Wo Ai Ni, Beijing!

During my trip back to China last February and March, I spent most the time in Beijing (北京). Although Beijing is not as cold as Harbin, but it was quite chilly when I was there. It even snowed a few times, but that didn’t stop me from wandering around the city all the time. Unless the city is covered with fresh snow, winter is not pretty in Northern cities. Beijing is no exception, especially with a notorious reputation for its air pollution. The undertone is grey. Most of the time, the sky is grey, the roads are grey, and the buildings are grey. Automobiles on the roads are covered with dirt and dust. The air smells like burning coal. Yet, life is as usual and never lacks color when the grey cover is peeled off—come inside. No matter how hush the air quality might be, as soon as I taste the food, hear the sound, see the people, and be with the family, the nostalgia and homesick sentiment immediately takes over, and makes me forget any inconvenience. Occasionally, the sky is cleared up. I will never miss an opportunity to go out and take more pictures of the beautiful city when that happens. Or, at night, Beijing becomes a sea of neon lights. The best way to capture the lives in the city is to take pictures, a lot pictures. As always, I never go anywhere without my camera. I took thousands of photos during this trip, all with my simple small camera. These are some survived my "delete" key, for now. There are so many stories behind each photo, I can only let the pictures tell the story themselves. http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf It’s quite obvious that the pace of Beijing life is much slower. People walk slow like those people in Chinatown in San Francisco—they always seem blocking my way on purpose. As a matter of fact, when people leave, instead of saying "Goodbye," most people in Beijing say "您慢走." Its literal translation into English means "you go slowly." Well, all the slowness is changed when people try to get on a bus, a subway car, a train, or even an airplane. They will fight each other and want to get on first at any cost. I can never understand why suddenly people become in such a hurry. The transportation system in Beijing is much better than San Francisco in my opinion. They are much more frequent unless there is a bad congestion, which is very common. I think MUNI should go to Beijing to learn how Beijing operates buses and subways, economically and efficiently. Even I spend a long time in Beijing, I don’t get to visit every place I want to go. However, one place I never fail to visit every time I go to Beijing is 798 (798艺术区). I love this place. However, compared to the past couple years, I feel 798 Art Zone is not as thriving as it used to be. Many galleries are closed. Many art works are removed, although displayed works are constantly changing at this place. The vibe just isn’t there this time. I hope it’s simply a seasonal thing. I hope by the summer time, the scene will turn around. Yet, the bleak outlook doesn’t deter some of the love birds from staging their wedding photos at this unique space. I took a picture when they were posing for their photographer. Of course, there are still plenty intriguing work on display. http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf Although it’s only less than three months since I left Beijing on March 9th, I feel it has been a long time. I already feel that it’s time for me to go back again. I realize that I ask myself the same question from time to time: "Should I move to Beijing?" It will be really hard for me to give up the life in San Francisco. I love San Francisco, and I love Beijing too. Every time I visit Beijing, I feel like I am being unfaithful and having an affair, because I put myself into a position that is more than just a visitor—I also leave a piece of my heart to Beijing. And, I keep going back again, and again. 我爱你, 北京! Wo Ai Ni, Beijing! I Love You, Beijing!