06.28.08

Beijing Then and Now—Changes from ‘06 to ‘08

Posted in Beijing, Olympics at 1:22 am by Benjamin Ross

Outside of Fujian, there is no place in China where I have spent as much time as Beijing. The last time I was here for an extended period of time was back in fall ’06 when I was working on another ethnographic project. I spent six weeks here in the capital city on fieldwork, which also gave me enough time to begin to adjust to the daily rhythms of the city. Since that time, Beijing has undergone rapid change associated both with the preparation for the Summer Olympics, as well the typical pressures associated with being a rapidly expanding Chinese metropolis. After some consideration, I decided that the best way to illustrate all of the changes I have observed was to split them into two categories—“There is more ________in Beijing than there was two years ago” and “There is less ________in Beijing than there was two years ago.” Here goes.

There is more___________in Beijing than there was two years ago.

Apple Gear

Before I left China last August, I could count on one hand the number of iPods and Apple computers I had seen in China. However, nowadays Apple gear’s popularity has exploded exponentially, and a trip through Zhong Guan Cun (Beijing’s largest electronics mall) will now reveal even more vendors selling Apples than there are selling Lenovos.

Beijing skies, on a “clear” day

Pollution

I have been in Beijing two weeks now and so far on only one day was I able to decipher a slight hint of blue in the sky. People say that the air quality has improved over the years, but I don’t recall ever finding it this hard to see, not to mention keep the dust off my hangers.

Mass Transit (barely)

Beijing plans to have four new subway lines open in time for the Olympics. Even if the Olympics weren’t coming to town, these additions are long overdue as Beijing’s subway is hardly adequate in dealing with such a large and spread-out population. So far only the new north-south line has opened, with another line tracing half of the third ring road, as well as ones to the airport and Olympic Center scheduled to open before 8/8. It remains to be determined whether that will all happen in time. At least you don’t have to wait in line for a person to tear your ticket anymore though.

Traffic

You know there’s a traffic problem when you haven’t even been gone from a place two years, and you can already tell that getting anywhere requires significantly more time than it did before. Between the construction, an outdated highway design, and the sheer number of new vehicles hitting the streets every day, Beijing’s traffic is worse than ever. Hopefully the new subway lines will take some of the stress off of Beijing’s severely inadequate road system.

National Pride

With the Olympics coming to town, politically sensitive issues abroad, and the outpouring of compassion over the Sichuan earthquake, Chinese nationalism is at a peak. One need not walk far in Beijing to see locals sporting the now omnipresent “I Love China” T-shirts.

There is less ___________in Beijing than there was two years ago.

Plastic Bags

In the past, I have frequently maintained that the Chinese waste far too many plastic bags. Apparently the Beijing authorities agree, as on June 1 vendors were banned from giving away plastic bags for free. From what I’ve observed, the rule appears to be being followed rather strictly here in Beijing. What I’d be interested to find out though, is to what extent it is being enforced in other parts of the country. If properly enforced, this new regulation would stand to make an enormous positive ecological impact on both China and the whole planet.

Nigerian Drug Dealers

Back in the day, a walk through Sanlitun (Beijing’s main bar street), or basically anywhere in Chaoyang (Beijing’s embassy district) would yield several conversations like this: I’d be walking casually down the street and approached by an unfamiliar African man.

African guy: Hey man, where you from?

me: The US, how about you?

African guy: New York City, wanna buy some hash?

You could easily swap “New York City” for “Los Angeles” and “hash” for either “weed,” “ex, ”“pills,” or “K,” but the basic gist was the same. During this trip, I haven’t been offered drugs once.

Hutong rickshaw drivers like this one in Qianmen are now a thing of the past…as well as all the African drug dealers in Sanlitun.

Hutong Rickshaw Drivers

One of my all-time favorite areas of Beijing is the patch of hutongs south of Qianmen (which was also the de facto red light district during the Qing Dynasty period). One of the pleasures of the area were the rickshaw drivers who would take you through the hutongs on their man-powered rickshaws. Most of them had signs on their bikes advertising their services. Whenever the police would come by, they would all flip their signs behind their handlebars, even though it was still blatantly obvious they were soliciting their services. Once the police left, it was back to business as usual. I took a long walk through the area a few days ago, and didn’t see a single rickshaw.

Beggars

This would be seem quite odd for Beijing, Fuzhou, Chicago, or really almost anywhere, but in the two weeks I have been here, I have not been accosted by a single beggar…not one!

Foreigners

Because of the recent changes to visa regulations, many foreigners who have been living in Beijing for years are now finding themselves being forced to leave the country and wait until after the Olympics to reapply for visas. As a new wave of foreign visitors flocks to the capital city for the Olympics, another wave of longtime residents will be flocking out.
For anybody having issues getting back into China, check out the post I wrote last month on obtaining a 90 day Chinese tourist visa.

My intention is not to sound overly negative about Beijing in the weeks leading up to the Olympic Games. However I do think there is still room for improvement, if Beijing is to achieve all it had planned to when it originally was awarded the games back in 2000. Regardless of what happens over the next two months, I am quite confident Beijing will be a much better city after hosting the games than it would have been without them. The improvements to infrastructure, transit, and the environment should have a positive effect on Beijingers, China, and the world as a whole. It’s just going to be interesting to see how it all plays out…And this is precisely why I am here in China at this vital junction in Chinese history.

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