I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I arrived at Beijing. As my previous post indicated I found the airport over the top. It should have been my first indication that the Chinese have always had large scope as part of their vision when they take on large projects. When you get to the Forbidden City you realize that they have had large scope and vision for a very long, long time.
As the oldest know City in the world it is something to see. It is also as new and flashy as any modern City - building upon building as you roll along the ring roads that catch your eye - for better or worse but certainly eye catching.
I was staying in a high rise hotel at a major intersection. 24 hour a day traffic - a car city. A very safe place to be so I took off to see what was out there behind the miles of new towers. The city is mostly a grid, even in the back streets, so it is very easy to navigate. It was great to wander the neighborhood near me and experience a bit of the real Beijing - where the Chinese people live and operate every day.
Just like the rest of us they get up, eat breakfast, get everyone off to school and work and get on with life. Other than local variances we are all very much the same - no matter what government structure that hangs over us.
And I always marvel that the most enterprising people seem to appear and be working in the most non-capitalistic places - lessons for all of us.
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