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Ladybbird · 17-06-25, 10:06

Travelling Through China, It is Clear This Will Soon be The Most Powerful Nation in The World

The Middle Kingdom is on its way back to its former pre-eminence

Stephen Davies Telegraph 17 JUN 2025

In May I had the opportunity to spend a month travelling around China. Many things caught my attention while I was there.

In general, I came away with some strong and clear impressions, from what I observed, from interactions with people there and from things guides and others said.

The first is that the infrastructure that has been built in the last thirty years or less is simply amazing, not just impressive but jaw-dropping. Most spectacular is the network of high speed railway lines built since roughly 2005. Currently there are 30,000 miles of such lines, all built in the last twenty years. Since the system has largely been built from scratch, it features enormous brand-new stations the size of airport terminals. The trains, which run at 200 mph, are comfortable and clean and the ride is so smooth that the speed is almost unnoticeable.

It is not only trains. There is also a series of airports all over China, most as big as major international ones in Europe. Again, these are brand new. Alongside the railways is a dense network of both long-distance motorways and modernised provincial and local roads. There are 114,000 miles of expressways with the rest of the national highway system amounting to 1.3 million miles. As with the rail system, this is being constantly extended.

The other aspect of infrastructure that anyone visiting China notices is the urban development. China has seen a dramatic process of urban development in the last two decades, with new cities springing up everywhere and older ones adding millions of new housing units. This takes a distinctive form, which is high rise and high density. Chinese cities and towns have grown upwards as much as outwards. Cities feature forests of high rise towers, typically of thirty to forty floors.

The other feature of Chinese urban development is how green the cities are. There are trees and green spaces everywhere with most of the trees clearly planted in the last thirty years. The expressways and major roads have ivy growing up the sides of supporting pillars and boxes of flowers and plants along their lengths, all maintained. This pattern is far less car centric than its American equivalent and although there are many cars, they are not at present the primary means of transportation. That is the electric scooter with swarms of them zooming around all of the streets, supplemented by both public transport and walking.

Another difference between Chinese cities and many Western ones is their orderliness. There are no homeless people or beggars and although the cities are lively and dynamic you do not see or find anti-social behaviour. Public spaces are spotlessly clean, partly because of a veritable army of street cleaners (most of them older people) but also because littering simply does not happen.

The darker side of the orderliness is the degree of control. There are security checks at all transport terminals and most major historical sites or public buildings. Visiting many places requires photo identification, passports for foreigners, ID cards for locals. There is an important qualification to this though: while the security checks and ID system are uniform and national, the well known social credit system is not it varies considerably from one province or locality to another.

This reflects one of the most surprising observations I made, the persistence and even reassertion of older Chinese ways of thinking and living. Although the cities and infrastructure are impressive, the striking feature is the prosperity and success of the countryside. Across most of China, rural towns and villages have new, modern housing, often funded by private savings. Alongside the network of major roads is a dense system of smaller paved roads and paths that connect the countryside to the national system. This is coupled with both near complete electrification and internet provision. The pattern of agriculture is very traditional and strikingly different from the Western model. The rural landscape is one of very small fields, more like allotments.

What is practised is traditional Chinese intensive permaculture with regular rotation of crops and mixed farming, a pattern of agriculture that is very efficient in terms of yields but which does not rely on high energy inputs. It is however still very labour intensive but this is changing with urbanisation. However, there are still very strong connections between countryside and city, with many who have moved to the city retaining a connection with and responsibility contract for portions of rural land, which they still farm. The farming is very intensive ? not a square inch of land suitable for farming is left idle no matter where it is.

Agriculture is only one of many ways in which old China persists and re emerges. Traditional ideas, such as the polarity of Yin and Yang are as strong as ever. Among the young there is a clear revival of traditional religious belief and observance, notably of Buddhism, but also of Taoism and Confucianism. Buddhist temples are crowded with young people, particularly women, who come not as tourists but to pray.

In fact, the impression gained is that the ideological basis of the state is slowly but steadily shifting, to a hybrid one that owes as much to the historic traditions of Confucianism and Legalism as modern thought. The cult of Mao, while officially as strong as ever, is slowly fading not so much because of ideological repudiation as the simple passage of time. Mao is becoming simply another major historical figure, similar in many ways to his own role model, the First Emperor Ch'in Shi Huang Ti. The current system still has strong legitimacy but the Cultural Revolution is regretted.

