A SKYLINE dotted with cranes and new banks, mobile phone shops mushrooming in retail areas - and thousands of new cars hitting the streets every month, zipping past busy property agencies.

This sounds like Ireland three years ago, or China three years ago, but this is Zhengzhou today, capital of China's most populous province, Henan, home to 100 million people.

Workers are putting the finishing touches to a brand new exhibition centre, and it's as if the global recession was happening on another planet.

The hum of activity in this city echoes the broader recovery in China. The economy expanded by a powerful 8.9 per cent in the third quarter, driven overwhelmingly by massive government stimulus spending focused on a 4 trillion yuan (about [euro]400 billion) stimulus plan that has helped the nation spearhead recovery from the recession.

Growth in the world's third-largest economy accelerated from 7.9 per cent in the second quarter and for the first nine months of the year was 7.7 per cent, according to the National Statistics Bureau. Back in the first three months of the year, growth was 6.1 per cent.

Vice-premier Li Keqiang underlined the growing optimism in China when he said the domestic economy's rebound was firmer.