Reasons to be busy:

The northeast is a region now reaching out to the wider world. Wherever there is development there are fresh challenges and new opportunities. It might not be easy for a small trader, but then it rarely ever is.

The world's great brands were marching through the last secluded oases of mystery and I hoped to follow in their rear if I could not sneak in ahead of them.

There are now hundreds of familiar stores and other arms of big name foreign brands locked in a romantic embrace with the public.

This is an alien land to someone with western sensibilities, a border region melting pot of cultures. A peaceful place, welcoming to outsiders. A strange place of weird sounds, queer odours, strange ideas.

Several different groups of ethnic Chinese live alongside small representative communities from man areas of the globe. The desire to independently establish free trade has been suppressed. That was a privilege until now enjoyed by the government. Times are changing.

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