Have you ever been to Beijing? I lived there for 6 months just 2 years ago and 'ultra modern' is not the phrase I would use to describe it. Internet access to a

Have you ever been to Beijing? I lived there for 6 months just 2 years ago and 'ultra modern' is not the phrase I would use to describe it. Internet access to any site not hosted on the mainland is unbearably slow (bad news for travelers), the subway has only one line and the cars are always crammed full, and many of the cars on the street are tin boxes with recycled bike pedals and tractor engines inside them. Granted, I was there before the Olympics, while they were still doing a lot of construction in the hope of impressing everyone. If you were there then, and got an ultra-modern impression, did you ever look off the tourist beaten path and see ultra modernity there? I'd be surprised.