Marketplace Features

September 27, 1999

Mao's Hometown
The hillside village of Shaoshan was once the Bethlehem of the People's Republic of China. It's where Mao Tse-Tung, the founder of the PRC, was born in 1893. There was a time when as many as three million tourists would flock there each year. Fewer visits today. But Shaoshan remains a tourist destination, as Marketplace's Jocelyn Ford reports.   RealAudio

Three Generations
In the first of a week-long series of reports from China, Contributing Senior Editor George Lewinski talks with three generations of the Zhang family in Shanghai. Collectively, they've experienced everything from the Communist revolution through the market reforms of today.   RealAudio

September 28, 1999

Village Enterprises
Village enterprises were sanctioned by Deng Xiapeng in 1978 when he broke with Mao Tse-Tung's radical brand of communism. Village businesses are now the fastest growing part of China's economy. Senior Contributing Editor George Lewinski recently visited the village billed as the richest of them all.   RealAudio

China's Stock Market
China's stock market is booming, but don't go thinking it's like Wall Street. As Marketplace's Jocelyn reports, the Chinese government keeps tight control of the action.   RealAudio

September 29, 1999

"The People's Choice" for PC's
A recent Gallup poll found a personal computer is the latest "must-have" item for urban families in China. And when it comes to computers, a Chinese name leads the list: Legend, which markets itself as "the people's choice."   RealAudio

Greasing Palms the Chinese Way
Getting something done in China often involves bribes -- money or gifts. Marketplace's Jocelyn Ford takes a look at the under-the-table costs of doing business in China.   RealAudio

September 30, 1999

China's Middle Class
Urbanites earn about a thousand dollars a year. But China's huge population means millions of people can afford at least some of the goods and services offered by the international market. Take Li Peng and her husband Tang. Senior Contributing Editor George Lewinski talked to them recently and filed this report.   RealAudio

Struggling to Get Ahead
Marketplace's Jocelyn Ford profiles the Lees, a Chinese family that is struggling to get ahead in the increasingly competitive economy.   RealAudio

October 1, 1999

Interview with the Chairman
As part of our week-long series, we spoke to John Roderick, who served as the Associated Press's number one China watcher for 31 years. During the 1940s Mr. Roderick lived in the caves of Yan'an -- then the communist capital -- where he met and interviewed Mr. Mao and many other communist leaders.   RealAudio

Prospects for the Future
Marketplace's George Lewinski wraps up our week-long look at 5 decades of communist rule in China with a report on the country's 50th anniversary celebration; plus Marketplace host David Brancaccio talks to Merle Goldman of Boston University about China's prospects for the next 50 years.   RealAudio

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