Impressions of Beijing

I am here in Beijing on a business trip. It is my first time in mainland China and I was not really sure what to expect. China is clearly known for its massive population, generally low GDP/ capita, communism, and amazing economic growth. I have lived in several developing countries and have traveled to Asian countries (both developed and developing), so I had developed a mental image of what it would be like. So far I have been blown away by Beijing. The amount of new development seems endless. Lots of nice new buildings, organized roads, parks, etc. The streets are amazingly clean and traffic is very organized. Clearly there can be some crazy driving, but nothing like Vietnam and Thailand.

One of the biggest impressions has been the extent to which China has become a consumption society. There are miles and miles of stores and malls. Huge Armani, Gucci, and other luxury name brand that have dedicated large free standing stores. You see these things in other countries, but not to this scale. You wonder if there are really enough people that have enough money to shop at these places (I do not). Beijing looks like a mix of Hong Kong and Tokyo, but on a bigger, wider scale (as it is not geographically constrained).

The Olympic buildings are beautiful. I was unfortunately only able to see them whilst heading to and from different meetings. The aquatics center looks amazing. Next time I will visit the buildings if that is possible.

So many developing countries have luxury next to misery next to luxury. That has not been my experience here. I have not seen serious poverty like you see in Sao Paulo, Bangkok, and other cities. I am sure it is here, but it is well hidden. Perhaps this is just a continuation from the Olympics.

The food has been fabulous and everyone has been for the most part quite courteous. Luckily my hosts have taken me to some great restaurants. Note that the Chinese can push and do not seem to enjoy the cueing concept. So you need to learn to stand your ground, but try not to take it personally.

As for pollution, my first 3 days were beautiful. Blue skies. However yesterday I think it went back to a more common grey and smoggy look. It reminded me of Santiago on the worst winter smog day.

Business seems to still be booming here. There is a real sense of opportunity, which may change with the current economic climate, but you do not sense that yet. I think had you arrive 10 to 20 years back you would have ridden an amazing boom. Only time will tell the future. Beijing could be an interesting place to live for a while. Not easy, but interesting.

BTW, if on business stay at the JW Marriott. Really nice and I had an amazing rate of around $140US.