Changes

  Beijing, China
Monday, September 1, 2008

in the last entry, i wrote about how much beijing had changed. the congestion of cars are gone, the dirty streets, the third world atmosphere seems to have conceded to a well controlled modern metropolis. personally, i'm still on the fence as to whether that's a good thing or a "not so good" thing. my perspective is such that newness and the "modern" are wonderful things that proclaim a coming of age, a "catching up" to the times and just a overall sense of "see, world, here we are"; and that's great. it means a country has grown socio-economically... right? i personally like the old; i think it has more character... more history. the walls, the buildings, the neighborhoods tell a story. sleek new skyscrapers, clean marble floors and ritzy shopping centers just don't have the same appeal... i could see those things at home.

smack in the middle of beijing is the forbidden city. south of that is tiananmen square with chairman mao's embalmed body and even further south is what used to be a busy street bookended by old chinese neighborhoods. these neighborhoods were a maze of hutongs, or alleyways. they were characterized by old run down shacks side by side with the occasional hostel, and small businesses sprinkled in.

hutong 1

hutong 2

back in 2005, eunice and i loved walking through these areas sampling street food, purchasing small knick knacks and just watching people go about their day. today, this area has mostly been leveled and replaced by a new 3rd street promenade sort of venue.

endless store fronts

although not complete, this pedestrian only outdoor mall is a seemingly endless row of stores with chinese architectural facades.

new shopping area

it really is impressive. there are even tracks laid down to have trolley cars go up and down the middle of this street. but again, back home we've got 3rd street, victoria gardens and for higher end, rodeo drive. i guess with china coming out in full force, the old had to concede to the new.

old neighborhood

eunice and i are just glad we had the opportunity to experience a little bit of both.