Beijing's Beihai Park : a tale of two cities FWD
Tom Boland (wgcp@earthlink.net)
Thu, 15 Oct 1998 04:43:13 -0400
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http://www.irish-times.com:80/irish-times/paper/1998/1012/wor22.html
FWD The Irish Times - October 12, 1998
Beijing at the end of the 20th century is a tale of two cities, that of the
poor, who know that if they don't make money from begging, collecting cans,
selling home-made hotpot or hauling bricks they will go hungry, and that of
the increasingly comfortable middle class, whose members, like their urban
counterparts anywhere in the world, take for granted going to the park at
weekends with their camcorders and paying for their children to ride on the
dodgems. [from article below]
A TALE OF TWO CITIES IN BEIJING
Asia Letter/Conor O'Clery
It is still summer in Beijing, with the temperature in the high 20s when it
should be fresh and cool. The city is suffocating day after day under a
blanket of smog when the autumn air should be crisp and clear.
In Beihai Park, located northwest of the Forbidden City, they have taken
all the fibre-glass boats out of the lake in anticipation of the coming
skating season. Otherwise, the scene this weekend in the huge park, once
the playground of Chinese emperors, was like that in mid-July. Hundreds of
people strolled around the paths in shirt-sleeves, with cameras round their
neck, and children in T-shirts rode the dodgems or queued for cans of
ice-cold Coca-Cola and Kentucky fried chicken.
The wedding couples suffered most from the heat, perspiring in extravagant
white gowns and dress suits as they manoeuvred their way through the crowds
for traditional photographs in front of the White Dagoba, a 36-metre
pop-art "peppermint-bottle" built on top of a hill in 1651. Squat elderly
women in trousers and gray blouses competed for space on lakeside benches
with slim young couples in designer gear fussing over their single child
(the little emperor of modern China). Young lovers embraced in open
displays of affection which would have been banned a few years ago.
Fashions and life-styles have changed a lot in modern Beijing. But there
were signs, too, of western-style poverty in the shape of a couple of
down-and-outs delving into litter bins for soft-drink cans which fetch a
few coins for recycling.
The park's ticket collectors seem to allow a few poor people in every day
without paying the 10 yuan (80p) admission charge, a sum which they could
never afford. Indeed, the entrance fee effectively keeps out those among
the hundreds of thousands of transient people who come to Beijing each week
seeking work and who would dearly love to use the park to sleep.
The Chinese capital these days is a showcase for the country's economic
growth, with modern shopping malls and smart hotels and a growing middle
class, but it is also a magnet for the losers in China's rush to
modernisation.
These are the victims of a gradual breakdown in the old communist system of
subsidised housing and full employment. A short distance from Beihai Park a
homeless man was sleeping on Saturday evening on the footpath, his coat
hanging on a metal fence and his bag of belongings beside him. A few
streets away a transient worker had made a semi-permanent home under an
overpass, using a tarpaulin and an old armchair. During the day such people
look for work or beg. The lucky ones find employment on building sites, but
the elderly and infirm live from hand to mouth.
In the last few months the number of mendicants, especially in areas
frequented by foreign tourists, has markedly increased. Many beggars are
impoverished villagers with crippled children; others are middle-aged
workers who lost everything when their factory went bankrupt and who have
no grown children to look after them.
This week, Beijing's transient labour department is to start a city-wide
shake-up of the estimated 2.3 million non-registered residents in an
attempt to remove them from illegal accommodation, especially in the inner
suburbs. This is bad news for people like Lin Hong, a 22-yearold woman from
Sichuan province who lives illegally with her husband, mother-in-law and
16year-old sister in a small room near Ditan Park and makes a living
selling home-made hotpot beside a busy overpass. They already live in fear
of the police, who recently imposed a fine on them for having no business
licence and confiscated their cooking equipment.
The plight of the "undocumented" is highlighted with some sympathy by the
official media but they are also blamed by the press for 50 per cent of the
city's crime. Besides living with uncertainty, they are excluded from much
that the city has to offer.
A day out in Beihai Park is an expense they can ill afford. Beijing at the
end of the 20th century is a tale of two cities, that of the poor, who know
that if they don't make money from begging, collecting cans, selling
home-made hotpot or hauling bricks they will go hungry, and that of the
increasingly comfortable middle class, whose members, like their urban
counterparts anywhere in the world, take for granted going to the park at
weekends with their camcorders and paying for their children to ride on the
dodgems.
