General Discussion

Moscow sounds more like China after the economy changed significantly after 2000 or so.
Repression and danger still there, but with a civilized veneer.

We could feel it for sure. And as foreigners we were given special treatment and it was still scary as hell. In the airport in Guangzhou prior to departure out of the country I had some sort of paperwork snafu (which was resolved quickly), but in the middle of it I saw a group of red hat police approaching me and my life passed before my eyes and I started to cry. I thought for sure I was done for. After two weeks in China, I knew the drill. It turned out to be a minor problem in the end. But if taking pictures of the hotel and sitting on a stone got me in trouble with the red hats, I didn't know what they would do next.

Oh yes the same thing in China. Obviously potentially dangerous roads, sidewalks, animals and no one cares. There are no liability attorneys, and the government does not care or the repair money is stolen by corrupt officials. One thing I saw in China one time was hundreds of pills all thrown into the street. I pointed out to the guide that this was dangerous, children could eat them.
The guide looked puzzled as in no one cares about this issue.

Also there were no birds in China the first time I was there. The pollution was horrific and had killed all the birds. After the economic miracle, the sunlight and birds came back.

It is so sad. China is a wonderful country, the food, the sights, the people. I loved it.
But it scared the hell out of me too.