Back in China

We spent our first week (3/2--3/8) in China in Xishuanbanna, a region
of Yunnan Province that borders Laos and Burma. The landscape,
climate, and people are very similar to where we came from in Laos,
except
1. The amount of cargo for sale in the stores is dizzing, compared to
Burma and Laos where what little was for sale were largely made in
China.
2. We finally seem to have left Western tourists behind. The first
three days in Mengla, an hour from the border, we hardly saw any
tourists, Western or Chinese.
3. Population density is noticeably higher; Laos is one of the least
populated countries in the world.
4. The amount and variety of agriculture is simply amazing. Aside
from protected nature preserves, every inch of every hill and valley
is covered with rubber, tea, banana, pineapple, and rice, not to
mention all the vegetables. They have the climate to grow everything,
and they do!