Introduction

Cloaked in exoticism down the ages, and with a history of over five millennia, China has long captured the international imagination. Rapid development over the past couple of decades has pushed the country into the spotlight; the recent Beijing 2008 Olympics and 2010 Shanghai Expo have further magnified China’s progress as a modern nation, and if statistics are to be believed, it will overtake the USA as number one world power within the next few years.

There is no country on earth that’s quite so interesting as China right now. This continent-nation of 1.5 billion people, buzzing mega-cities, stunning landscapes, and ancient history is, above all, a land of contrasts, and one that has to be seen to be believed.