Family History, Memory Lane

My dad and his siblings, for the most part, spent the majority of their childhoods in Beijing. Growing up in a family of 8, he no doubt had his share of misadventures through the 'hu tongs' (traditional Chinese alleyways). Even as a child, I heard many stories of wall climbing, law breaking, and other activities that you would expect out of four bored boys. Today we spent some time with my aunt and cousins touring my dad and his siblings' old stomping grounds. Judging by the expression on my aunt and uncles face, the places we visited today were absolutely nostalgic for them. Our first stop was Bei Hai. Once an imperial garden lying directly northwest of the forbidden city, it is now a well preserved park with Qing dynasty architecture. A lake, now iced over, runs throughout. The view of Beijing from the pagoda at the top of the hill is spectacular on a clear day. Here are some pictures to better explain:





























(Clockwise from the top left: Lake at Bei Hai, stairway to the pagoda, view of the Beijing cityscape, view of the forbidden city)







My dad and his family lived about a three blocks from this park. My grandfather worked nearby at what is the equivalent of the Pentagon in Beijing (he was a general in the People's Army). When we left Bei Hai, we went to have dinner at the apartment building where they used to live (now converted into a classy hotpot restaurant). My whole family gathered totaled over 20 people. The food was delicious and it was wonderful to have the whole family together again. However, at events like this I always miss the one person that cannot be there, my grandmother. More later...

First Thoughts on Beijing

The first things that I'm noticing in Beijing is how much it has developed and how much more polluted it has become. It is pretty obvious that 10% yearly GDP growth for the last 15 years has made everyone better off economically. There are more people with cars, apartments, handbags, cellphones, computers, and more disposable income in general. The last time I was here was in 2003 and only in a few years Beijing seems like a much more developed city. Everything here is very much about the 2008 summer olympics, and it seems to be a source of great national pride and much government spending.

Unfortunately this great development story has come with costs; Beijing is very polluted. It is polluted on a scale that us in the West would not comprehend without experiencing it first hand. This morning I made a comment to my uncle about how it was overcast, his response was: "thats pollution not clouds." The pollution here is so bad that it is difficult to see the sun and the skies look gray on a "clear" day. The Chinese government has instituted a pollution cleanup program in Beijing by moving many of the factories from Beijing to the western regions and switching from coal power plants to petroleum power plants... apparently this hasn't done too much to alleviate the problem.

Below: polluted skies on a clear day, and smoke stacks next to an apartment complex.

Arriving in Beijing

Flew out of SF this morning. I think this will be the longest I will be away from the U.S. since moving there in 1994. I spent a pretty awesome Christmas at my Aunt's house last night and I'm glad I was able to get together with the fam before leaving. The plane was delayed; everyone and their mother was trying to get out of the country the day after Christmas. The line for UA literally stretched out for probably a good quarter mile. Nothing too exciting yet, but here is a picture of Siberia from my seat:


Beijing is about 30 degrees, and windy. Good to see my family here again. My uncle's got a Cadillac CTS, which I think really illustrate the boom that has been going on here. More later...