Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
are not partial to dog, and snakes, scorpions, and bugs on sticks tend to be limited to the
“nobody goes there but tourists” Donghuamen Night Market by Wangfujing.
Beijing is a hard city to define. Whenever you think you've nailed your understanding of
one aspect of life here, someone puts a chink in your theory. There are currently close to 20
million people, and more than 7 million of these are migrants who've come to the capital
for work and to study. It's a huge mixing bowl of Chinese ethnicities, of people who have
different interests, fashion and food tastes, values, and ethics.
There is a distinctive atmosphere of ambition. After centuries of hardship, wars, famine,
and now fierce modernization where homes can be torn down one day and replaced with
a shopping center the next, there is a general feeling of insecurity. The costs of living are
skyrocketing, while competition for jobs only gets harder with every additional migrant en-
tering the city. There is little room for dreams of a hippy existential existence. Many will
tell you that Chinese are practical first, idealistic second. Before they can dream they need
to acquire the hallmarks of stability—a secure job, a car, a home, marriage, and a child, and
often in that order.
Ambition in Beijing means striving for one of two things—money or a position of
power. Locals refer to such people as
quánguì, quán
meaning to have power or rights, and
guì
referring to having money. Either can go a long way toward lubricating the path of life
in Beijing. Officially, workers within the government don't earn much money, but when
you're standing at the top of the ladder of power and your coffer is overflowing with
rénmài
(networks and contacts), you might well as be a millionaire.
Despite a history of socialism and religions such as Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucian-
ism, the city is increasingly materialistic. And when you've got it, you flaunt it. The
Chinese still have a deeply embedded concept of “face,” and in many ways these days, face
is coded by a monetary value. SUVs and luxury cars, designer goods, multiple apartments,
multiple children, and oversized pedigree dogs are prized symbols of wealth. Even when
they can't afford it, many feel obligated to spend lavish amounts of money on ostentatious
gifts or dinners, just to “give face” to their boss or important connections.
