While I lived in Vietnam, it was really interesting to see how the culture adjusted to the sudden influx of wealth (the country's economy was growing very quickly and like China, is experiencing a great cultural and technological shift) and how the government and the people were working really hard to modernize.

What was weird was, all of these changes were/are happening without some of the intervening stuff that the Western world went through, like the sexual revolution and the gradual movement toward equality between sexes, as well as the adjustment to mass media, going from radio to TV to the internet. Yeah, the major cities aren't as far behind, but in the sticks and even in the smaller cities, it's a big change, really fast.

Anyway, when I went to China it was pretty clear that it was going through the same thing, but x 1000. Much as I hate to say it as an Asian guy, but what stood out to me the most was that in both places, for things like their major cities (and their skylines-- everyone needs an iconic skyline these days) things tended to be more about first presenting the image of modernity and then trying to get the country up to speed.

Now, a military is not something that a nation can really skimp on, especially not if said nation intends to use it, which I think China is more than willing to do, especially after spending the greater part of the 20th century getting kicked around by major powers. Not to mention that China has a rich, war-filled history.

I'm a little surprised that China is still sourcing military stuff from Russia, but I guess I shouldn't be, even though there is a lot of resentment toward the Russians. Anyway, I hope that China's ambitions for expansion will be put in check without resorting to war, especially since some countries near and dear to my heart would be caught up in it.