There are lots of billboards along the expressway between Lanzhou and the airport. One that recently caught my eye advertises an insurance firm. Insurance is a new idea in China, a fledgling industry. With insurance, I mused, comes the notion of liability. Liability brings accountability, safety standards and precautions, codes and warnings – "doing the right thing for the wrong reason" – something that has become almost comical in the U.S., but is conspicuously absent in China. I wonder if we will begin to see fewer manholes left gaping for weeks on end, fewer live wires dangling over pedestrian areas, more workers wearing protective gear?

Progress already? Yesterday I observed these two men installing a new air conditioner for a nearby building. The outside guy is wearing a harness, it appears, as he dangles out the window with his power drill, and later takes care of the electrical work.