A new gate on Shekou Old Street

A brand new entrance gate, on Old Shekou Street, festooned with New Year decorations for the year of the Dragon.

I noticed the decorations just as I came out of my regular barber shop. The gate was only erected last year and the residential buildings are around 25 years old.

China has urbanised very quickly. A landmark was reached recently and reported in the Financial Times that China's urban population for the first time in history exceeded the rural population.

In the U.K. and the U.S. urban populations surpassed 50% in 1851 and 1920 respectively As for the future China's urban residents are predicted to reach 70% by 2030. To put this into perspective that's the entire population of the U.S.A. moving into cities within less than 20 years.