China Turns 60

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The People’s Republic of China officially turned 60 this week. There was a massive military parade with tanks, missile launchers and soldiers. Later there was dancing and fireworks.

China has grown beyond recognition in the past sixty years: an agricultural society transformed into a land of skyscrapers and cell phones. The population has more than doubled. The country’s GDP has grown nearly 80-fold. Chinese officials say what the country used to produce over a whole year can now be done in single day. Sometime next year, China could become the world’s second largest economy, passing Japan.

In this podcast we bring you stories from China and The World’s Beijing correspondent, Mary Kay Magistad. She put together a five-part series, the last two pieces, featured in this podcast, focused on the surging Chinese economy.