Hong Kong is often called ‘Asia light’ by travelers who have been to other places and from my previous experience with China I can pretty much agree with that statement! So when I headed to Beijing I expected to feel at least somewhat out of my element, at least more than I usually do in Hong Kong.
We got delayed in Shenzhen so our flight was really late, we had to split up for cabbing to the hostel and the other group got ripped off by their driver. Luckily my cab was obnoxious enough to vehemently insist on a price before we got in. The other group were victims of a pretty common scam where they’re driven 10 minutes away from the airport and then the driver insisted on a price that’s usually double what it should be and unless you feel like hitch hiking on a deserted Beijing highway you pay that man whatever price he fancies!
The next day when we were exploring Beijing what struck me most was how much it reminded me of Toronto. When we were there it was early April and the weather was cool and crisp with not a cloud in the sky and I didn’t notice any smog at all! I know this isn’t typical for Beijing but to me after being in humid, foggyHong Kong for so long it felt like I’d stepped off the plane to Canada, I kept walking around and in wonder saying how it felt like a genuine Canadian autumn. It wasn’t just the weather that was unexpectedly home-like, the feel of the city in many places was similar too. All the buildings are relatively new which is something most Torontonians could identify with because compared to Europe and many other places in the world our city is a baby. Just like Canada the streets were large, and clean and there weren’t too many people around. This may seem surprising because Beijing has one of the largest populations in the world, but I think it’s because the city area is so large that. compared to Hong Kong where millions of people are squished into a tiny area, it seemed positively serene!
This impression of emptiness was completely negated the minute you stepped on the metro. There, it was a dog eat dog world, or what I ended up calling ‘Fight Club: Beijing’. In order to secure a spot, but more importantly to ensure that you didn’t get preemptively herded off the train, it was acceptable to shove, grab or shoulder innocent bystanders…it was actually quite cathartic!
Beijing was completely different from what I expected, it felt much more modern, sterile and clean than anything I had expected. It really makes you appreciate the difference in the way China is developing with regards to strict government control and planning, compared to other large countries, such as India. Mumbai and Beijing may both be cities with similar populations but they have COMPLETELY different atmospheres and levels of development. I guess that’s one of the reason that traveling is so important; unless you see things with your own eyes or experience places yourself you can often have completely skewed perceptions!
Beijing street food
The Forbidden City
The Great Wall