Chiara In The Pond

about 1.5 years ago I've been to Beijing for an extremly short time (I even don't dare to say how long since I'm a little ashame of that). I could not see much but some pictures are really impressed in my mind...
Now, after a few days, I can say that the pictures are a bit changed...
The shops are getting more and more westernized. In the malls there are mainly pictures and dressers of blond women with blue eyes.
Personally I think it's a bit sad... A little bit of China has gone away...
The number of western shops has also incredibly increased, but that's somehow expected.
They are really preapering for the olympics! More and more signs are written with chinese and latin characters, in some big grocery stores the departments are labelled in Chinese AND English (but still not everyone is able to speak English).
The most advanced to adapt are, somehow of course, the small street markets: they are ready for the turists so nowadays everyone speak English (thing that was not so common before) asking you if you want a "real" "Plada" or you prefer a "Ducce e Gabbana"
It makes me smile, but still another touch of CHina is gone...
In the area where I leave (I cannot say outside, I've almost spent all of my time nearby) there are lots of very expensive car (at least for my poor pockets): Audi, BMW and some Mercedes shine around.
There are also chinese branded car and they do not seem to be cheap either.
Lots of scapescrapers under construction even during nights when the worker's flames shine bright along the buildings.
As many have already said, we are in a transition period, I have no clue what will happen during the olympics, but I dare say that it will mark Beijing for ever (and probably a big part of the so called western world)