While wandering around the Sunday morning market I realized a couple things:

– China’s economy is probably 50% cash-based, with most people paying cash for everything from their groceries to a car.  Serious discounts are offered for cash because the transaction is off the books and no tax is paid.  If you consider how many people shop at local markets and multiple that by the number of villages in China there is a tremendous amount of cash moving around the country.

–  Most people go to the local market and buy fresh vegetables, fruit and meat that were either in the ground or walking around hours earlier.  Freshness is paramount to Chinese cuisine.  That poses some health problems, including the emerging H7N9 bird flu virus in northern China.  To a Westerner it’s a little disturbing to see exposed raw meat laid out on plywood, but it’s been done for centuries, so it must be OK – right?