I live in an area of Chaoyang District (largest district) called Wangjing, which has seen a lot of development in recent years. It is the most popular area of Beijing for Koreans. Wangjing is still a lot more quiet compared to the more downtown areas, but the traffic still drives me crazy on a regular basis. Oh well, nothing is perfect. If the motorbikes in Ho Chi Minh City are crazy enough, in Beijing it is a combination of cars, scooters/motorcycles, and rickshaws.
Now I will go into an overall summary of Beijing, both the good and the bad:
The Good Parts-
1. The food: You can easily find a wide variety of cuisines in Beijing, both Western and Asian. Compared to eating at those expensive restaurants, I prefer to eat at cafes and bars, smaller restaurants, and street vendors (although sometimes safety is still a concern). You can find Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Western, and even Middle Eastern eat-outs. Compared to the food in Vancouver, Beijing wins by several miles.
KFC, Pizza Hut, Macdonald's are ALL better in China, having many items on their menus that can't be found in the West. There is also a Chinese fast food chain called Yoshinoya (though the name sounds Japanese) that has AWESOME rice with beef. Dairy Queen in China also tastes better.
TIP: Don't eat the food at karaokes, I had some one time and ended up getting a stomach flu for a week.
2. The cinemas: Cinemas in China often have a MUCH better selection of films to watch compared to ones in Canada. Every time when there is a new movie it is an Asian or Western blockbuster. Another thing that makes movie theaters in Beijing great is that you can buy food and drinks directly using cash, whereas in Canada you have to get a coupon first. WHAT are Canadians thinking!? Another good thing about cinemas (and many other public places) is that if you are a student, it is automatically 50% off. I don't even have a local school student pass and they don't care, as long as I tell them I am studying.
TIP: If you try to buy tickets from those machines in the cinemas, they often malfunction which can piss you off. However I've had the same happen in Vancouver and Los Angeles.
3. Good selection of TV to watch: Unlike in America and Canada where people normally watch the same shit on a select few channels, Chinese television is full of variety. Each province has its own TV channel, along with CCTV, Tianjin TV, Shanghai TV, and Chongqing TV. Many channels specialize in certain types of programs, from fashion to documentaries and lifestyle. You can also get satellite TV installed.
TIP: Since 2011 the installation of a set-top box has become necessary in order to view the majority of channels. Without it, only a few will be available.
4. Plenty of historical sites and parks: Tiananmen Square, Great Wall, Yuanmingyuan, Summer Palace, all of these iconic Chinese historical sites are in Beijing. If you want to just relax and do some people watching, Beihai Park and Houhai are the best places. Houhai is the essence of Beijing's bar scene and nightlife. The hutongs are still peaceful, but the noisy metropolis is right outside them.
TIP: Don't go climb the Great Wall on a hot day! It's tougher than you think! I climbed it during the summer and suffered a heat stroke afterwards.
5. You don't have to endure long line-ups: In fact, if you do, you will hardly get ANYTHING done. I learned this at the cinema once. That was the debut for the movie "Red Cliffs", and there was a huge line. Had I not attempted to cut in line out of desperation, I would have ended up waiting 2 or 3 hours! Same applies to other public locations. If you don't try to cut in line, often people will just get ahead of you. In fact, having lived in Beijing for a couple years, I find it hard getting used to staying in line every time I have to go back to Vancouver.
TIP: Still try to cut in line as discreetly as possible.
6. Easy accessible to other parts of China: Well this is fairly obvious as it is the capital of China and a major international metropolis. You can basically fly to most other places in China from Beijing. Terminal 3 of the airport is very modern but way too crowded. They also have better food as well as shops in Terminal 3 than many airports in North America. They have a Sunrise Duty Free. Traditional Beijing foods and snacks are way overpriced though. I remember a pack of "ma hua" cost 60 RMB, while I believe 25-30 is more reasonable.
7. Good for international education: If you are a rich person that wants to dump money into an international education for your children, whether it be escaping the horrors of the local Chinese school system or simply because of the language barrier, there are plenty of international schools in Beijing. Most are expensive as hell though.
Universities have the slightly brighter side of things, with more and more international students studying in Beijing. One time in a cafe I met a 25 year-old Afghan woman who came to Beijing in her teenage years and is now pursuing post-graduate studies at Peking University. From what she has told me it isn't easier for foreigners and overseas Asians like me to get into the prestigious PKU, but I don't want to spend that much time on education anyways.
