Universal Studios Opening
Since its construction began back in 2019, we’ve all been eagerly awaiting the opening day of Universal Studios Beijing. Well, it’s official! The park will be open to the public starting Sep 20! Now, they’re doing the final round of employee testing before the park’s grand unveiling this summer. At the moment, two metro lines – Line 7 and BaTong Line – have dedicated Universal Resort Stations located near the park’s entrance.
Summer Showers and Hail Warnings
July has been marked by thunderstorms and hail in various parts of Beijing. Shunyi and Haidian were the most recent victims of heavy hail, while Chaoyang and Dongcheng experienced torrential rains. Given Beijing’s sheer immensity, the rain and hail clouds take time to travel from one district to another, and this year, such weather has been much more frequent. So it’s wise to check the hour-by-hour breakdown on your favorite weather app and always keep an umbrella on hand.
Beijing’s HSR (High-Speed Railways)
Beijing’s HSR has certainly become popular over the years. Whereas once people preferred airplanes to high-speed railways, there’s been something of a shift as of late. But it’s not hard to see why HSR is widely used nowadays. With travel time between Beijing and Shanghai cut to a mere four hours, upgrades to Beijing’s HSRs have made them much faster and more efficient. Likewise, since summer is a rainy season for much of the country – especially if traveling to Zhejiang or Jiangsu Provinces – Beijing’s HSR does a great job of reaching every region, even when airplanes fail us.
Beijing’s Sharing Economy
As mobile phones continue to dominate just about every aspect of our lives, more and more companies in Beijing are embracing the “Sharing Economy.” Popular transport apps such as Shenzhou Car Service, Didi, and Mobike make life much easier, enabling folks to bike to work without owning a bike or call a taxi from the comfort of their couch. By installing a simple app on your phone, you’re able to scan and open those share-bikes and get to work without the hassle of being trampled on the subway. Talk about efficiency.
Facial-Recognition Payments in Beijing
China has long led the pack in digital payments. Recently, however, facial-recognition payments (岬졌連마) have gained popularity as an even newer digital-payment method at physical stores. This payment service is operated by Alipay, which belongs to the e-commerce giant Alibaba Group. With contactless payments being preferred due to the coronavirus pandemic, facial recognition payments are taking off. There’s no need to carry a smartphone, bank card, any form of identification, or even enter a pin number. Currently, more than 1,000 convenience stores are using facial payment methods and more than 100 million Chinese have registered to use the technology.
Internalization & Globalization
If you came to Beijing a decade ago, the streets would’ve been full of jianbing and baozi restaurants. Even finding a non-Chinese fast food restaurant like McDonald’s or KFC was a challenge. But nowadays, Beijing has become a global metropolis, serving dishes from all over the world. You can easily find an international panoply of cuisines such as French, Mexican, and German throughout the capital. And yet, despite the heavy internalization, Beijing has managed to keep its traditional roots while embracing foreign practices.
Daxing Airport
When Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX) officially opened on Sep 25, 2019, it stood as the largest airport in the world. With flights departing to 112 destinations around the globe, it quickly surpassed Beijing Capital in popularity. The gigantic Daxing airport – with its impressive shape and adorable nickname, “Starfish” – has enormous dimensions and holds four runways. Its location in Daxing District is ideal to serve the Chinese capital and the neighboring areas of Hebei and Tianjin. With a 46km-distance from Tiananmen Square, a 67km-distance from Beijing International Airport, and a 26km-distance from Langfang City Center, Daxing airport aims to become the main airport hub of the region.
Images: Unsplash, Uni You
This article appeared in the jingkids 2021 July-August issue
