The Morning Gold Report: China's Growing Middle Class Equates to Growing Demand for Gold

(USAGOLD) CHINA -- Today I am writing from the city of Guangzhou, formerly known as Canton, in Guangdong Province. Guangzhou is a major commercial and manufacturing region in South China and is the economic hub of the Pearl River delta. It is a port city with navigable access to the South China Sea and is just 75 miles up river from Hong Kong.

The Beijing Olympics came to an end last night. I followed the games closely, as I do every four years. These Olympics seemed to be a little different though. Maybe it's just that I happened to be in China during the games. Maybe it's the fact that I have two adopted sons from China. There was certainly a great deal of hype in the build-up to these games, and a great deal of controversy as well.

So the last 17 days have been China's coming-out-party. The world has seen a new and modern China that is also very proud of its ancient past.

I think everyone is aware that a lot of amazing things were invented in China, such as paper, the umbrella, and gunpowder, among many others. Here's one I was not aware of: At the site of the Terracotta Army outside of Xi'an, a sword was unearthed that testing proved had chromium plating 10-15 microns thick. The West didn't have chrome-plating technology to prevent corrosion until the mid-20th century. The Chinese beat us by 2,200 years!

There has been much speculation in recent months about how Beijing, and China as a whole, might benefit from the Olympic games. Beijing has unquestionably benefited from massive infrastructure improvements.

Besides a host of architecturally significant sports venues, there are two new subway lines, along with eight new rail lines -- including a high-speed express line between Beijing and Tianjin. Trains on the Tianjin line can achieve a record-breaking top speed of 220 mph. Capital Airport has a new terminal, a new runway and an express rail line to downtown.