China as it is known today did not begin until about thirty years ago. Then it was a tightly controlled society, with every pedestrian on the street wearing grey or green Maoist uniform: variety simply did not exist.

The government, led by Deng Xiaoping, decided to open up the country in order to save its economy which has already been in ruins for many years. The opening-up was to proceed on a step-by-step and controlled basis, for on one hand social unrest that can arise from the changes are easier to handle, on the other hand stability of development is easier to ensure. The result is the so-called "socialism with Chinese characteristics", and as anyone can witness, the gaps between big economic centres of China such as Shanghai and global centres like New York City are closing with unimaginable speed.

As consumerism, individualism and entrepreneur spirit take root in China the country can never go back to the past days of uniformity: this is a road of no return. At the same time it has prevented itself to be a mere follower of the West. As China grows even more powerful one would expect to see even greater creativity that was never seen in the West.

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