China surpasses Japan to become second largest Economy

It was recently reported that China passed Japan to become the second largest economy in the world, right behind the USA. However, a better measure of the wealth of a nation is the per capita GDP. In terms of its per capita GDP, China ($6,600) is poorer than Poland ($14,000) and nowhere near Japan ($33,000). In fact, China is in about the same place as El Salvador, when its economy is considered in the light of per capita GDP.

Having lived there, the local citizens really do not care considering their lives have not really improved that much. Granted, the infrastructure is better than most countries especially in the large cities but the quality of life still is not very good. Because of the costs of living in cities such as Shanghai, many people spend their free time sleeping or watching tv, instead of pursuing other interests such as sports, photography, etc.