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Napoleon Bonaparte once said of China, "Let her sleep, for when she wakes, she will shake the world."
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When the French emperor uttered those famous words of warning, few ever imagined the China of the 21st century.
Once a sleeping giant, today this nation and her people are rising and shaping the world as never before.
Here in Beijing, and across the country, most people are talking about one thing: A red-hot economy that has created some 300,000 millionaires.
"The economy is going up and we are very confident about our country's future. We're going to make it big!" said one resident of Beijing.
Since 1978, China's economy has doubled every eight years. Today, the average Chinese person has some ten times the purchasing power they had just a quarter century ago.
Another Beijing resident said, "When we were growing up as a family, we barely made ends meet. Today, that's not the case. We have more options that allow us to enjoy life like never before."
And as never before, the Chinese are on a spending spree. With a population of 1.3 billion people, its no wonder the world is beating a path to the Chinese mainland.
"I think I am lucky to be the first buyer of a Harley Davidson motorbike in China," said Mr. Ding, a Harley Davidson lover.
Another Chinese consumer said, "I'm looking for the laptop that's the most popular and the most fashionable."
Next week, China will celebrate the fifth anniversary of its entry into the World Trade Organization , a move that has already made a huge impact on Chinese society.
"Getting WTO status gave us the opportunity to learn from other international companies," said one Chinese citizen.
Huang Xiaoyu, a reporter with the Shanghai News Times, agreed.
"It has…opened up our country to the world," said Xiayu. "People's minds here are opening. We think global now and we are getting closer to the West."
But not everyone's enjoying the economic good times here in China. The government has managed to raise about 300 million people out of poverty. But still, so many live on less than a dollar a day.
Zhang Xue Jaang Shoe, a computer analyst with one of China's top internet companies, is worried about the underprivileged.
"There is a darker side that exists in our society and we have to deal with," said Shoe.
According to recent figures from the World Bank, China's poor grew poorer at a time when the country was growing. People's incomes have fallen; college tuition fees are 15 times what they used to be 15 years ago; housing prices are skyrocketing and costs for medical care are also going up.
But Xiaoyu is confident that her country can solve all these problems.
"We are working to close the gap between the rich and poor in this country," she said. "I believe the government will succeed in tackling this crisis."
Private citizens have also been getting involved with the poor. Often described as "Generation Me", the country's new rich are looking for ways to help others.
In the meantime, preparations are well under way for the Beijing Olympic Games. 24 hours a day seven days a week, thousands of construction workers have been busy building the sites that will play host to the games in 2008.
Thousands more are frantically learning how to speak English and learn western manners.
And beyond the Olympic-size economic windfall it expects from the games, officials here said they hope to use the event to ultimately earn the goodwill and esteem of the world at large.
A volunteer with Beijing Olympic Committee said, "Those of us living here know what an enormous opportunity this is for us to show the world who we are and what we are about."
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