Another revered figure is Sun Yat Sen, the founder of the Republic in the 1920s. Uniquely, he is venerated on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and the actual policy of the state owes as much to his Three Principles as socialism

There is a widespread popular interest in the historical past of China, and veneration of much of the history. One amusing aspect of this is younger people, particularly women, visiting historical sites while wearing historical period costume. This varies by region in Beijing it is mainly Manchu court dress from the Qing dynasty, in Xi An Tang era dress, while in the Yangtze Delta cities it is Song costumes. The past is not accepted uncritically but is generally admired and respected. Past figures who are widely admired are Ch'in Shi Huang Ti, the Hongwu and Yongle emperors from the Ming dynasty and Empress Wu and the Taizong emperor from the Tang.

Generally, the Han, Tang, and Ming dynasties are admired, the Song and Qing less so. The common theme is that the figures and dynasties that are respected are ones seen as having promoted Chinese prosperity and power along with openness to the rest of the world, while the deprecated ones are those associated with Chinese weakness relative to the rest of the world and cultural decay. This all reflects another old idea that is reviving, that the crucial thing for state success is not so much institutions or policy but the quality of leadership.

This is a very dynamic and innovative society that is also intensely competitive at an individual and familial level. It is highly futuristic and forward looking but also connected to its past, which is venerated in various ways. It has an authoritarian but effective and competent government. How long all this will survive is another matter but right now China is an advert for the idea of state capacity.

There is a strong cultural commitment to ideals of education and self improvement, often very materialistic. One form this takes at a personal level is commitment to physical fitness and health, with public exercise classes being a major feature of urban life. This is coupled with a powerful work ethic.

All of this faces challenges. It is not clear how long the ethical collectivism and work ethic will survive the impact of modern cellular communications and social media. There is concern, getting close to panic in official circles, about the below replacement birth rate but, as elsewhere, there is no sign that the pronatalist policies of the state are having any effect. The ageing population poses a massive challenge going forward but the current acute problem, as everywhere in the world, is housing costs in major cities Shanghai has costs comparable to major metros in North America or Europe.

For now, China is, on all of the evidence, a dynamic society with a functioning and effective state and economy that is comfortable with its past and its identity. There is a strong commitment to engagement with and openness to the rest of the world and a desire to see China recover the kind of position it had under the Tang, as the leading world civilisation.

We are only starting to see the impact this model will have on the rest of the world. For a long time, China saw itself as the central or middle kingdom of the world and the rest of the world regarded it as the most powerful and most civilised state this only changed after the 1770s.

We are almost certainly going to revert to that.

