There is a very good, and very large public library here in Shanghai. Not too sure about Beijing as I have never lived there.

US style street clothes are definately in here, the lower the crutch the cooler you are. Lots of borrowing from US style in clothes.

Music wise hip-hop and rapping are big on the music scene complete with the hand gestures. Otherwise Chinese pop music is very sacharine in its nature. Bit like Japan, a group is famous for three records then fade away.

Chinese TV is pretty awfull, soaps galore, with lots of ads for every conceivable semi medical preparation to cure you of anything from piles to stomach ulcers or 'tired brain' problems. If it is not soaps then it is bloody awfull song and dance shows or beauty competitions, we even have the equivalent of 'Idol'.

Chinese youth tend to look westwards for musical inspiration but still go to the Chinese classics for reading. Bookshops here are making big money out of the self improvement books from the west, particularly the get rich quick books.

BTW Chinese rock does not carry too many protest songs for obvious reasons.

Younger Chinese often now assume a western name. Used to be names like Richard, John, Jane etc but now I am meeting Rockets, Apple's, Peachy's (sic), Johnson's, and my favourite to date a Miss Loosely.

The older Chinese still flock to traditional music shows featuring Beijing, Anhui or Shanghai opera. In the parks on a Sunday you often see groups of older people performing trad music as a session.

Where I live there are groups of people gathered from about 6 a.m till 7 a.m performing taichi, wushu and ballroom or line dancing.

So on balance the Chinese will adopt what they like from the west in terms of fashion and music but their thinking is still very traditional and still often based on Confucian values.

I like the idea of Chinese fish n chips though. I just wonder what else they will batter and fry!