It is only an insane person would deny the fact that China’s capital city, Beijing has become a centre of world attraction for all ‘creatures’ great and small. Those having the opportunity to visit historic and touristic areas like The Great Wall, Forbidden City, Summer Palace and various entertainment parks and other social avenues to ease life’s stress have good stories to tell about life in Beijing. Shakespeare wrote in Coriolanus: “What is the city but the people?”
This spells out clearly that cities like Beijing ‘are more than infrastructure; they are communities of individuals and families with different backgrounds, needs and aspirations.’
What I have learnt so far during my five months stay in Beijing is that the Government of the People’s Republic of China has focused on quality of life and the quality of amenities, places, governance, and neighbourhoods they have to offer.
Shakespeare continues: “meeting the desires of communities can only happen when citizens are engaged in the shaping of their cities. Rather than perceiving inhabitants as the unquantifiable, ‘messy’ element that interferes with a clear planning process or public policies, their participation needs to be integrated in the design and implementation processes.”
This means that the government as the Master Planner is a listening government to people’s wants & needs; educating them about options and innovation; communicating developments effectively and seeking citizen input and feedback; and finding methods of incorporating this understanding into solutions.
The concept of people-friendly cities places these interactions at the heart of the relationship between the government and the rest of mankind.
As the World Health Organization (WHO) states in their “What makes a city age friendly”:
“Cities are complex organisms that rely on effective interaction between people’s homes, the possibilities of communication and travel, the availability of appropriate services and also the less tangible, yet vitally important, influences such as a sense of belonging, security and the kindness of others.”
These are great opportunities and hospitalities China has over the years offered to foreigners like us whose passion for development cannot be overemphasized. My fervent hope and prayers is for other cities and countries in the world to be accommodating and easier to adapt to as Beijing City.
Cities of Jiangsu, Guangdong, Sichuan Provinces and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region have attracted me during my short visit; but in spite of the few challenges in Beijing such as heavy traffic congestion in the morning and evening of working days, air and water pollution; I’ll always want to come back to my little apartment in Beijing to enjoy the summer. Yes, I am enjoying the summer because I found it challenging at my first visit in February when I was welcomed by a winter period that I have never experienced in my home country Sierra Leone.
Thank God I endured the snow and cold wind, which served as a greater moment in my exploration of Beijing City. I’m now in a better position to advise first-time visitors to bring a winter jacket to enjoy their stay in this beautiful and friendly city.
As a humanistic, people-friendly city, Beijing is first and foremost an accessible city, where mobility is possible for all. Although it is sometimes plagued with traffic congestion because of its densely populated nature, the fastest way of getting around is often on a bicycle, which is a highly efficient means of transport. Apart from the convenient city-bus and subway systems, the bicycle ride has become increasingly popular in Beijing. Cycling is good for environment, relieves traffic pressure and makes travel in the downtown area more efficient, especially during rush hour. More importantly, people can enjoy easy and free sightseeing of the city. Most middle and lower class people would go for bicycles. Currently there are more than thousands of public bikes in Beijing, which rented at next to nothing cost per day. Bikes can be easily rented at many dedicated rental sites, which are intensively distributed in the urban and suburban areas. One just needs an app to effect payment and gets access code to rent a bike.
Secondly, Beijing is a unique city that one can easily access 5000 years of captivating history and culture. People live an interesting life that combines these two elements. They go about their lives while being surrounded by some of the most spectacular historical places in the world. After a busy workload in offices or the field of academia, the weekend events start in parks and a visit to historic sites. The most popular entertainment environment for especially nightlife is Sanlitun in the eastern Chaoyang District. It is a fashion center for shopping, food and arts. It is world-famous for its Bar Street, which is the symbol of nightlife and the city’s first bar community, leading the bar culture and fashion of Beijing. It is divided into northern and southern; and housing the City’s Workers Stadium.
In terms of food I miss my African dish so much. I am able to enjoy Chinese dishes like Hot Pot (Huo guo), Beijing Duck, map udufu - Special type of Tofu etc. There is a multitude of various restaurants serving up different styles of cuisine throughout Beijing. Many of these restaurants are designed to serve large gatherings of people, as dining out in big groups is far more common among both Chinese and expatriates in Beijing.
The food is consistent with the high-end brand surroundings. Some of the famous places like Solana at Chaoyang Park has a fine collection of shops, restaurants, cafes and sporting facilities. You can find very cheap food at street vendors and truly local restaurants equivalent to $1 or $2.
It is also fairly easy to adapt as a foreigner. However, English is not the main spoken language in China. Some people in Beijing can converse in English, although they mainly speak in their local Mandarin - a group of related varieties of Chinese spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. Foreigners are mostly offered the opportunity to learn Mandarin in order to enable us communicate well with the local people.
I see Beijing as a city that is full of opportunity and education, one need to ensure that his or her travelling or relocation successful.
Beijing’s day life events tend to move faster than night activities, which are mostly slow down. It can accommodate all classes of people, irrespective of your race, colour and nationality. It is a dynamic city with wonderful things you can find in every corner. Living in Beijing brings great joy and happiness to your soul, because ‘it is a friendly city flowing with milk and honey’.
