Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Beijing is a place of paradoxes, and you'll fail abysmally if you try to box people into a
single definition. While many will squash themselves into a hot sweaty bus to save a single
yuán
, others will flaunt their new Maserati outside nightclubs. Some will quaff cocktails
of traditional and Western medication to maintain optimal health while others chain-smoke
chemically dubious cigarettes. Many passionately embrace traditions, while others are be-
witched by anything shiny and new.
Given a long and not-too-distant history of famine and turmoil, people here prioritize
personal security over spiritual things such as love. Marriage is paramount, and it's the men
who have the pressure of having to provide a dowry of a car, apartment, and stable job.
For the most part, the people of Beijing are warm and open to change. They're forgiving
of those who don't speak Chinese and often even embarrassed if they're unable to speak
English themselves. Rather than racing to be adults, they're young at heart and playful well
into their 30s. They love to laugh, to go hiking in spring, to sit around for hours eating com-
munal meals, and, above all, to share their pride in their country.
