Big House Beijing
Chinese born writer and filmmaker Xiaolu Guo in her book Village of Stone pictures a certain Beijing lifestyle as that of hermit crabs, which live in their portable shells and can crawl out from under their shells and move into a new and more fitting one any time they please. This depiction gives a good idea of how I felt living that far out in the suburbs of Feijacun as well as of my impression of Beijing in general, as an offer of multiple shelters to dive in. Between those ports long distances were streched out and had to be managed. Public transport was my mean of choice, avoiding to be encapsulated, once more in the casing of a taxicab. I felt at home during those long trips by bus and underground, entertained by advertising screens powered by CCTV, in the lap of the manifold chinese travelers. To be on the road meant to be part of the so called Non-Places, a world of its own, defined only by the transitory companionship of the passengers, changing from district to district. There I experienced the rhythms of Beijing’s every day life, learned about the pronounciation of Mandarin comparing the indicated stops with the announcement, learned about the politeness and friendliness and shyness and the punch of the chinese people.
You could call Beijing the megalopolis of communities and specialised supply centers spread all over town. Therefore operating the metropolitan area is challenging and takes it’s time. Every now and then a shifting of the original destination to another place happens due to the needs of an expanding city, a much-discussed process which forces a lot of people to new orientations. The steady flow of Beijing is that of a permanent change, entailing alterations with heavy influence on the persons concerned. Migrant workers have to move their sheds, following the villagers to the far-out periphery and onward, art districts continue along that path. The point is that the communities keep obviously intact, just shifted. You will find the same greengrocers, the same garbage collectors with their precisely assorted goods you had next door yesterday in new arrangements and surroundings tomorrow.
As a visitor sharing space with the inhabitants in a terminated period of time, Beijing provides many opportunities to participate, be it amusement, shopping or serious affairs, in an elusive way, but - be member of a community to get hold of the drive.