8. Good for business opportunities: The Chinese economy is growing at a rate of 7.7% per year, while America's is declining by 4-5% annually. This means if you are a high-end professional or diplomat, you will likely be deployed to Beijing or find a job fairly easily with the multitude of foreign companies in the city. Beijing is a fast-paced, very business oriented place that's heavily workaholic and Westernized like the Anglo world. Most of us guys here on HA would consider this bad, including me. However, if you are a conformist workaholic, Beijing is good for you.
9. Public transportation is A LOT easier to access and A LOT more common: In the Anglo world, if you do not own an automobile you are almost half crippled, or at least the people will find it somewhat weird. As having a car is still a luxury for many in Beijing, public transportation in the form of buses, taxis, and the subway is much more accessible and a lot more common. Or you could buy a scooter / motorcycle. Anyways, all of these is MUCH cheaper than a car.
For most males under age 30 in China, their income is not enough for them to own an automobile unless they have A) Rich family B) They are genius entrepreneurs C) They work their asses off. Even C often won't get you enough savings unless you work for a major company (and in a medium-high position)
10. The overall atmosphere is still better than the Anglo world: This really depends on where you are. Areas like the CBD (Central Business District) and Sanlitun are extremely consumerist and Westernized, to my extreme dislike. On the other hand you get smaller places where people are often sitting together, having a drink and engaging in conversation with each other. I've seen a few writer, artist, and intellectual types in the cafes, although they are still quite cliquish. Overall, the sense of harmony and the bond between people is still MUCH stronger than the West.
The Bad:
1. The air pollution: Often reaching up to potentially life threatening levels (albeit long term), the air pollution is one of the primary reasons why I am NOT staying in Beijing for much longer. One time on a cold night (it was almost 10 PM), I was returning home after watching a movie with a friend. The smog that night made me cough and choke, and if it were not for the mask that my buddy gave me to wear before we said goodbye, I would have likely collapsed on the street. China's factories still very much run on coal, contributing to a large part of the pollution, added with the sheer amount of automobiles. My British friend of mine is already planning on leaving Beijing with his son and heading for Southeast Asia.
2. Extremely slow internet+internet censorship: YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter are STILL blocked. Many access these sites using proxies and VPNs (government can't control), but the speed of these programs is dependent on the local internet. The internet speed in Beijing makes me cry at times. Perhaps it is due to a combination of too many people using it at once along with China Telecom being an extremely crappy ISP.
If your wi-fi is broken, the people that fix it often take a long time to arrive and aren't the smartest when it comes to solving problems.
3. Foreigners in Beijing are involved in gang activity: Foreign gangs in Beijing are often found in the Sanlitun area, making that place quite dangerous at night. Such is the behavior of many foreigners in Beijing. Sanlitun is like a mini South Side Chicago. I've seen American and British gangs in the Houhai area. Well maybe not so surprising as the nightlife of Beijing is centered there.
4. Bug infestations in apartments: Chances are that if you live in an apartment that's at least 7 or 8 years old, you will have a date (countless dates for me) with the roaches. Where I used to live in Beijing was infested with cockroaches. At first they scared the crap out of me (and still do), but I was able to somewhat recover my bug phobia and began killing them by drowning them with water.
5. Public washrooms: Even at the airport the washrooms are very dirty and smelly. What's annoying is that many washrooms in China don't have sit-down toilets, only ones where you have to crouch. Also many people drop cigarettes in the toilets and don't even flush. Very gross.
6. Crappy weather: Biggest problem throughout the year is it's too dry. I wake up getting nosebleeds. and having chapped lips. It gets to 40+ in the summer and -10 in the winter, extremely unpredictable. Add crappy weather with the air pollution it is torture.
7. Extremely workaholic / studyaholic society:
Identical to the Anglo world, the 2nd part upgraded. The people in Beijing (both Chinese AND expats, the latter to a lesser extent) work their asses off 24/7. Every time I ask a Chinese person in his or her's 20s or 30s what their goals and objectives in life are, it is always something along the lines of: "Work hard for myself, my family and my future." Even the white collar class that makes quite a bit of money still give this answer. If I mention anything related to art, philosophy, and spiritual matters most won't be interested at all or pretend to listen at first, then tell me these things are useless. They love to work overtime not always due to needing the money, but more often because they simply have nothing else to do in their daily lives AND are sheep-like conformists seeing a relaxed lifestyle as being condemned. There is even a term in China called "工作治疗“ (gong zuo zhi liao), which refers to working your ass off trying to forget about a broken relationship or to compensate for the emptiness in your life. People would rather be like this, acknowledging that work makes them really stressed and miserable, yet unwilling to face the reality of their intellectual/spiritual emptiness, the root of their workaholism.
