When you first introduced the Literary Guide to the World I had that mixed emotions reaction of "Once again somebody stole my idea" and "Well it's Salon, they'll do it far better than I could even hope to."

And indeed, you have turned to the best, making many of the Guide's entries true gems. You have, for example, finally made me order Waverley Root's books after a long hesitation.

However, as time goes by, a disturbing pattern seems to form. Whereas the guide is supposedly to the world, a short glance at the map and the accompanying list reveals a frightening disproprtion, minute fragments of the US like Martha's Vineyard or the Jersey Shore get the same attention as, in the case of this particular entry, China with its population of 1,313,973,713 (July 2006 estimate according to the CIA World Factbook), with its long history and diversity of literature.

I am of course aware of the fact that Salon is an American publication with a primarily American readership, but that's even more of a reason for the guide to indeed present "The World" to your readers, instead of reinforcing the NeoCon notion, which you so strongly oppose in other sections of Salon, according to which most of the world is just a suburb of the US.

I lived in Taipei for 5 years and after the '99 quake, felt I was living in a death trap until I left in '02, felt every tremor could be the last. Safety is the last thing that enters the equation for quality of life there as in the PRC where fake drugs are sold but not always reported in the press.

I lived in Henan for 8 months and found it a very depressing place and the people ground down and dumbed down with no real knowledge about anything though there was a big interest in the '04 election.

Shenzhen, where I stayed a year, is a Hong Kong real estate speculators pipe dream, with supposedly a third of office space empty and every unit in apartment complex cities sold within 4 hours. It's hard to find a barbershop where you can get a haircut. Most of the places you go to are fronts for prostitution.

I could never access salon in shenzhen because the cookies got caught in the great firewall.

Somehow the word isn't getting out that you are free in China but only as long as you don't do anything the CCP doesn't like.

Post-reform modern China is only a cog in the American manufacturing chain and it is sad that the West bankrolls fascism because the money sure ain't trickling down.

For tourists, count on loose bowels due to dirty water and dirty food and long delays and crowds nearly everywhere. Try not to get your pocket picked or your cell phone stolen.

I'm going back next year to become an entrepreneur and try to beat the flood of opportunity seekers after the '08 Olympics who will find low profit margins on any available opportunity and if any non-Chinese does too well, local cadres will take it over. Even big multinationals get burnt, eg, Foster's Lager just pulled up stakes. Big multinationals are safe because they're in bed with the CCP [Chinese Communist Party].

A population twice the USA's is left out on the post-reform dream but the poverty in China is better than the poverty in India.

I felt I should include that I speak Mandarin well enough although I have an accent and can write but need a dictionary.

I have been teaching in China for more than 11 years.I still find it an exciting and exilerating place for learning. The trick to living here successfully is to leave your western habits ad baggage at home.I hang with few foreigners, I live in a Chinese middle class neighborhood, I eat in the cheaper restaurants and I read,write and speak mandarin which has taken me a long time to master.I also stay out f the politics which seems to be a problem for Americans as they like to stick their noses into every other countries business.