The Return of the God of Wealth

When people who have not been in China for ten or more years return, they are usually astounded by the wealth, liveliness, and even chaos that characterises contemporary urban life, particularly in the southern coastal cities. This introduction to contemporary Chinese urban life examines how reforms have changed not only the material circumstances of daily life, but also the overall well-being of urban residents. Although the author focuses on life in a single city - Guangzhou (Canton), China's sixth-largest city - the changes described reflect national policies that apply to a greater or lesser degree to all large Chinese cities. The book takes the reader from the grim realities of the immediate post-Cultural Revolution years through the heady years of optimism and growth to the contemporary period of reassessment, as China questions whether the overall economic gains outweigh the increased disparities in wealth and the seeming lack of any moral consensus.