Another cause of this is the lack of spiritual faith in most Chinese people. Going to temples and praying to ancestors is A) Satanic B) Followed as tradition, not as real faith that shapes identity and worldview. Many claim to be Buddhists, but in fact what they follow is a pseudo-religion combining Buddhism, Confucianism, Chinese folk religion (ancestor worship), and of course, money. As someone who has studied real Buddhism, it is NOTHING related to all this crap. Real Buddhism is about personal enlightenment and meditation, not giving your money to temples, praying to statues, worshiping dead people, and so on. Unfortunately this kind of pseudo-religion has spread throughout the Sino/Confucian sphere of influence. Since this kind of stuff is not powerful enough to give a real worldview, most Chinese have a hard time seeing themselves as unique individuals. On the other hand, my strongly personal faith in a personal God gives me confidence and assurance that I am unique and made in His image.
China's education system is a shithole. My friends hardly have time to hang out with me, as they are always at school, tutoring, in some sort of extracurricular activity, or reviewing at home with their mobile phones locked away by their moms and dads. I think most of you are familiar at the intense pressure of Chinese students. Once they enter middle school, they have review classes at school after their normal schooling hours and often don't go home until 10 or 11 PM. Most Chinese students are programmed to think that being a student is their primary objective at their stage in life, and deviating from it is unthinkable. They are taught that studying hard is an honor for their clan. Studying part is an important part of filial piety. Due to so much pressure from studying, Chinese students often don't have a real intellectual side. Yes they go out with friends, watch movies, play video games etc. but aside from these things you can't really engage in real conversation with them. Many think I am weird for having so many opinions rather than just going with the flow. My friends who go to local schools may watch a movie with me and eat a meal with me, but I can't talk about anything deep with them as they are more occupied with studying, gossip, gaming, and chat programs. No different from Anglo teenagers plus the studying part.
Chinese teenagers basically have the same look in their eyes. This is especially evident in the boys. My eyes look very different from typical East Asians. It's not because I have mixed ancestry, it is an outward reflection of my inner state that's much more free and independent yet cooler and more detached than most other Chinese and Asians. Like most of the people in Beijing I do get heated up quickly when my mentality is challenged, and I also admit that I am judgmental, but my logical and holistic way of seeing things is totally incompatible with the practical and detail oriented mentality of most people in Beijing.
I easily get worn out by life in a big metropolis, and Beijing is a conformist, repressive hell where I don't really click along with the people. If I were a workaholic and business/career oriented person, I have little doubt that the opportunities in Beijing would be great for me. However, as a carefree and expressive individual, living long term in Beijing is slow mental AND physical suicide.
8. The traffic in Beijing is life threatening.
You have motorbikes in Ho Chi Minh City, I've heard. What if you have automobiles, scooters, motorcycles, buses, and rickshaws all coming your way at the same time? This is Beijing traffic. Terrible traffic jams and sometimes even gridlock. Traffic restricting / environmental policies based on license plates have barely any effect, as many people own 2 or even 3 automobiles. I don't dare to cross the road unless I see other people do so before me or trying to cross with me.
9. The sewage system sucks.
Often when you walk around Beijing a smell of feces suddenly fills the air. This is caused by the poor and often stuck sewage system. It comes from a combination of garbage, excretion, and chemicals. I feel sick when smelling it.
10. Most expats in Beijing are pretty dumb.
While there are a few examples of expats (like my UK friend and mentor David) that love Chinese culture or have already fully integrated into Chinese culture, most expats in Beijing are the narrow-minded and bitchy type that just rant all day. Well, the majority are in Beijing for work and business, not even for adventure and experiencing China. They are also extremely racist, especially the American and British ones. I mean like WTF, if you are going to be racist, WHY bother coming to China when you can avoid having to see Chinese people all day and make a higher income in your own developed Anglo shithole nation? However, the ones that actually ENJOY China love the women or are happily married to Chinese women.
11. AND NOW....... THE PART YOU HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR...... THE WOMEN.......
Very few people in Beijing are actually real Beijingers, by which I mean born and raised in Beijing with Beijing ancestry. Beijing is a migrant city.
