economy - Bearish sentiments prevail - NYT

"Gesturing at the near absence of customers along the street, one tea merchant complained, 'Of course the economy is very bad - just look out there.'" The New York Times reports (republished in the IHT) from Guangzhou the most bearish take on China's economy I have seen up to now.
The prediction that we are at the brink of a economic downturn that might last a few years are not new, but this is the first time I see such a solid overview of bad signs from the third most important city in China.
I do not see similar signs in Shanghai on a larger scale, but that might be a matter of time.