China has undergone a radical transformation in the 30 years since Mao 's death . China is facing the ripple effects of the global economic downturn : Chinese exports are declining , factories are closing down , workers are laid off en masse . CNN 's Jaime FlorCruz remembers China as being poor and isolated . Beijing has gone from quiet neighborhoods to a city of skyscrapers . Deng abolished communes , created Special Economic Zones , touted capitalism .
China has undergone a radical transformation in the 30 years since Mao 's death . CNN 's Jaime FlorCruz remembers China as being poor and isolated . Beijing has gone from quiet neighborhoods to a city of skyscrapers . Deng abolished communes , created Special Economic Zones , touted capitalism .