China - the End of an Era.

The article presents information on the conditions prevailing in China. In fact, winging toward China these days, one has the feeling of approaching a nuclear reactor that is operating over capacity and approaching meltdown. Indeed, flying over Beijing or Shanghai, all that one can usually see is an ominous penumbra of smog emanating from the industrial boom that has gripped this mutant People's Republic since 1992. For anyone who knew time-warped China before its bizarre post-Mao metamorphosis began, the country today is an endless series of jolting surprises. Streets are clogged with traffic. There is construction everywhere, indoor malls with glittering new department stores surge with customers for whom shopping is rapidly becoming the recreational pastime of choice.