Do I Like Beijing?

Do I like Beijing? I've been asking myself that since February 2008, but have been absolutely pestering myself about it for the last five weeks. Do I have to answer???

A view of downtown from the pedestrian overpass that leads to my street, on the right.

Ugh. It's a huge city, and I don't like huge cities. But the thing about them is that you make them - part of them - your own. When I was at the university, I made a few places my own. The park and Weiming Lake. The zongzi stand. The back street with noodle shops. Yeah, Beijing is alright.

I moved downtown, and I'll readily admit I hate the business district. HATE. But the sidestreet where I live is mine. The bikes. The old men playing mazhong. The knife sharpener. And my dear, sweet baozi friends. (I'll explain that last one!)

Each morning I leave my place and grab breakfast a couple doors down. I order the same thing every day: five little egg and chive baozi (steamed buns) and soy milk. A man and a woman run the stand. They are amused by me, and I by them. They ask me funny questions, like whether I eat baozi in America and what's cereal? (It's like cold, dry porridge. Gross!) And why don't I find a nice Han Chinese guy so I can eat baozi every day? (Oh, baozi is a race thing, now?) And my favorite question: what will you have today? (As if I'll surprise them and go off-menu.) After they ask that one, they say my order before I can get it out. It's a game. Maybe they're mocking me. I don't know.

This is Guomao, the China World Trade Center, where I work.

Today the woman looked me up and down in my fancy office clothes and said, "You're going to work. Where do you go?" I told her I work at Guomao, a place everyone knows. She knew, too, but said, "You take the metro?" No, I walk, it's like 20 minutes straight up the road. She was shocked it was so near. I was confused, because you can actually see the Guomao building from there.

And that's when I realized a big city doesn't have to be. You can buy your eggs and chives and soy beans next door to your baozi stand, which is right in front of your apartment. And you don't have to leave this block, ever, and you are happy. You never have to put on a suit, walk to the Guomao China World Trade Center, swipe your card, and sit at a desk reading banking regulations. Novel concept.

Beijing is not so bad.

This is not a model city! It's the SOHO district, which I walk past every day.
It's easy to get lost wandering among the plain white office buildings.