As I headed into Changchun from the airport and peered out the windows of my taxi, I was shocked -- not at the signs of decay, but at the staggering amount of economic growth. I wasn’t sure if I was in the same city I left nine years earlier.

If Detroit has many areas that look like bombed-out Berlin at the end of World War II, Changchun looked more like a smaller Shanghai than today’s Detroit. There were so many new office buildings, shopping malls and high-rise condominium towers that I wasn’t sure if I would be able to find my way around. It was only when we entered the city center that I recognized parts of the Changchun I knew.

My Chinese friends in Toronto say that they have to go back home to China every three years so they can keep up with all the changes. Otherwise, they will not be able to recognize their old neighborhoods.

So what has changed? Everything.

Why has it changed so much? I would say that Changchun has a tremendous amount of energy and optimism. This is fuelled by government policies that encourage people to start their own business, no matter how small.

It is very easy to start a business. Ground floor residential units are converted into retail stores, restaurants and small manufacturing shops.