Today, the way of life in China is not different at all from that anywhere else in the world due to Western influence. You can see in China today modern apartment complexes and towering high-rise buildings as well as modern style homes. Clothing in China is very similar to that of the Western culture now.

However, tradition still lingers in all Chinese households and societies all over the world. In older neighborhoods, rural mud and straw houses can still be seen, and in rural areas the traditional ways of life is still very alive. And although the way of life now is much modernized, traditional values of family importance and reputation is still felt by all families.

Today, the Chinese live in smaller family units, usually only with parents and children, and sometimes grandparents. Almost all adults have a job, male or female. In many families, grandparents look after the house and children during the day, and more and more children attend nursery schools and kindergartens so that mothers can be free to work.

Today, girls as well as boys are valued. Women now do many kinds of work outside the home. Many young households share in the shopping, housecleaning, cooking and caring for the children to show that they believe the sexes are equal. Some of the older generations may still show slight hope for a grandson or great-grandson and disappointment if the outcome is a granddaughter, but in the end they love and value each with equality. However, equality between the sexes is more widely accepted in the cities than in the countryside.

Relationships have become more democratic as parents no longer expect their children to show unquestioning obedience; however, most Chinese parents today, although much more lenient and reasonable, are still strict and expect a good deal of respect. As for marriage, young people today generally choose their own marriage partners on the basis of shared interests and mutual attraction. However, parents still play a role in arranging some marriages, especially in rural areas. Any couple today would at least consult their parents about such a major decision.

In 1994, an internationally known businessman opened a designer boutique shop in Hong Kong, called “Shanghai Tang.” The shop specialized in distinctive Chinese style clothes to satisfy the eager of seeking a cultural identity before Hong Kong’s return to China, and thus found its instant success. After 1995, branches were opened in New York, London and the larger Asian cities.

In places outside of Hong Kong, “Shanghai Tang” was viewed as an exotic shopping destination for authentic Chinese styles. In 1999, “Shanghai Tang” had to close its 1,000 square meter New York store and move to a place half the size.

A fashion critic claimed the Chinese style is “still cool, but it needs to adapt to our lifestyle trends in order to be successful.”

Upon entering the 21st Century, Shanghai Tang hired a French man as chief executive. The new man at the helm reduced the Chinese emphasis in the design and introduced a fusion style, combining Chinese and Western elements. He said, “A priority is to bring some relevance to the brand and make it wearable outside China. If you are taking Chinese clothing as it is and setting it down in New York or London, you will never succeed except to westernize it.”

The fact is, even in its Shanghai and Beijing stores, most customers prefer Western styles over Qipao and other traditional Chinese clothing.

The French executive tried to prove his point by dressing in a navy blue blazer over a button-down shirt, gray flannel trousers and a pair of brogues. Upon closer inspection, this seemingly Western outfit had many Chinese features. The outfit included a mandarin collar, calligraphy-stamped cuffs and a wrist watch with red stars in place of conventional Roman numbers.

This style sold well even though there were only a few Chinese features. The clothing ranged from military-style jackets with mandarin collars to T-shirts with a row of printed Chinese jars around the hem. “Shanghai Tang” was successful in France and the French executive attributed the success to the subtler Chinese style.

The French executive had even greater ambitions. He believed, “If Hermes represents the French style of chic, and Ralph Lauren is the equivalent for the Americans as Armani is for the Italians, why not ‘Shanghai Tang’ for the Chinese?” Ironically, the first step towards realizing this dream of making “Shanghai Tang” clothing synonymous with China was to reduce the Chinese influence. Perhaps this explains the mystery behind charming Westerners into accepting the Chinese style.

That’s the story of “Shanghai Tang”. Dear readers, what do you think of it?

The economic growth in western China is accelerating and income of people is rising. In 2000-2004, the GDP in the region averaged an annual growth of 10.2%, narrowing the gap with the national average. The fixed assets investment in the region averaged an annual growth of 20%, far higher than the 7.4% before the development drive was launched. The per capita disposable income of urban residents increased by more than 2000 Yuan as compared with 1999 and that of rural dwellers increased by more than 400 Yuan.

