Delayed! Why flying in China is hard

While flying in China can sometimes be a nightmare, the country earns high marks for quickly building a large-scale aviation industry.

After a series of accidents in the early 1990's, Chinese airlines have greatly improved their safety records and now rank among the best in the world.

China has also built thousands of shiny new airports in recent decades, including marquee facilities that put their Western equivalents to shame.

For many, the industry's progress is emblematic of China's broader development over the past 30 years -- a period frequently described as an "economic miracle."

Writing about a recent trip to China, the American novelist Gary Shteyngart described his journey between Newark and Beijing in stark terms. The New Jersey facility, he wrote, is "essentially a giant bathroom with airplanes," while Beijing's Norman Foster-designed facility is "gleaming and sinuous."

"Nowhere on earth is the fast-forward button pressed with such might and frequency," Shteyngart said of China.

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