China -- first impressions

I'm on a quick 5-day trip through Beijing, Hangzhou, and now in Shanghai for the weekend and will deliver some first impressions.  Overall, the sheer scale of everything in China is mind blowing.  It's very modern, reasonably orderly and clean.  It's vibrant and booming.  Here are some random thoughts:

• The communists believed that capitalism was the true road to communism, and may have been right. China, on the other hand, is a new flag away from being a full-blown capitalist (in the statist sense) nation. Go figure.
• Need anyone look further for an argument for free markets than the near universal dichotomy between state capitols and major trade centers? As a first time visitor to China, the contrast between Beijing and Shanghai says it all. Dc vs nyc? Sacramento vs san fran or la? Come on -- state capitals are always lame, whereas the major trade centers are vibrant and exciting.
• Why couldn't Shanghai be an independent country like Singapore is or Hong Kong was? Of course, all cities should immediately declare their independence, but just relating something like Shanghai to Singapore makes it seem all the more obvious.