A number of key state and other major projects have been going on smoothly and the infrastructure and ecology in the region have improved in the region, with a total investment of nearly 1000 billion Yuan. The west-to-east natural gas transmission project has been completed and put into commercial operation. The “West-to-eat power transmission” project has delivered 10 million kW of electricity to Guangdong. The Qinghai-Tibet railway has been completed. More than 19.2 million hectares of cropland formerly reclaimed from forests have been returned and more than 19.3 million hectares of degenerated grassland have been brought under control. A number of other major projects have been unfolded, including water conservancy projects on the upper reaches of rivers, state highways, natural forest protection, sandstorm control, prevention and control of water pollution on the upper reaches of rivers, and air pollution control in central cities of the region. Many projects have been put into operation, beginning to yield economic, social and ecological results.

Greater efforts have been made in improving the infrastructure and social undertakings in the rural areas and the living and production conditions of farmers have been improved. Over the past five years, the region has built 17000 km of roads in poor counties and 26000 km of tarmac roads leading to county towns and 46000 km of inter-county roads are proceeding smoothly. With 969 more townships having the access to the use of electricity, all the townships are now using electricity. The clean water projects have solved the problem of drinkable water for both man and animal. A number of large irrigation areas have been built, together with matching projects and water-efficient irrigation demonstrative projects, boosting the new water saving capacity by 4.6 billion cubic meters. Biogas pits have been built for about one million rural households. The more than 1.02 million people who used to live in ecologically fragile and unlivable areas have been resettled.

In 1999, the Chinese government publically announced its official plan to develop western China. Its goal is to try to achieve a satisfactory level of economic development in the western part of the country in a five-to-ten-year frame and to establish a “new western China” by the middle of the 21^st century. In its view, at the end of the period, all people in the region will enjoy economic prosperity, social stability, ethnic unity and an ecologically healthy and sustainable landscape. To achieve such results, China has already begun to speed up the building of extensive infrastructure projects in the western region. Water conservancy, energy, telecommunications and urban facilities have been placed at the top of the government’s “Western Region Development Strategy” agenda.

So, the multi-billion dollar, multi-year western region development strategy is apparently being pursued with the idea in mind to erase existing political, economic, social and cultural cleavages between east and west. In addition to committing its own resources to this Herculean economic endeavor, Chinese leaders are seeking investment in their western development plans from international sources such as the World Bank, the Asia Development Bank and international corporations such as the Ford Motor Company and various oil companies. As stated by a Ford Motor Company representative, the western provinces have the right conditions for foreign investment: abundant natural resources and cheap labor. In addition to financial support for this long-term development effort, the government is also seeking moral and political support. Each new foreign investment supplies some of that.

How best to manage economic and social development in the western region, however, is still at the heart of the “Western Region Development Strategy.” For example, four major projects are placed in the fundamental positions: a south-to-north water diversion, a west-to-east natural gas transfer, a “West-to-east power transmission” and the construction of a Qinghai-Tibet Railway. These projects are being launched and some have been accomplished.

The recycling industry in Qingyuan City has a history of over 20 years. Since its inception, it has grown into a large-scale industry with local characteristics and an excellent reputation for collection, dismantling and processing waste materials.
Some RMB 1.5 billion has been invested in the China Qingyuan Recycling Resource Demonstration Base, invested and operated by the Qingyuan Huaqing Recycling Resource Investment and Development Co., Ltd, which was co-founded by the China Renewable Resources Development Company and the Guangdong Xinyaguang Electrical Cable Co., Ltd.

After all the projects are completed, the base has been the largest renewable resources collecting, dismantling and processing factory in the world. It has the capacity to handle 3 million tons of waste hardware, electrical appliances, motors, electric wires, cables, metals and plastics, and produce RMB 50 billion worth of recycled industrial raw materials every year. The first-phase construction, completed in 2006, cover 50 hectares of land. The second and third phases cover an area of more than 210 hectares, will be fully constructed by 2015.

