More than telling a country, a first moving glance - inevitably on the surface - over fifteen days spent between Beijing, Pingyao, Xi’an, Yangshuo, and Shanghai.

Naively, I expected something “communist”: hammer and sickle here and there, discreet like the postman’s tiny pin, a few houses with Mao posters.

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A tourist asks: “What do you believe in?” The guide replies: “In ourselves.” Impressive, I think.

In a temple, same question: “In money.” And she laughs, prayers get straight to the point: work, exams, money. I look at the Buddha: fat, laughing, banknotes on his legs. Right.

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Outside: neon lights, goods, gadgets, food everywhere, in abundance.

Cities like movie sets, glittering, slightly kitsch: true Eastern Las Vegases. People go out, visit, love karaoke, love having fun.

Then luxury cars. Western brands. Shanghai: more Starbucks than New York.

“Consumunism”? The second country in the world by number of billionaires, somewhere between consumerism and communism.

But individual wealth must not be flaunted: too much is too much, and on Chinese social media, showing off gets you banned. Everyone must progress - or at least seem to - together.

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Still. Clean sidewalks. Silent streets. Electric cars and scooters gliding by noiselessly.

Lively squares: elderly people - and not only - dancing, playing, exercising.

Safe, reassuring public spaces. Courtesy everywhere. High quality of life.

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The flip side: everyone on their phone. Couples and groups at restaurants, bent over screens, each in their own bubble.

You pay everywhere with QR codes. No cash.

Technology makes everything seamless: from Beijing to Shanghai - metro, trains, flights, restaurants - everything booked and paid with a beep and a metallic voice that notifies you that the transaction has been completed.

I hold my phone to a beggar’s QR code. Robots do room service. A technological universe.

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Still, China is one of those places that leave you speechless. You leave wanting to come back. Immediately.

Like Brazil - where I once settled - and Cuba: cultures and people that get under your skin.

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And then walls, palaces, pagodas, the Forbidden City, the Terracotta Army… So much history, so much culture. And breathtaking landscapes.

Colorful temples where worshippers move from altar to altar to perform rituals - sometimes express.

Tradition also explodes visually: girls in traditional gorgeous dress crossing cities. Deep-rooted past or a fleeting present of photogenic poses for Douyin and Red Note, the local social medias? The truth lies somewhere in between.

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In the end, China - which controls, plans, destroys, and builds - seems to project itself forward with solid values, where social cohesion outweighs freedom.

A sharp contrast with our nations, often rigid and increasingly fragmented.

Praise for China? Not exactly.

I seek freedom AND cohesion. Am I asking too much?

The Asian giant is an invitation to look elsewhere and maybe to learn.