Is China Bad?

I have not touched Age of Empires realistically since me, my brother and dad all played LAN when it came out so I am trying to figure out who I like to play. I like the way China plays but I get the sneaking suspicion that is poopy. The units feel pretty bad, continue to feel bad even after town hall upgrades and are hard to make in decent numbers. Additionally buildings like the Summer Palace which are more expensive than something like the Dojo that the Japanese yet It feels a lot slower.

When I play China nothing I do feels particularly powerful. I am willing to admit I am pretty bad at the game but I don't get the same feeling when playing some of the other civs.