Featuring unified planning, lawful operations and the implementation of a unified policy, the base is the first in China’s recycling industry to boast modernized management with a platform for the exchange of information, labor, logistics, trade, technology and capital. It has centralized sewage and waste treatment plants, and leads the way in training its technicians and workers.

Most recycling enterprises are still small-scale operations with disintegrated management systems. The Qingyuan mode is the exact opposite. And in terms of reducing energy consumption increasing the processing ratio and reducing secondary pollution, the base is considered a model for others to follow.

China’s main grain crops are rice, wheat, corn, soybeans and tuber crops. Paddy rice is the major grain crop in China, grown mainly in the Yangtze River valley and southern China, and on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. Wheat accounts for slightly more than one fifth of the total output of grain, planted mainly on the North China Plain. Other cash crops including cotton, peanuts, rape, sesame, sugarcane, tea tobacco, mulberry and fruit are also distributed in different areas of China. These agricultural products have been basically in a self-sufficiency mode for both production and consumption.

Pressure comes from stipulations relating to China’s entry into the WTO, which expose the agricultural industry to greater foreign competition. Utilization of land area is not nearly as efficient in China as is developed countries which rely much more heavily on employment of mechanization, Chemicals and genetic engineering.

Though great efforts have been paid, areas needing development span the industry. Mechanized tools such as tractors, combines and processing equipment are still lacking, although Heilongjiang in China’s far northeast reports agricultural mechanization already on par with developed nations. With the exception of the Northeast, vast expanses of flat farmland are rarely found in China; planters are often forced to raise crops in small plots on whatever nooks and crannies are available, demanding a higher amount of manpower and limiting the use of efficient mechanized methods. Still, under these conditions, greater possibilities exist for mixed cropping, which can reduce the need for pesticides and fertilizers.

In the vast area of China, irrigation and water pollution are always the major issues for agriculture. Generally speaking, Northern China tends to be plagued by drought while many southern regions are susceptible to floods. Channeling of water and flood management through construction of dams and canals has already been successful and can be further implemented on a larger scale.

Two thirds of the Chinese population are employed in the agricultural industry, making this sector the top consideration affecting Beijing’s policies. Representing the bases of national living standards, consideration for rural residents is not merely a matter of winning their favor, but also a matter of the survival of the Chinese Communist Party. Throughout China’s history, food supply fluctuations have been at the heart of economic and political stability. Agriculture and China’s rural population form the foundation for sustainable growth and prosperity.

Income disparity between urban and rural citizens has been growing under the economic boom of the past quarter century; having fallen behind other areas of economic development over the past two decades, agriculture is once again a top priority. To ease pressures facing the rural population, the central government announced in March 2006 that agricultural taxes will be phased out over the next five years, a key event in the constant readjustment of agricultural policy in recent decades.

Following the Communist takeover in 1949, land was seized from landowners and given to the peasants, sealing Mao’s position as the undisputed leader of “New China”. But during the Great Leap Forward of 1958, the land was taken from the peasants again and put in control of communes. Famers faced production quotas and fixed pricing on yields sold directly to the state. The failure of the communes resulted in the largest famines in modern Chinese history.

In late 1978, Deng Xiaoping set a freer agricultural market in motion. The communes were gradually dissolved and replaced by the “household responsibility system”, whereby land allotments were contracted to farmers, shifting management responsibilities back to households. Wary of the potentially catastrophic risks inherent in hasty, large-scale reform movements like the Great Leap Forward, new policies have since generally been implemented gradually. Now, in the midst of the transition from a planned economy to a free market, prices of agricultural products are still subject to a measure of regulation, grain in particular. But reduced regulation has exposed China’s countryside to economic survival-of-the-fittest, where many lucky and diligent farmers are seen rising to affluence while others sink further into poverty.

