Thoughts on Beijing

In the U.S., Beijing is generally looked upon as just as distant and exotic as the rest of China. That's a huge generalization, but most people I know--including myself--have at one point thought that way. The ideas in our heads are old cars, people on rickshaws, The heavily guarded Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, and The Great Wall of China. Well, I can now say from experience that the first two are totally wong, and the last three describe very small pieces of Beijing. Most cars are new and no one uses rickshaws, people catering to tourists. Bikes are still the easiest way to travel, and most people have one. There's a whole culture around biking and ways to prevent your bike from being stolen. There are a number of pedaled carts around; but most aren't carrying fruits and small wares anymore, they're carrying PDA's and printers. The tourist spots definitely make up only a small part of the city's life. They're just for tourists, and most people don't come across them during their daily lives at all. I will say that there are many parts of China that are distant and exotic even to Chinese people let alone foreigners, but Beijing is definitely not one of them. This city is full of many people who live their lives almost identically to the lives of many people in American cities. I wouldn't say it's a majority, but it is definitely a much larger number than I expected. From economic perspectives, to tastes in movies and TV, the people in Beijing have a lot more in common with Americans than one might guess.

It actually reminds me a bit of Miami. Big highways going around and through the city, and large condos and offices interspersed with small buildings. There's no real skyline. Obviously, there's no pretty bay to look out into, and the pretty mountains that are nearby can't be seen because of smog. But the similarities that do exist are pretty interesting.

I love just going outside and walking around. There's always something new going on. Everything is very spread out, though. If I wanted to walk to center city Philadelphia from Drexel's campus, it might take a half hour. If I wanted to walk to another district of Beijing from Beida's campus, it might take half a day.

I'm really starting to like the city. I haven't seen very much of it (given that it is approximately the size of Belguim), but I can say that I like what I've seen. The area I live in, Zhongguancun (中关村), is the technology hub of Beijing. It's also known as "China's Silicon Valley". The area includes tons of shopping, universities, and tech firm offices. The place is booming. Everyone I go, I see a new building with really creative architecture, and new stores everywhere. The malls are as nice as any I've seen in the U.S., and the coffee is just as expensive. Everything else is cheaper through the exchange rate, but coffee is a huge novelty. It's okay, because the coffee I have bought here tastes terrible anyway. Starbucks needs to get up on their quality control.