FORMULA ONE/Chinese Grand Prix: What would Chairman Mao have made of it all? There are certainly no references to pit stops, pole position, chequered flags or hairpin curves in his Little Red Book of Marxist-Leninist truisms.

China has come a long way since the bicycle ruled the streets, everyone wore suits inspired by Chairman Mao Zedong's blue overalls and the East was truly Red.

At Shanghai's state-of-the-art new motor racing circuit, Communist China's red flag, complete with hammer and sickle, flies alongside the flaming red of Italian car maker and Grand Prix supremos Ferrari, one of the most potent icons of global capitalism.

China entered motor racing's ascendancy yesterday with the inaugural Chinese Grand Prix, marking the consummation of the country's love affair with the automobile.

The statistics about China's car market make for breathtaking reading. It is the world's third-largest, and fastest-growing car market. There were over two million passenger cars sold in China last year.

Owning a car is one of the great status milestones for the growing number of Chinese who can afford it. After years in which owning a car was an impossible dream, Chinese people simply love to drive.

To that enthusiasm, add a government that is distinctly pro-auto. The Shanghai government has invested billions of yuan in the race track.

Over 150,000 people showed up to test the new track and they were extremely happy with the results, saying it was a testament to China's emerging status.

"The Grand Prix is a great event. You can see how China is getting richer and everyone has more money - it also means that things get a bit expensive. But this event has inspired me," said Mr Li Yu, a businessman from the Sichuan capital Chengdu, rushing to get to the stands before the race.

One little boy waved a huge Ferrari flag and shouted the team name as his mother hurried him along. "Ferrari Number One. They wear red. It's lucky. That's what makes them number one."

The spacious pits featured the traditional cast of motor racing characters, with technicians revving up the engines and glamorous models wandering around in skimpy costumes, carrying umbrellas.

The Shanghai circuit is built on what used to be farmland in the Shanghai suburb of Jiading, home to the city's car industry.

There is no tradition of motor racing in China, but a surge in private car ownership on the back of a booming economy has made the sport popular among the emerging middle class.

Crowds thronged the huge grandstand, which towers 10 storeys above the track and is linked to the pits by giant wedge-shaped overhead passages.

China's emerging class of super rich is keen to start splashing about the cash it has accumulated in recent years as the economy has burgeoned.

The Grand Prix opening in Shanghai came just a few days after the luxury good manufacturer Louis Vuitton opened a flagship store in the city, cocking a snook at the leagues of counterfeiters who run off copies of the famous handbags.

Jake Li, a student from Shanghai, gestured at the crowds walking along behind one of the circuit's enormous grandstands.

"This is good for China, it's good for Shanghai, it's great. Though the tickets are pretty expensive," he said.

Constructed to look like the Chinese character 'shang', which means 'to rise' and is also the first part of the word Shanghai, the track's final capacity is expected to be 250,000 spectators and will also include a theme park.

"It's very beautiful. The spectators can enjoy it and it will also test the drivers," said one spectator, a Shanghai resident, wearing a red polo shirt and a Ferrari cap.

"This will help give China a very positive image in the world and that's good for business. Good for everyone. We welcome Formula One."

Brady Liang, a sports marketing manager from Taiwan, said the track was proof that China was on the rise.

"This is good for the whole country and it's great for Shanghai. It will teach people in China about motor racing culture.

"China is a developing country but they need more cars and I can see motor racing developing quite quickly, particularly because the government is developing the sport," said Liang.

Chairman Mao would be pleased to know that the East is still Red. It just comes in different hues these days.