Ah…Beijing – it’s old and it’s new, it moves at the speed of light but it takes an hour to drive anywhere, the food is delicious but sometimes it smells like the sewer rising from street corners. Suffice to say that Beijing is unlike any other city in the world, and if I ever had to leave, there would be so, so many things that I would miss.
The easy-breezy world of WeChat
One of the things I would miss the most is the sheer convenience of paying, ordering, scanning friends, and doing just about everything else with your phone, namely through the ubiquitous WeChat. I mean, even our Health Kit that guarantees entry to most places is tied to WeChat! Not to mention, WeChat pay and Alipay make food delivery and online shopping a seamless experience. Did you know you can also pay for the bus and vending machines using WeChat? I don’t know how I will ever go back to using cards and cash in other parts of the world. Sure, there are cardless transactions in plenty of countries, but China takes it to the next level. Simply put, you can do everything with your phone. It’s easy, convenient, and a breeze to set up.
The sheer number of share-bikes
If you don’t want to take a bus, subway, or a DiDi, you can hop on a share-bike pretty much anywhere in Beijing. It’s so convenient, and you don’t have to worry about parking them, losing them, getting them stolen, or riding back home if you don’t feel like it. On top of that, Beijing is a beautiful city to cycle in, especially in the springtime when all the flowers are blooming. What’s more, only in Beijing can you see shared bikes, electric scooters, motorcycles, cars, and even pedestrians all using the same lane at the same time, which is perfectly normal and entirely unique.
Scrumptious jianbing
When I’m not carrying a lot of money and I’m really hungry, I simply look for the nearest jianbing food cart and pay RMB 6 for the iconic Beijing snack. Jianbing is a traditional Chinese street food that’s similar to crepes, though the main ingredients of jianbing are a batter of flour and egg, plus sweet sauce and crispy baocui topping. Its history can be traced back almost 2,000 years! I don’t know how I could ever live without it. You can find this delicious treat on practically every street corner in Beijing.
Aunties dancing in the park
If you’ve ever strolled through a Beijing park, then the scene of old ladies decked out in bright costumes dancing in the promenades is doubtlessly a familiar sight to you. Sometimes, you might see them doing tai chi too. Tai chi is an internal Chinese martial art that has numerous purported health benefits in holistic medicine. These cheerful seniors always seem so happy and that just makes my day. I hope I can be as active as they are when I grow old.
Hutongs alongside skyscrapers
Beijing is a really unique city where new and old stand side-by-side. Centuries-old hutongs juxtaposed against modern skyscrapers create the capital’s iconic postcard view. It’s fascinating to see how Beijing evolved from hutong neighborhoods to a complex urban jungle that surrounds those ancient walls. Take a stroll in the hutong for a literal walk down memory lane and visit a slice of Beijing’s past.
Despite the things I will miss about Beijing, there are also some things I won’t miss, such as the unavoidable traffic jams, and can you say smelly tofu? For now, though, I love Beijing and I am happy to call this city home.
What would you miss most about life in Beijing? Let us know in the comments!
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Images: Isabella Cao, Uni You, Unsplash, Pexels
