China the kingdom of the dragon

Enthusiasm for the free market and the rediscovery of traditions mark the new China. Red flags have given way to red lanterns, Communism has been reduced to a diminishing overlay on a country in which nationalism and Confucian pragmatism fuel the drive toward a future in which long-held traditions are not entirely lost. This is China in the Third Millennium: a mix of the ancient and the futuristic, where cities with skylines that look like backdrops to sci-fi movies coexist with millennia-old monuments and values that have remained unchanged for centuries. The nation`s immense territory juxtaposes the overpopulated plains of the east with the marvels of the west ­ the forests and blue lakes of Sichuan, the Himalayan peaks and Tibetan plateaus, valleys and forests, the deserts and Celestial Mountains of Xinjiang, and the breathtaking Guilin Mountains. And then there are the great rivers: the Huanghe (Yellow River), the source of the creation myth of the Han, and the Yangtze (Blue River), which divides the country into north and south and defines the landscape of the Three Gorges, long celebrated in Chinese literature and painting. This stretch of the Yangtze is now the world's biggest construction site. China is an overpopulated country: more than 60 metropolises have populations exceeding 5 million inhabitants. It is also an outdoor museum whose artistic and architectural heritage is blended with history and faith.