Whether these girls are born in Beijing, grew up in Beijing, or migrated to Beijing, Beijing women (by the larger definition) are absolutely the most Westernized, entitled, demanding, shallow, materialistic, and bitchiest women in China just like Shanghai.
Girls from smaller, less Westernized parts of China that come to Beijing quickly have their good and authentic qualities ruined. They either can't fight against it or don't make an effort to fight against it, as they just think about the higher salary in Beijing compared to their hometowns.
The younger girls are HEAVILY Americanized / Koreanized, social media, pop culture and gossip addicted types. I am disgusted by the sight of a bunch of spoiled girls giggling together, sharing a bunch of meaningless crap with each other or laughing at something on their phones. This kind of behavior is increasingly seen in the 23+ age group. Chinese women in Beijing go GAGA over white and Korean celebrities. I especially CANNOT tolerate their obsession over Korean actors and pop groups. Like f**k they don't even care if these "flower males" spent millions and billions on plastic surgery. To them, who cares? Extremely childish and immature. One time I went to a Chinese high school and I saw this girl's locker that was covered with pictures of Korean celebrities.
You may expect the 25+ white collar women to be more wise and more intellectual, but often that is not the case. They are JUST as addicted to gaming and social media as their younger counterparts. Sending useless stuff and selfies in QQ Space or WeChat all day (WeChat more in recent years), like "Wow! I got a new high score in this game!". "Wow! Look at how cute this is!". "Do I look pretty?" This sort of shit. Wearing glasses without lens? Oh crap. iPhones and iPads are seen as things to show off.
My casual date with a 21 year old Chinese woman from Henan but worked in Beijing made me pissed because she and her friend that decided to tag along (which I made the mistake of allowing) just KEPT playing Beats Master on their phones when we were sitting at the cafe. They woudln't even initiate conversation with me as friends!
Now, back to the 25+ white collar class women in Beijing. Extremely demanding, bitchy, feminist. Again, you may expect that these older women are more settled and just want a nice man, but that's far from true. Of course there are still rare cases of decent white collar women in China that just want a nice man but can't find one due to most Chinese men fearing success in women, but these ones are certainly not in Beijing or Shanghai.
Check this link and you will know how older women in Beijing are extremely demanding:
http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/MDTR8cwekkU/
So you see older does not equal more wise.
Beijing gals have a reputation in China for having Princess syndrome along with Shanghai women. Don't look for a woman in Beijing! Unless you are lucky to have found one that just arrived from a smaller part of China.
When I still had my part-time job as a TA at an English school before I was replaced by a white guy, I worked with 3 25+ Beijing bitches that constantly messed around with the relaxed way I was doing things AS WELL AS gossiping+fighting with each other. All 3 were single, and one time I heard the 3 of them discussing about men. The content of their discussion made me cover my ears.
11. Finally, extremely racist ESL industry.
How does it feel to be discriminated as an Asian in Asia? If you look into the Chinese way of thinking, being white=Anglo, even though in reality you speak with a thick European accent. Parents think the 1st language of all white people is English. Stupid assholes. They think Asians and blacks can't speak proper English. A white bum that smokes and drinks almost immediately gets the job, while an Asian,Black, or Hispanic-American/Canadian that's highly qualified and has proper TEFL/TESOL certification may not be taken too seriously. Blacks maybe more than Asians and Hispanics (though I've only seen 1 Hispanic-American teaching English in Beijing).
The English center that offered me the part-time job told me they picked me because of my "dedication and preseverance" in keep going to visit them and check on them, which really meant "we have no choice, we don't want you to damage our reputation as being difficult, we don't want to upset you, so we will keep you around for a while until a white guy comes along AND we will just tell you you are fired in an indirect way." And that's EXACTLY what happened to me.
If you look at ads for English schools in Beijing (and other parts of China), the teacher that appears in the ads is 99.5% likely to be white/Caucasian. Again this all goes back to the wrong and f***ed up assumption by many Chinese parents that white=from an English speaking country.
Besides, most English teachers in China fall under the dumb/narrow-minded expat category.
Anyways, these are my thoughts on my life in Beijing. I will be leaving Beijing pretty soon, and once my real HA experience takes off, I doubt I will return for many years, if at all. However, as bad as it can get, it's still way above anywhere in the Anglo Five.