China Railways Map

China Road Network and Airports

17-06-25, 10:06	#1
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 50,278 Thanks: 28,726 Thanked 14,428 Times in 10,234 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	Its Clear China Will Soon be The Most Powerful Nation in The World Travelling Through China, It is Clear This Will Soon be The Most Powerful Nation in The World *The Middle Kingdom is on its way back to its former pre-eminence* Stephen Davies Telegraph 17 JUN 2025 In May I had the opportunity to spend a month travelling around China. Many things caught my attention while I was there. *In general, I came away with some strong and clear impressions, from what I observed, from interactions with people there and from things guides and others said.* The first is that the infrastructure that has been built in the last thirty years or less is simply amazing, not just impressive but jaw-dropping. Most spectacular is the network of high speed railway lines built since roughly 2005. Currently there are 30,000 miles of such lines, all built in the last twenty years. Since the system has largely been built from scratch, it features enormous brand-new stations the size of airport terminals. The trains, which run at 200 mph, are comfortable and clean and the ride is so smooth that the speed is almost unnoticeable. It is not only trains. There is also a series of airports all over China, most as big as major international ones in Europe. Again, these are brand new. Alongside the railways is a dense network of both long-distance motorways and modernised provincial and local roads. There are 114,000 miles of expressways with the rest of the national highway system amounting to 1.3 million miles. As with the rail system, this is being constantly extended. The other aspect of infrastructure that anyone visiting China notices is the urban development. China has seen a dramatic process of urban development in the last two decades, with new cities springing up everywhere and older ones adding millions of new housing units. This takes a distinctive form, which is high rise and high density. Chinese cities and towns have grown upwards as much as outwards. Cities feature forests of high rise towers, typically of thirty to forty floors. The other feature of Chinese urban development is how green the cities are. There are trees and green spaces everywhere with most of the trees clearly planted in the last thirty years. The expressways and major roads have ivy growing up the sides of supporting pillars and boxes of flowers and plants along their lengths, all maintained. This pattern is far less car centric than its American equivalent and although there are many cars, they are not at present the primary means of transportation. That is the electric scooter with swarms of them zooming around all of the streets, supplemented by both public transport and walking. Another difference between Chinese cities and many Western ones is their orderliness. There are no homeless people or beggars and although the cities are lively and dynamic you do not see or find anti-social behaviour. Public spaces are spotlessly clean, partly because of a veritable army of street cleaners (most of them older people) but also because littering simply does not happen. The darker side of the orderliness is the degree of control. There are security checks at all transport terminals and most major historical sites or public buildings. Visiting many places requires photo identification, passports for foreigners, ID cards for locals. There is an important qualification to this though: while the security checks and ID system are uniform and national, the well known social credit system is not it varies considerably from one province or locality to another. This reflects one of the most surprising observations I made, the persistence and even reassertion of older Chinese ways of thinking and living. Although the cities and infrastructure are impressive, the striking feature is the prosperity and success of the countryside. Across most of China, rural towns and villages have new, modern housing, often funded by private savings. Alongside the network of major roads is a dense system of smaller paved roads and paths that connect the countryside to the national system. This is coupled with both near complete electrification and internet provision. The pattern of agriculture is very traditional and strikingly different from the Western model. The rural landscape is one of very small fields, more like allotments. What is practised is traditional Chinese intensive permaculture with regular rotation of crops and mixed farming, a pattern of agriculture that is very efficient in terms of yields but which does not rely on high energy inputs. It is however still very labour intensive but this is changing with urbanisation. However, there are still very strong connections between countryside and city, with many who have moved to the city retaining a connection with and responsibility contract for portions of rural land, which they still farm. The farming is very intensive ? not a square inch of land suitable for farming is left idle no matter where it is. Agriculture is only one of many ways in which old China persists and re emerges. Traditional ideas, such as the polarity of Yin and Yang are as strong as ever. Among the young there is a clear revival of traditional religious belief and observance, notably of Buddhism, but also of Taoism and Confucianism. Buddhist temples are crowded with young people, particularly women, who come not as tourists but to pray. In fact, the impression gained is that the ideological basis of the state is slowly but steadily shifting, to a hybrid one that owes as much to the historic traditions of Confucianism and Legalism as modern thought. The cult of Mao, while officially as strong as ever, is slowly fading not so much because of ideological repudiation as the simple passage of time. Mao is becoming simply another major historical figure, similar in many ways to his own role model, the First Emperor Ch'in Shi Huang Ti. The current system still has strong legitimacy but the Cultural Revolution is regretted. Another revered figure is Sun Yat Sen, the founder of the Republic in the 1920s. Uniquely, he is venerated on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and the actual policy of the state owes as much to his Three Principles as socialism There is a widespread popular interest in the historical past of China, and veneration of much of the history. One amusing aspect of this is younger people, particularly women, visiting historical sites while wearing historical period costume. This varies by region in Beijing it is mainly Manchu court dress from the Qing dynasty, in Xi An Tang era dress, while in the Yangtze Delta cities it is Song costumes. The past is not accepted uncritically but is generally admired and respected. Past figures who are widely admired are Ch'in Shi Huang Ti, the Hongwu and Yongle emperors from the Ming dynasty and Empress Wu and the Taizong emperor from the Tang. Generally, the Han, Tang, and Ming dynasties are admired, the Song and Qing less so. The common theme is that the figures and dynasties that are respected are ones seen as having promoted Chinese prosperity and power along with openness to the rest of the world, while the deprecated ones are those associated with Chinese weakness relative to the rest of the world and cultural decay. This all reflects another old idea that is reviving, that the crucial thing for state success is not so much institutions or policy but the quality of leadership. This is a very dynamic and innovative society that is also intensely competitive at an individual and familial level. It is highly futuristic and forward looking but also connected to its past, which is venerated in various ways. It has an authoritarian but effective and competent government. How long all this will survive is another matter but right now China is an advert for the idea of state capacity. There is a strong cultural commitment to ideals of education and self improvement, often very materialistic. One form this takes at a personal level is commitment to physical fitness and health, with public exercise classes being a major feature of urban life. This is coupled with a powerful work ethic. All of this faces challenges. It is not clear how long the ethical collectivism and work ethic will survive the impact of modern cellular communications and social media. There is concern, getting close to panic in official circles, about the below replacement birth rate but, as elsewhere, there is no sign that the pronatalist policies of the state are having any effect. The ageing population poses a massive challenge going forward but the current acute problem, as everywhere in the world, is housing costs in major cities Shanghai has costs comparable to major metros in North America or Europe. For now, China is, on all of the evidence, a dynamic society with a functioning and effective state and economy that is comfortable with its past and its identity. There is a strong commitment to engagement with and openness to the rest of the world and a desire to see China recover the kind of position it had under the Tang, as the leading world civilisation. We are only starting to see the impact this model will have on the rest of the world. For a long time, China saw itself as the central or middle kingdom of the world and the rest of the world regarded it as the most powerful and most civilised state this only changed after the 1770s. *We are almost certainly going to revert to that.* China Railways Map China Road Network and Airports

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