you may end up paying THREE times the regular fare for a taxi. Never negotiate the taxi fare - you do not need to do so in China. It is well regulated by law and enforced. Always follow what the meter displays and you would be provided with a printed copy of your bill. Each taxi has the driver details right there in the taxi and the per kilometer fare is printed on the door itself (outer surface). The meter would start with an initial minimum fare amount like 10 RMB. Your per kilometer fare after the minimum amount could be around 2 RMB depending on where you are and when. These numbers refer to the year 2010 in Beijing. None of my taxi drivers understood a word in English and still I found them to be considerate and helpful. At times they would call up destination phone number to obtain guidance, say, from my hotel reception while I could comfortably wait feeling assured that the driver would take care.
How Modern China Thinks: To get a feel, visualise the following conversation that a visitor has with a Chinese after hearing about Ming and Qing dynasties:
Foreign Visitor: These emperors sound to be great people who ruled here, what happened to them, I mean are there any descendants around?
Chinese: May be.
Foreign Visitor: So what has happened to them?
Chinese: They have become common people like me.
Foreign Visitor: Are they still rich?
Chinese: That depends on them. If they work hard and do something special and get a good job, they might be rich. It just depends on them!
Wow, I guess this conversation tells a lot about what the founders of Modern China have achieved....!
