Despite the hulabaloo about the internet (and publishing) censorship issues surrounding Google’s proffered gauntlet, China does provide many expats with a creative environment they would be hard-put to find in their home countries.

The New York Times had an uplifting China report that reminded me of one of the myriad reasons why I came to China and why I’ll be sticking around until the government kicks all us expats out: the energy of the Unknown. Essentially, China’ social and economic path is a great experiment never before tread on such a grand scale. Sure, the West, parts of Latin America and the Asian Tigers have all gone through their industrial revolutions. But never before have so many with such a long and wrenching history adopted such grand change within the lifetime of a single individual.

Such magnificent change is sure to throw off sparks: some of the sparks get in people’s eyes – especially those in post-”imperial” societies – and sets some on fire – the less fortunate citizens in the country that suffer from poverty or corruption or pollution. But for others, it is a time of life-altering events that may never be seen again in human history.

All this energy provides a creative frenzy that leaves one exhausted at the end of the day – praying for silence so one may be able to hear one’s own thoughts – and then up again the next day, knowing in your bones just how precious the Time is. All of us expats have one thing in common, at least: the freedom to leave China. That freedom gives us access to points of view and creative energies our compatriots in our home countries do not have.

The artists profiled in the NYT article know this, as well as many expats who are in China to make a life – not just a living. I know it, too. In my bones.