Here is a narrative of impressions of China from 2001 to today, especially in Beijing where I have lived for 19 years. Some people may think this is a limited view, and I agree with that. I have visited many provinces, but China is too vast and diverse to fully describe in a short essay.

I have been coming to work and live in China since 2001, but describing China is still difficult, as words are not enough. Like most places with a different context, in terms of governance, language and culture, it needs to be experienced to be even partially understood.

When the first Europeans stepped foot in the Americas and tried to describe the harsh beauty of their surroundings to their Old-World family and friends, they had the same issue: How do you recount something that can only be understood through experience?

How do you describe adding 600 million people to the middle class to someone who lives in a nation of 350 million?

How do you explain how in 45 years China rose to become the second largest economy in the world despite having few exportable resources, minuscule cash reserves, and an antiquated finance and legal system?

China has 53 cities each with a population of 2 million or more, and Chongqing Municipality has about 32 million. How do you convey the magnitude of a country whose cities are larger than most U.S. states?

Even if you describe what you see, it won't cover the complex cultural constants and social variables below the surface. Filial piety, cultural pride, and notions of respect (face) are constants, but attitudes toward society, careers, and marriage are generational.

Many diplomats, academics, and CEOs I have known have used terms like "China Speed," "miraculous" and "transformational," but they all agreed the only way to understand China is to see and experience it.

When I came in 2002 I saw a run-down hutong, or traditional alley, behind my hotel, and when I returned a year later it was a high-rise commercial building with tenants, something that would be impossible in the U.S. or Europe.