Seeing the City for the First Time

I am impressed with the number of people who are simply out and about in Beijing. We took a walk with Andy and Judy to find a 700 year old hutong street and ended up just wandering around the hutong area, walking through shops, and exploring some city parks. The first thing I noticed was that people weren’t shut up in stores or offices. They were out on the streets socializing with one another. Shop owners would set chairs outside their stores and sit with friends and family while they ate and talked. Bicyclers would stop and talk to each other or talk to walkers along their way. In the parks, there were groups of families and friends sitting out and enjoying the beautiful sun and scenery around them. It didn’t seem like something that would happen in the United States—maybe in a small town, but not in a huge city like Beijing. In the United States, people would be rushing to work, too busy to stop and chat. They would be shut in their cars with the air conditioning blowing before they shut themselves in their offices and stores, also with the air conditioning blasting. Beijing was busy with all of the people, but it seemed so much warmer and friendlier simply because people were so open with each other. 

Another aspect of Beijing that caught my attention at first glance was how dusty the city is. The city cars seem to be covered in a layer of dust or dirt. You can even taste it in your mouth. The hutongs seem dilapidated and there is garbage piled in the nooks and crannies. The laundry we saw hanging in some of the living areas looked stained and dirty. Even the people look warn and leathery. Nothing looked new or pristine, but used and broken in. It was as if you could see the age of the culture simply by watching the way people live.