Standing at the crossroads of a nation in fast lane

He just stands there, seemingly self-absorbed. The old man, on the crossroads. He is small, shrunk by time. He wears a green military-style suit and a knitted woolen cap in black and brown. He holds on to a walking stick as if it were a time machine that can help him make a giant leap from the past to the future.

Shiny scooters with young drivers whiz past him, so close that they nearly touch. In a small town near Yangshuo, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, the young don't pay the old man any attention. They don't even notice him there. It's as if that generation does not exist. Bulky, black cars with darkened windows speed across the crossroads. They are the representatives of a modern China trying to catch up with rural China.

Pop music belts out of a store that sells chic mobile phones and ultra flat MP4 players. A life insurance company sells security. Fashionable boutiques not just keep up with American fashion but often seem to set the trends. At the hairdressers, a young man smiles, his gelled hair glimmering in the sunshine, standing up like a hedgehog's spikes. The whole town is abuzz with the noise of construction. Multi-story luxury buildings can be seen everywhere.