I'm back from my break. 

My son, Christopher, and I were privileged to travel with Republican Reporter John Perles, on his recent trip to China.  We spent a week traveling through some of the richest and poorest parts of this incredible country.  I'll try to provide a snapshot of our visit during the next few days.

In our travels, we saw a cross section of factories and met with a variety of business owners.  In short, while China is suffering from the global economic downturn, the entrepreneurial engine that drove their economy remains intact.  For many factories, business was down by as much as 50%.  On plane trips within China, less than 10% of the seats were occupied.  (These same planes were full just last year).

But China is continuing to move forward.  Large scale office and factory projects were still continuing.  Impressive road projects were nearing completion.  China is hoping to turn their export engine into one that thrives by supplying the needs for their ever expanding "middle class".  It's not unlike what America went through in the early 1900's.

China is not without it's challenges.  Many factories have shut down, displacing a work force that is returning to their agrarian roots.  This young rural work force has now enjoyed the fruits of "city life", where they earned 3 times the amount they had in their rural hamlets.  And while their factory labor only produced $1,250 in annual wages, they are saving 30% of their earnings, and still sending money back home.  The closing of factories puts a new strain on this young adult population.

More to come.....