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A DAY IN THE LIFE OF BEIJING
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Author:Sandor
Submitting time:2005-09-13
Browsed:171
Nationality:Hungary
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A DAY IN THE LIFE OF BEIJING
(Memories from the beginning of the 9o-es)
Sandor Meszaros, Ambassador of Hungary
Bejing gets up early, and lately the nights and the dawns are getting intertwined even closer, so it is difficult indeed to check the moment when one of them changes into the other.
To the Jian Guo Men Wai overpass dawn arrives really early. The light of the rising sun is still just a nice dream on the eyelids for those who sleep in their beds, when the first cyclists appear there from different directions. They are pedaling in the dim light cast by red lamps hanging over the road. Similar to the scouts of a big army, they appear like a tiny stream, which becomes very soon a huge river of people.
"Ma-a-ai ma-a-an too-oou!" Under the concrete pillars of the overpass the street peddlers sell their goods, their voices trying to overcome the remaining darkness fighting to hang on. Their small carts are wrapped in a steam cloud rising from the pale white steamed bread and deep fried doughs dripping with oil. Summertime the peddlers of melons hope, in their tents standing along the sidewalk, that some of the early birds will stop to buy a juicy piece from their stock.
At the gates of the diplomatic compound the guards wait to be changed, pattering in their sneakers to freshen up the muscles of their feet, which became numb during the long shift. On the other side of the Chang An Avenue the neon advertisements on the newly built highrise hotels are blinking and looking paler and paler, fighting hopelessly the ever stronger sunlight. A huge black luxurious car takes on a limpingly moving trolibus.
To the diplomatic compounds first the ayi-s are arriving through the gates, some of them stopping to have a short chat with the guards. Among the trees of the Sanlitun lane old people practice Thaichi, their floating movements are so mild and soft, that their limbs seem to melt in the air with perfect harmony.
In the small street siding with the Hungarian embassy the bird keepers are getting together. They appear, walking very comfortably, their bamboo bird cages, covered with a piece of velvet, swinging to the rhythm of their pace. They will sit there for hours, with their back leaning to the wall: they take off the cover from the cages and let their birds to chat with each other, while they discuss the state of affairs themselves.
The morning light takes over the city completely and by now the streets, the sidewalks are inundated with huge waves of people. The small yellow taxis zigzag among the bigger vehicles. At the crossings policemen standing on a platform wave with their hands, blow whistles in a desperate try to harness the flood. On Wang Fu Jin street the first jam caused by people appear.
In the embassies, offices and business representations ring the first telephone calls, the Chinese interpreters start shouting their endless "wee-eei!" Outside gather the applicants for traveling visas, determined faces wait in front of the embassies. The foreigners set out for their first official meeting, reception of a delegation at the airport, opening of an exhibition. The reception areas of different Chinese offices are filled with visitors, beautiful girls in sexy qipaos serve hot green tea to the negotiators.
With the passing of time, the increasingly glassy glances of the Chinese negotiators warn that lunch time is coming soon. The sacred Xiuxi. Life gears down to a minimal speed, blood in the veins runs slower. At the free markets the peddlers bend over their lunch boxes, along the roads truck drivers stop their machines and hurriedly look for food too. It is time to eat.
The afternoon greets the city and its inhabitants with different colours. Wintertime a sort of mother of pearl coloured weariness sits on the city. The Beijing factory producing antique tapestry finishes another piece of beautiful but very expensive carpet. The workers in the capital's picture factory mix new colours on their palette to carefully enrich the six millionth copy of a Panda painting. In the noisy commotion on the free market the money changers throw themselves on big packs of cloth and roll huge packages of money in their hands. Along the Ritan free market pavilions lane, towering Foreigners pack the tremendous amount of goods they have just bought.
Hidden from the traffic rumbling on the main roads goes on the life of the Hutungs. The city which has fallen in love with its numerous new highrises, lighting advertisement timidly hides the inhabitants of the Hutungs, their tiny courtyards amassing decade old junks, people washing at water taps on the streets. If the sky is clear one can see the mountains encircling Beijing.
In the hours of the sunset, people flock to the parks, the cracking sound of Mahjong dices comes from the stone benches, young couples look for places without others bustling around. In front of the Workers Stadium the sound of Argentinian tango is floating in the air with a lot of couples dancing solidly under the curious glances of a throng standing around them. The rickshaw finishing a round has to stand under a street lamp to count the money he got. Evening has arrived.
A last check on the sitting order and the temperature of the white wine in the diplomatic appartments, than the waiters light up the small candles at the door. During the parties questions, answers, guesses, information are floating around: in the meantime the ice melts in the glass of one's gin and tonic. At the end of the evening all feel, it is difficult to depart, all of us have a lot to say. It's o.k., for today even history has left for a good night's sleep, and we see each other tomorrow anyway. Beijing will wait, this city seems to have existed from the beginning of time and will never go away.
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romeo
2005-09-14
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"Ma-a-ai ma-a-an too-oou"
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hmaqing
2005-09-13
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lots of details such as "Ma-a-ai ma-a-an too-oou!" , and wide range of content, all are insteresting.
I like it. |
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avin_leecb
2005-09-13
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"Ma-a-ai ma-a-an too-oou!" really took a long time for our Chinese to understand, but finally i knew its meaning "卖馒头".
*^_^* |
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