Rolling with the Olympics

When I say rolling, I'm inferring two things. The first is that I've moved yet again. The second is that I've been rolling with the punches of the Beijing gov't for months now, dealing with visa crap and community police and passport inspections etc etc etc. When people ask me if I'm excited about the Olympics, I'm inwardly spitting and outwardly feigning, for to curse the Olympics I may as well be cursing Mao himself. But the truth is that the Olympics is causing more strain than gain, and the hype is creating a number of mini economy bubbles which are doomed to collapse when people realize it's all artificial (the best example is housing; even with record-amounts of new housing coming into the market, prices have continued to increase more than 10% year-on-year since 2005).

The Olympics is being seen as a supersolution to all of the problems in Beijing, but it seems that few people see how superficial this view truly is.

Example 1: pollution. Because of the Olympics, Beijing has implemented a number of measures to curb air pollution in order to appease the IOC and the international community. Many people are impressed with the swiftness and effectiveness of these measures. But easy-come, easy-go, or in this case, easy-go, easy-come. Most of them are only bandage solutions, temporary measures that will be called off after the event. Starting tomorrow, Beijing will implement the half-car road rule; on even days, only cars with even licence plate numbers will be able to drive; and odd on odd days. Since roughly one third of the air pollution in Beijing is caused by cars, this should eliminate about 1/6th of the air pollution (using very rough math). As well, many industrial facilities in the Beijing region and within regions where wind carries pollutants to Beijing are being temporarily shut down. To top that off, outdoors construction is on halt. To speak truthfully, I've noticed the difference, and I'm sure many others have too. But that means it'll hit even harder when these rules are up and the smog returns. The Olympics is not causing major environmental policy changes that will have long-lasting effects, only temporary. The only long-term solution Beijing has implemented is opening the new subway line 10 (which conveniently is 5min from my apartment and takes me from the East to the Northwest in 40min when once it would take me 1hr20min).

Example 2: English. There is much reason for people in China to learn to speak English. It's the international language of business, and the language of Hollywood. As such, most students begin English classes here in middle school, and continue to study through high school and university, at which point many students are required to write the CET-4 English test. But yet, their system is so ... Chinese. People here learn to pass tests. They are great at passing tests. But when that knowledge must be taken outside of a row of desks and applied to the real world, many falter. I meet dozens of people who have learned English for over 10 years and can barely speak beyond a self-introduction. And it's not just a matter of ability, but also confidence, and the lack of an environment in which to practice. But, with the Olympics coming, millions have been given a new purpose to study English: an actual chance to encounter a native English speaker and put their years of study to use. But if they have not realized this by themselves, they needn't fear since there has been flood of slogans and advertisements expressing the importance of learning English in order to serve the anticipated influx of foreigners in August. At my school, I have met dozens of students who are blinded by optimism, seemingly willing to spend 3-4times the average monthly income of a Beijinger on English lessons they plan to use to 'volunteer'. Only in China, I say. You could not possibly convince tens of thousands of people to volunteer for the Olympics in a democratic country. But the big-brother mentality still clings here, and aside from some major progression in many fields, people are still willing to take commands and work for the greater good. And spend hard-earned money for the chance to speak with foreigners because they've been told to make us feel welcome. And what's worse is the taxi drivers. Taxis are the most convenient and practical means for foreigners to get around Beijing. They are cheap (when using foreign currency) and can take you to the very door of where you're going. That is, if you can tell them where you're going. I take taxis every day (I'm not that lazy though, I also ride the bus and subway often, just depends on where I'm going), and in 1.5yrs here I've only met one taxi driver whose English was good enough to be able to respond to me in English. The rest may say greet you with a "hello", only to dissappoint you when they raise their eyebrows at hearing 'left' and 'right', and will simply NOT understand the English names of major venues such as The Worker's Stadium (in Chinese, gongren tiyu guan, not much similarity). This despite a major push for all taxi drivers to speak English that started two years ago and has lost nearly all of its momentum since taxi drivers tend to be poorly-educated, and aside from a once-in-a-while encounter with a foreigner have no chance at all to practice their English skills. And many foreigners who live here can speak enough Chinese to get by in a taxi. But in August it won't be so easy. And don't even pretend to try to feign interest in attempting to look at the idea of boarding a bus, since there are no maps and only the Chinese name of each stop is listed. On the plus side, the subways here are very easy to navigate and all English signage is correct.

Example 3: business opportunities. Everyone seems to think that the Olympics are going to open major international business opportunities for everyone. I hate to break it to them, but those opportunities have been available for a long time now and can be thanked for the sustained 10+% annual growth of the economy here. The Olympics is not going to harvest half-a-million businessmen, but rather half-a-million sports enthusiasts and travelers. No doubt that among those there will be entrepreneurs, but the numbers don't tend towards a euphoric super-business state that will magically rise from the semi-constructed buildings that dot the city. That would require policy change, since doing business in China can be quite complicated and generally requires connections.

So the hype for the Olympics is at an all-time high, but I'm keeping level since I just know there will be consequences.

The New Pad

At the beginning of March, I moved into a new apartment. The move was long foreseen, and accelerated by the fact that my landlord was kicking me and my two roommates out. She said that the police were hassling her too much about the proper documentation required to rent to foreigners, and since our lease was near an end she wasn't going to renew with us. What a pain. In my old area, there were 20 foreigners altogether registered at our police station, which I'm guessing looked over 10,000 residents, not exactly a foreigner-friendly area.

So I moved to to Fulicheng 富力城. Literal translation: Rich and Powerful City. As can be said about the names of many new apartment complexes in Beijing, it's ridiculous. But, concordantly it also happens to be one of the most expensive areas in downtown Beijing. Luckily, though housing rates are skyrocketing here, the conversion rate still means that it's affordable. While the average person in Beijing earns around 3200RMB/month ($450), I spend 3800RMB/month on my apartment ($500). A steal? Not really, considering it's about a quarter of my monthly income. But still a pretty sweet deal.

