Until slightly more than 2 years ago, I bought into the idea that Shanghai was a place that other cities in China looked to for guidance (especially with respect to beneficial policies that have almost zero downside). But, like you and some of the others here, I was given a 2-month period to profoundly reflect upon that notion (and concluded Shanghai really isn't the pants-wearing beacon I thought it was). Furthermore, I've become more acutely aware/observant of the lingering presence of horribly inefficient relics of the bureaucracy even in neighboring provinces, let alone the hinterlands.

Getting back to the chopping topic in isolation, many cogs in the machine really seem to derive joy, satisfaction, and/or a sense of purpose from the process. As such, they don't seem to have a great deal of incentive to move into the 21st century.