It is only three or four decades since Beijing’s streets were teeming with identical Mao suits and millions of bicycles, but nowadays, it can seem as though it has been a couple of centuries, at least. In China’s major cities, stylish hotels have opened, and elsewhere, impressive resorts bear comparison to the leading international competition. Modern airplanes provide a web of convenient and reliable service, and China now boasts the world’s largest system of expressways and an extensive high-speed rail network. In short, travel opportunities now exist that would have been inconceivable a short time ago.