The National Centre for Performing Arts or The Egg.

China may soon be the next superpower with its economic weight and as a tourist in China, you might feel that people are free, being able to own things and work as they want. But I tend to judge a country's level of freedom by the way they treat the press. China is still afraid of journalists. We came to do a simple cultural programme, featuring a famous piano player Youndi Yi. But we weren't able to bring in our own equipment because the Chinese put a high temporary import tax on cameras. So we had to rent gear in China. You also have to work with a local production company or have someone from the government accompany you everywhere you go. So, not exactly a press-friendly place.

Despite the lack of freedom, China is a wonderful place. Beijing is a big modern city with clean streets and dazzling lights. The people are friendly and the whole thing makes you want to go out and learn Chinese!


Maybe one fact leading to China's economic success was its one-child rule to reduce its population. Established in 1979 by Deng Xiaoping, the law was meant to be temporary, but is still in place a quarter of a century later. The law has maybe had its economic effect but does have secondary social effects. The Chinese prefer to have a boy and there have been many cases of ending a pregnancy if it is a girl. Now there are many young men left without hope of finding a bride and many young women enjoying a good education, social mobility and a large choice of future mates.