China picks up speed

The past 10 years has seen many Chinese people switch from 2 wheels to 4. The country has come a long way since bicycles were the main mode of transport.

It's not just cars, speed is what most Chinese value, whether it's travel on roads, railway tracks, or even entertainment.

Time means money, and China's not wasting either!

Its self-developed high speed trains have reached a speed of 394 kilometers per hour faster than what some planes take off at.

The high speed rail links Wuhan to Guangzhou, reducing the ten hour journey to just 3.

It also links Beijing and Tianjin now only half an hour apart.

At Shanghai's Formula One venue, cars fly by at 350 kilometers per hour. And while that speed is beyond ordinary drivers, it's now common to surpass 100 kilometers per hour on a city highway.

Around 24-million Chinese households now have a car. And 16 thousand people have acquired a pilot's license. Who knows what speed they'll reach over the next decade?

China is also picking up the pace in cinemas. Over the past 4 months, a new movie has premiered every 1.8 days on average.

Ten years ago, the Titanic took 49 days to reach China after its debut in the US. Now, internationally acclaimed productions are showing simultaneously here and around the world.

Telecommunications have also changed dramatically over the last ten years. Most Chinese only bought their first handset this decade.

Now cell phones have become a necessity. And their turnover is more rapid, with a growing selection and more affordable prices. Some Chinese change their cellphones up to 3 times a year.

China's GDP is growing at the fastest speed in the world. Even amid the world economic recession in 2009, China still registered 8.7 percent of GDP growth leading the world economic recovery.

A decade ago, China set a target of per capita GDP of 3 thousand US dollars by 2020. That's been achieved a decade early. Now the nation's per capita GDP is expected to reach 4000 US dollars in 2010.