I was stunned by how many people Beijing had, and it was just one city. In America you couldn't see so many people in any one place, and the ones you saw on the street looked like they were going somewhere. Going to school, going to work, on an errand… doing something. I remember my impression of Beijing was that there were so many people just milling about.

Find the China8687 podcast on Apple Podcasts...

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/china8687/id1651271492

and on Spotify...

https://open.spotify.com/show/5JJZMY6G5xyzi4tgv3qgC8?si=276eb31e4ffa4b49

About the China8687 podcast...

A 15+ year China student, teacher, traveler, and expat businessman describes China as she developed from the 1980s to now. This is important to you because China is now moving back toward that time.

I went to China earlier,

studied China deeper,

traveled in China farther,

and stayed in China longer than almost anyone.

I went to China when everything was opening and hopeful, and I left when it was clear China was moving in a different direction after 2012.

This is the story of China as she developed fast forward in every area of human activity from the 1980s, and now starts to shut it down and close it off.