You say you want a revolution
Well you know
We all want to change the world
You tell me that it's evolution
Well you know
We all want to change the world...
But if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao
You ain't going to make it with anyone anyhow
Don't you know know it's gonna be alright
Beatles, Revolution, 1971

When the Beatles wrote this in 1971, one million Chinese packed the People’s Square of Shanghai (seven blocks west of where I write this) waving little red books of Mao’s rantings as China convulsed in the throes of the Cultural Revolution. My how times have changed! In one of life's exquisite ironies, our family now dines in a restaurant in Shanghai playing this Beatles song over the speakers. Across the street lies the Shanghai Exhibition Center, a building built in the 1950’s as a symbol of socialist solidarity between the Soviet Union (now defunct) and the People’s Republic of China (meaning that architecturally the building is total junk). But a few days ago this former symbol of the glorious revolution hosted a luxury auto show. Our restaurant this evening is part of a hotel complex in which the parking lot is full of BMW’s as part of a promotion of the BMW Asian Open – a tournament of that well known socialist sport – golf!

Does this mean that capitalism has triumphed in China at the expense of socialism? Hardly. The more time I spend in China the more I come to believe that China is not communist, China is not capitalist – China is China. Consider this history of upheavals in Shanghai and this part of China:
* 1842 - the Opium Wars in which the British made war on the weak Qing dynasty to force China to keep buying opium. A by-product of the treaty that ended that war was the establishment of concessions in Shanghai (essentially mini-countries) by the British, French and Americans in the 19th century
* 1850’s - the Taiping Rebellion and the Small Swords Society
* 1889 - the Boxer Rebellion quelled by the western forces
* 1911 - the Qing dynasty collapsed and Sun Yat-Sen established the Republic of China. Shanghai was ruled by the western powers and various warlords
* 1927 - the Kuomintang under Chiang Kai-shek took control from the warlords.
* 1937 - the Japanese took control of Shanghai except for the concessions (the Rape of Nanking took place 190 miles from here)
* 1941 - the Japanese took the American and British concessions too
* 1945 - the Japanese were defeated and the Nationalist Chinese took control again
* 1949 - the Communist Party took control of Shanghai
* 1966 to 1976 - Shanghai convulsed under the Cultural Revolution
* In 1989, the stirrings of a democracy movement in Shanghai and elsewhere were put down with the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing
* In the 1990’s, the government and foreign businesses began pouring capital investment into Shanghai that has totally transformed the city.

One could argue persuasively that this little corner of the world has seen more upheaval and turmoil over the last 160 years than any other corner of the world (although the Balkans and the Middle East may beg to differ). Throughout this history of turmoil, the people have adapted and survived. If you want to see practical, resourceful, can-do people, come to Shanghai. Although business is thriving, one must be wary of certain limitations. Business relationships prove critical since contract law is a morass and respect for intellectual property rights is non-existent. The same week that Troy was released into American theaters, you could pick-up a DVD of the movie on the streets of Shanghai for $1.25!

The people of Shanghai, however, have been tremendous. In Japan, I admire the elegance and beauty of its culture but I’m always made to feel like the skunk at the garden party. In China, I’m also always the barbarian outsider, but I am made to feel more welcome. People here are incredibly open and friendly, or at least very curious. Our first day here, we walked three miles down Shanghai’s main commercial boulevard from our apartment to the Huangpu River. We were repeatedly stopped by people eager to talk with us in English and find out where we from. One elderly gentleman stopped us and proceeded to show off his language skills by talking rapidly in a combination of English, French, German and Spanish.

Because of China’s “one child” policy, a family of four children (especially two boys and two girls) creates quite a stir. Sophie, in particular, has made quite an impact. Twice, young women have stopped her to exclaim how beautiful she is because of her porcelain skin and insist on taking a picture of themselves with Sophie.

Interestingly, even though the people of China have been the most proactive in starting conversations, unlike every single other country we have visited, no one has made a point of describing our U.S. President as a moron. Perhaps that is because they are polite - perhaps they have learned over the last 65 years not to discuss politics with strangers! Perhaps they have the smug satisfaction of knowing that, with China ascendant, neither of the two candidates will make much difference to them.