Every time I come to China I see more change, some for the better, some not. I find it faintly depressing that so many countries in the world are slowly, or even quickly, becoming homogenised with the advent and proliferation of western outlets, particularly fast food. Going to a Starbucks in China, or anywhere overseas, is on the one hand most welcome in order to get a reliable cup of coffee, but at the same time I can't help but feel a little guilty that we are promoting foreign behemoths at the expense of local alternatives.
Time schedules often mean that grabbing a pizza or KFC is simply easier, but strangely unsatisfying. So it was with great satisfaction that arriving at a train station recently in China, not having eaten all day, we sat down and grabbed a delicious noodle soup at Younghe - it may be the equivalent of a Big Mac for locals but it was delicious and certainly indigenous food.