Initial Thoughts and Musings
I arrived in Beijing last Friday, September 8th. While I still don't have my wits about me -- a combination of my jet lag and the overwhelming size of this city -- I'd like to offer some initial thoughts, reactions and insights. First of all, Beijing is a massive, dynamic and exciting city. With a population hovering around 16 million and a land-mass of many, many acres, this city is way too big to see in a week or a month. For me, the scope of the city came to the fore as I walked around Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, which I would estimate at 3/4 mile x 3/4 mile square.
Beyond the sheer size of the city, I've had a chance to meet a few of the residents. As Tiananmen Square is a mecca for tourists, many of the Chinese in the area approach you in English. Before I arrived, a friend warned me that, generally speaking, people who approach you using English want to take advantage of you. This insight rang true. Of the two groups of Chinese who approached me in English -- one of whom was a guy with a perpetual speck of spittle in the corner of his lip wearing a cheap western suit and the other a group of 3 "university students" who appeared to be in their mid-20s -- who I spoke with (using Chinese) they both took me to see their "art" and "calligraphy." Their art was, generally speaking, a poor copy of a legitimate piece of art with a tacky silk banner. While I was pleased with an opportunity to practice my Chinese, I was appalled to see the number of tourists who were being this stuff from a new Chinese "friend."
I must admit, however, that so far the Chinese seem to be very nice, courteous, and very surprised that I speak Chinese. I've found that, if I respond to "hello" with "ni hao" most Chinese will switch into speaking Chinese. Thus far, I've mostly spoken with younger people -- a guy wearing three shades of white, brown comboy boots and large sunglasses and several groups of girls. The girls first suggested that I should find a Chinese girlfriend if I want to improve my spoken Chinese and then asked me to drink some tea. thus far, I haven't taken anyone up on their offer.
I must admit that I find the expat-guy-with-local-girl dynamic to be extremely interesting. It seems to me as if each party is getting what they want: the expat is able to improve his Chinese, while the local girl is, apparently, thought of as being cool if she has a foreign boyfriend. For a country that was closed off to the West until 1979 following the Cultural Revolution that was traditionally xenophibic, I've found the embrace of these types of couples to be interesting. I must, however, offer the caveat that I have yet to see such a couple -- but I also haven't had a chance to scope out the nightlife... Yet.
yesterday, September 9th, was the 30th anniversary of Chairman Mao's death. the passing of this day was interesting because nothing happened--no parades, no public displays of mourning and no news coverage. the reason for this seems to be that the country and the Communist Party are trying to come to terms with the legacy of a man who founded the People's Republic -- and was responsible for the deaths of upwards of 30 million of his countrymen. The only news I saw regarding Chairman Mao was on CNN, and this story was censored and stopped after about 10 seconds on the air. I found it kind of fitting that the first time I encountered censorship in china it was in regards to the country's past, which seems to change like the tides as the ruling style in this state continues to evolve and change.
Beyond the sheer size of the city, I've had a chance to meet a few of the residents. As Tiananmen Square is a mecca for tourists, many of the Chinese in the area approach you in English. Before I arrived, a friend warned me that, generally speaking, people who approach you using English want to take advantage of you. This insight rang true. Of the two groups of Chinese who approached me in English -- one of whom was a guy with a perpetual speck of spittle in the corner of his lip wearing a cheap western suit and the other a group of 3 "university students" who appeared to be in their mid-20s -- who I spoke with (using Chinese) they both took me to see their "art" and "calligraphy." Their art was, generally speaking, a poor copy of a legitimate piece of art with a tacky silk banner. While I was pleased with an opportunity to practice my Chinese, I was appalled to see the number of tourists who were being this stuff from a new Chinese "friend."
I must admit, however, that so far the Chinese seem to be very nice, courteous, and very surprised that I speak Chinese. I've found that, if I respond to "hello" with "ni hao" most Chinese will switch into speaking Chinese. Thus far, I've mostly spoken with younger people -- a guy wearing three shades of white, brown comboy boots and large sunglasses and several groups of girls. The girls first suggested that I should find a Chinese girlfriend if I want to improve my spoken Chinese and then asked me to drink some tea. thus far, I haven't taken anyone up on their offer.
I must admit that I find the expat-guy-with-local-girl dynamic to be extremely interesting. It seems to me as if each party is getting what they want: the expat is able to improve his Chinese, while the local girl is, apparently, thought of as being cool if she has a foreign boyfriend. For a country that was closed off to the West until 1979 following the Cultural Revolution that was traditionally xenophibic, I've found the embrace of these types of couples to be interesting. I must, however, offer the caveat that I have yet to see such a couple -- but I also haven't had a chance to scope out the nightlife... Yet.
yesterday, September 9th, was the 30th anniversary of Chairman Mao's death. the passing of this day was interesting because nothing happened--no parades, no public displays of mourning and no news coverage. the reason for this seems to be that the country and the Communist Party are trying to come to terms with the legacy of a man who founded the People's Republic -- and was responsible for the deaths of upwards of 30 million of his countrymen. The only news I saw regarding Chairman Mao was on CNN, and this story was censored and stopped after about 10 seconds on the air. I found it kind of fitting that the first time I encountered censorship in china it was in regards to the country's past, which seems to change like the tides as the ruling style in this state continues to evolve and change.
posted by jr at 5:40 AM
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