And rightly so, many outsiders might argue, citing a whole slew of statistics on China covering everything from the average wage, pollution levels, women's rights, rural poverty and beyond. Yes I know; I've seen the stats, graphs and pie charts too.

But the important thing is surely that the country's leaders are taking steps to try to mitigate many of the major problems their country and its people are facing. It's clearly a very long and winding road that will lead the Chinese people to the Shangri-la where the entire populace can enjoy an excellent quality of life. In the meantime, why not take in the view now and then and be proud of what China already has?

Proud of what?

Of an incredible history tracing back thousands of years; of the masses of treasures, artifacts and structures left to posterity by emperors; of a diverse and often beautiful countryside; of a delicious and varied cuisine; of a high emergent status in the business world; of a rapidly improving lifestyles for millions of people; of Chinese sports stars, writers, actors, musicians, scholars and philanthropists who continue to contribute so much to the world; of the unique cultures of Chinese ethnic minorities; of more things than I have space to list.

But maybe you disagree; I'm no expert after all. And I'm not about to pass judgment on a country as vast and varied as China after a few weeks. I'll get back to you. In 20 years or so.

The writer is a New Zealander living and working in Beijing