I am writing this in Xi’an, ancient capital of the Chinese empire. This is where the famous terracotta warriors were found, mute witnesses to the scale, resources and organising capacity of the ancient Chinese state. Xi’an is a city of 8m, in the middle of the country. The road from the airport is surrounded with half-finished buildings, a sign of the construction boom of recent years. The economic changes are palpable, as they are elsewhere in this vast country.
我正在中國古都西安撰寫此文。這里是著名的兵馬俑的發(fā)現(xiàn)之地,他們默默地見證著古代中國之規(guī)模、資源和組織力量。西安地處中國中部,有800萬人口。從機(jī)場到市區(qū),沿途滿是在建的高樓大廈,體現(xiàn)著近年來西安工程建設(shè)的繁榮。經(jīng)濟(jì)轉(zhuǎn)變是切實(shí)可見的——在這個幅員遼闊的國家處處都是如此。