In China’s skin care market, the competition among home-made, joint-ventured and imported products is getting increasingly fierce. Foreign and joint venture brands mainly dominate in the top grade market, where there are small profits and a quick turnover. Currently there are over 1300 skin care products in Chinese market. Skin care sales account for 26-35 percent, according to the regions, of the total cosmetics sales, because the purchase rate and usage rate of skin care products are relatively high in China.

Under fierce competition, domestic brands have been multi-polarized. Some once famous brands have died out or declined to regional brands. While most domestic makers are struggling to survive, Shanghai Jahwa, Beijing Sanlu and Shenzhen Lisida, who have stressed attention on brand value and on establishing a strong brand, have made great progress in the market and have gained achievements in the middle and low grade market. As transnational corporations are using China’s market to realize their worldwide expansion goals, the pricing and distribution network advantages domestic brands once they will disappear.

In recent years, along with the boost of skin care industry, industries such as Cosmetic Newspaper, China Cosmetics, Commodity Chemical Information, Beauty and Fashion, and Trends are widely welcomed by consumers. Market research institutions deal more and more with this profitable industry, such as the status of global skin care market, China skin care market, demand and supply of skin care raw materials, sales channels of skin care products, leaders in the skin care market, current consumer psychology, and trends of skin care market.

Foreign retail enterprises began trickling in China as early as 1992. By 2000, over 350 such enterprises were operating under various local sanctions, but only 40 of them had gained proper approval from the central government. A crackdown followed, presumably in anticipation of WTO entry, requiring foreign investors to conform to a set of trial regulations passed in 1999. These regulations limited investors geographically to capitals and single-city administrative regions and set tough requirements on assets and profitability.

Regulations were again changed on WTO entry with the unveiling of a new plan for the retail sector’s transformation. Their rules initially stipulated even more constrictive geographical limits, minority partnership for foreign firms in joint ventures with domestic enterprises, and limits on the number of ventures and their branch networks. After two years, these constraints were softened and have now been dropped completely.

The world’s two largest retailers, Wal-Mart of the US and Carrefour of France, both endured hard times for nearly a decade following their debuts in China. Carrefour, China’s largest foreign retailer with over 170 stores open to date, saw its first profitable year as late as 2003. That same year, Wal-Mart was still reporting net loss, having done so consecutively each year since its introduction to China in 1996.

With restrictions eased, these two giants and other foreign firms all have big expansion plans. In 2010 Wal-Mart opened   47 new stores in Mainland China, reaching a total of about 225. The foreign influx underway may be the biggest overhaul of the Chinese retail market ever, with unpredictable results.

In 2004, the retail market capacity grew steadily in China and the annual retail amount of the social consumables reached RMB 5395 billion, a 13.3% year-on-year. The actual growth amounted to 10.2% with the inflation deducted. The urban-rural and regional differences are further expanding. The retail sales of urban consumables achieved RMB 3557.3 billion in 2004, with a 14.7 rise.

In 2005, hundreds of domestic large-scale retailing enterprises grew fast and steadily. According to the statistical study on 28 categories of goods, the retail sales of twenty-four categories grew compared to the same period of 2004. What’s more, the growth margin of twenty-one categories was above 10%. The number grows faster in 2006 and 2007, before a fallback in 2008 due to the global financial crisis.

Prior to the huge foreign capitals flow into China, many large domestic enterprises are taking chain operation as development strategy to accelerate their expansion domestically, especially in large and medium-sized cities. Coordinated and supported by the government, some competitive enterprises merged into super-giant enterprise groups through purchasing property rights. Thus, the market concentration ratio of the retailing industry keeps growing.

However, the present size of the retail business still remains a certain gap with the developed countries. Comparing Hualian, the Chinese retail enterprises in Shanghai with Wal-Mart, there are considerable gaps in its scale of operations, in profitability and in other aspects. On the other hand, enterprises in the retail industry commonly follow "low cost, high-profit" as the important way to implement large-scale operations. For example, the most developed America, the national retail chains account for more than 80%, while China accounts for only about 25%. Small-scale has become the bottleneck of expansion for domestic retail enterprises.