Background: For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight.
March 14th 2008Asia » China » Dali Dali at last, I’d been hearing so many things about this particular part of China that I was anxious to get here. There has been a debate amongst travellers as to which is the better, Dali or L ... [full story]
March 5th 2008Asia » China » Dali the first stage of our tour of china as a band.....
well, it has certainly been a very long time between blogs. what have i done with that time?
the answer is, not a lot, spot. i've been mostly ... [full story]
December 1st 2007Asia » China » Dali ...with a supermarket trolley (U2 1990)
'I'm not getting in that' Alan said, looking at the stuck together with sellotape mini-van, crammed full of smoking people, coughing non-smoking people, lugg ... 22 photos[full story]
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