END FORWARD
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receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. **
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http://www.irish-times.com:80/irish-times/paper/1998/1012/wor22.html
FWD The Irish Times - October 12, 1998
Beijing at the end of the 20th century is a tale of two cities, that of
the poor, who know that if they don't make money from begging,
collecting cans, selling home-made hotpot or hauling bricks they will
go hungry, and that of the increasingly comfortable middle class, whose
members, like their urban counterparts anywhere in the world, take for
granted going to the park at weekends with their camcorders and paying
for their children to ride on the dodgems. [from article below]
<paraindent><param>right,left</param>A TALE OF TWO CITIES IN BEIJING
Asia Letter/Conor O'Clery
</paraindent>
It is still summer in Beijing, with the temperature in the high 20s
when it should be fresh and cool. The city is suffocating day after day
under a blanket of smog when the autumn air should be crisp and clear.
In Beihai Park, located northwest of the Forbidden City, they have
taken all the fibre-glass boats out of the lake in anticipation of the
coming skating season. Otherwise, the scene this weekend in the huge
park, once the playground of Chinese emperors, was like that in
mid-July. Hundreds of people strolled around the paths in
shirt-sleeves, with cameras round their neck, and children in T-shirts
rode the dodgems or queued for cans of ice-cold Coca-Cola and Kentucky
fried chicken.
The wedding couples suffered most from the heat, perspiring in
extravagant white gowns and dress suits as they manoeuvred their way
through the crowds for traditional photographs in front of the White
Dagoba, a 36-metre pop-art "peppermint-bottle" built on top of a hill
in 1651. Squat elderly women in trousers and gray blouses competed for
space on lakeside benches with slim young couples in designer gear
fussing over their single child (the little emperor of modern China).
Young lovers embraced in open displays of affection which would have
been banned a few years ago.
Fashions and life-styles have changed a lot in modern Beijing. But
there were signs, too, of western-style poverty in the shape of a
couple of down-and-outs delving into litter bins for soft-drink cans
which fetch a few coins for recycling.
The park's ticket collectors seem to allow a few poor people in every
day without paying the 10 yuan (80p) admission charge, a sum which they
could never afford. Indeed, the entrance fee effectively keeps out
those among the hundreds of thousands of transient people who come to
Beijing each week seeking work and who would dearly love to use the
park to sleep.
The Chinese capital these days is a showcase for the country's economic
growth, with modern shopping malls and smart hotels and a growing
middle class, but it is also a magnet for the losers in China's rush to
modernisation.
These are the victims of a gradual breakdown in the old communist
system of subsidised housing and full employment. A short distance from
Beihai Park a homeless man was sleeping on Saturday evening on the
footpath, his coat hanging on a metal fence and his bag of belongings
beside him. A few streets away a transient worker had made a
semi-permanent home under an overpass, using a tarpaulin and an old
armchair. During the day such people look for work or beg. The lucky
ones find employment on building sites, but the elderly and infirm live
from hand to mouth.
In the last few months the number of mendicants, especially in areas
frequented by foreign tourists, has markedly increased. Many beggars
are impoverished villagers with crippled children; others are
middle-aged workers who lost everything when their factory went
bankrupt and who have no grown children to look after them.
This week, Beijing's transient labour department is to start a
city-wide shake-up of the estimated 2.3 million non-registered
residents in an attempt to remove them from illegal accommodation,
especially in the inner suburbs. This is bad news for people like Lin
Hong, a 22-yearold woman from Sichuan province who lives illegally with
her husband, mother-in-law and 16year-old sister in a small room near
Ditan Park and makes a living selling home-made hotpot beside a busy
overpass. They already live in fear of the police, who recently imposed
a fine on them for having no business licence and confiscated their
cooking equipment.
The plight of the "undocumented" is highlighted with some sympathy by
the official media but they are also blamed by the press for 50 per
cent of the city's crime. Besides living with uncertainty, they are
excluded from much that the city has to offer.
A day out in Beihai Park is an expense they can ill afford. Beijing at
the end of the 20th century is a tale of two cities, that of the poor,
who know that if they don't make money from begging, collecting cans,
selling home-made hotpot or hauling bricks they will go hungry, and
that of the increasingly comfortable middle class, whose members, like
their urban counterparts anywhere in the world, take for granted going
to the park at weekends with their camcorders and paying for their
children to ride on the dodgems.
END FORWARD
** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. **
HOMELESS PEOPLE'S NETWORK <<http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/> Home Page
ARCHIVES <<http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/archives.html> read posts to HPN
TO JOIN <<http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/join.html> or email Tom <<wgcp@earthlink.net>
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