I knew a very talented engineer who was a US expat, he studied in China during college and spoke fluent mandarin. He moved to Beijing about 10 years ago, couldn&#x27;t stomach it for more than a few months at a stretch, and ended up settling down in Taipei instead.<p>Even though he was committed to full immersion in China, something about Beijing was just too gritty and he left. I feel that other westerners would have the same reaction. If there&#x27;s a new explosion of innovation centered in Beijing, Westerners may not have much of a part in it