Beijing's Series of Unfortunate Events (Sort of)
After Mao Zedong kicked the bucket in the mid-70s, the moderate Deng Xiaoping took over as the Premiere of the country. Deng allowed more freedom--socially, not politically (e.g. Tiananmen Square Massacre in '89). This social freedom has created a semi-capitalist society that is giving citizens a real reason to work hard. The economy is expanding 10% annually, and some cities, especially Beijing, are beginning to Westernize. The picture to the left is a "men", which means "gate" or "door". It is an entrance to a hutong which is a Chinese alley. These are one of the most historic parts of Beijing. They are home to families, police stations (very small), local family owned restaurants, beggars, and people trying to sell you anything and everything. The other night I was bargaining in Chinese with a street vendor for some Mao Zedong propaganda. It's pretty hard to bargain in a language you're not that good at. But, the best bargaining tactic is just "walk away". Prices start dropping. After getting the product at a steep discount, I was pretty pleased with myself until I walked past another vendor selling the same exact thing for a lower price. The street vendors are very aggressive, especially with foreigners. Instead of a face they just see a big dollar sign, or in their case, a yuan sign. In fact, on multiple occasions I've had a seller grab me by the wrist and pull me over to their stall. I've got the "I'm just looking" phrase down pretty well. Back to my main point. These cultural alleys are being torn down for poorly built skyscrapers and Western fast food restaurants. I was pretty appalled. However, a few of the teachers who have been teaching for a year at the school I am staying at tell me that the locals don't really mind (at least not the ones living in the hutongs). They say that the plumbing is just horrendous and the companies that move into this extremely valuable property pay pretty well for the space. Still, I just can't imagine Beijing without them, and the disapearance is just one of the costs of economic growth. But while the loss of the hutongs is significant, this growth Beijing is seeing is raising the standard of living for many Chinese. It will be interesting to see how the Communist Chinese officials balance Beijing's economic growth and preserving its cultural identity, similar to the situation in my hometown. I just hope they don't screw it up like our city commissioners did.