Specs: built in 2002, 68m², single bedroom, 3pc bath, modern kitchen with gas range and double-sink, marble floor in living space, hardwood in bedroom, two enclosed balconies, air con, tv with cable (only Chinese cable, though I could get satellite if I wanted)

Perks: Within a gates community with lots of park area, buildings surround it so there is no city noise, there is a lake with carp and a bridge and several fountains, my building is attached to a modern supermarket (I literally need only go to my basement level and walk about 100m to get to it) and 15min walk to Guomao, financial centre of the city

Negatives: Couch isn't very comfortable, I need to put up new curtains but am too lazy to find someone with a drill to help me install the curtain rack, shower leaks a bit, bed's a bit hard (but big)... that's about all I can think of

The view from the entrance
The view from the living room balcony door

The bathroom

The bedroom, still missing the curtains that I've bought but am too lazy to mount

The kitchen

The washing machine room

My Wii!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll Miss the View

So after almost exactly one year at my current apartment, I'm moving.

My new building

View Larger Map

The coloured routes are subway lines. The purple line is due to open in July, which will make life pretty convenient.

What will I miss?

I'll miss the elevator ladies whom I feel so badly for because they just sit and operate the elevator for 6 hour shifts when I could easily push the button myself. I'll miss the two minutes walk to the nearest roasted meat-on-a-stick (aka chuar). I'll miss our neighbourhood market where I can easily buy anything from plumbing fixtures to yoga mats. I'll even miss the craggy old ladies who wear arm bands and call themselves community police, and secretly want all foreigners from this area evicted. Well, they've kinda won.

Truth is, my move has two driving forces. I have wanted to move for a long time. Perhaps it's the image that my bathroom leaves on visitors (it's tragic really, combine fallen wall tiles exposing slightly moldy drywall with a god-awful but mysteriously fluctuating odour arising from the drain). Or perhaps the fact that I live in the West but I'm out in the East nearly every day, and my taxi fares get their own category in my budget sheet (yes, I keep a detailed account of my spendings and earnings, gives me excuses for why my money disappears so easily). Or maybe I just want a change.

But the secondary driving force is external to myself: our landlord wanted us out. And not because of an increase in rent, which she plans anyway and is becoming standard procedure in the pre-Olympics property value boom here. She wants us out because the police have been bugging her too much about foreigners living in a non-foreigner area. Yes I realize that to say non-foreigner area implies, nae informs that there are gov't sanctioned 'zones' for foreigners. And apparently the heat was too much, and she's sick of dealing with questions from the police.

Mostly though, I'll miss the view. My balcony overlooks the second ring road, a booming highway that always reminds me of the people that course through this metropolis. And across from that the completely transforming financial HQ of the capital of the country with the strongest economic growth ever. I don't hear the traffic when my balcony window and door are closed, but need only step a few feet to remind myself that I'm sitting centre in all of this. On the west I can see the great sprawl of Beijing, as it grows towards and ends at the mountains that protect us from the deep cold of Russia. And when the pollution/clouds/dust are not too strong, I can watch the sun inch it's way down and spell night for Beijing (which happens to be my favourite time of the day).



It's hard to romanticize pollution, but I will say this: living in such a city has enabled me to truly appreciate cleaner climes. When I had a holiday in Toronto recently, the change in air quality reminded me of that when I used to go from Toronto to the countryside. And I went to the countryside during my trip as well, so Beijing to Canadian countryside seemed an incalculable difference. I appreciated it more than I ever have.

Eastward views

Looking Eastward out my enclosed balcony.


The only snowfall in '07 that accumulated on the ground. In '08 there was also only one snowfall that accumulated, but it was in December. This photo was taken in March '07.


2nd ring road during a rainstorm


The traffic on 2nd ring is ever-present, even during the night

Westward views

Dusk on the westward front of Beijing
A semi-typical day. Haze factor maybe 8/10.
Clear and blue sunset. A bit rare.
It's nice to see blue. Clear factor: 8/10.
Clear factor: 9/10. An unusually clear day during which I could make a significant depth of the mountains.

Another pretty typical day. Haze factor: 7/10

CCTV (中央电视台, China Capital Television) broadcasting tower in the West end of the city.
Bears a resemblance to my beloved CN tower. It even has a revolving restaurant, though I've not been.


This is about as bad as it gets. See that little smudge in the middle? That's the sun. And it's not covered by clouds, that's dust and smog.

One day I was in my kitchen and I noticed this smoke. However it turned out to be but a single puff, not a stream of smoke. Since I often look out my window and have never seen smoke like this, and since it's over a residential area, my best guess is that a car exploded (got a better guess?)



This is the sun. Apparently it looks also doubles as Saturn.

MOOSEHEAD!

MOOSEHEAD BEER AVAILABLE NEAR MY APARTMENT!
A new mall opened up near to where I live. It's a good example of the domination that the upper 2% in Beijing have been exerting. I live in an area known as Finance Street. I'm not actually 'inside' the financial area, however my window faces it. The new mall, built by thousands of migrant worker being paid about $100/mth offers very few products for under $100/item.





However, luckily for me, there is an Olé (Spanish, French? I'm not sure), a supermarket chain with a good choice of Western foods. The nearest store to me which offers similar fare is about 30min by bus, a location of the French chain Carrefour (家乐福). So, I'm happy.
And I'm extra happy because the only Canadian beer they choose is Moosehead, one of my favourites. I'd piss blood if they only offered Canadian, a beer not worthy of its title.