Having just returned from Beijing, I wanted to share a few thoughts and impressions from my trip to the mainland.  Overall, I found the city to be a fascinating place.  Though the heat was slightly suffocating and the haze made the eyes water a bit, the city itself was relatively clean and appeared to run efficiently.  It will be interesting to see how the world responds to its first big taste of the city come the Olympics, which start on 8-8-08 (in Chinese lore, the number eight is considered to be lucky).  Moving on….

1. The new terminal three in the Beijing airport is absolutely massive.  The ambiance is very similar to Hong Kong International Airport but it is exponentially bigger and, surprisingly, more efficient.  My guess is this place is a well-oiled machine due to the approaching Olympics.
2. The roads around Beijing are well-maintained, particularly the wide one leading into the city from the airport.  Again, I suspect this has something to do with the Olympics.
3. There is a ridiculous amount of cars littering those roads, making it easy to see why China just became the world’s top producer of greenhouse gases.  I presume this also has something to do with the thick layer of smog hovering over the city, where everyday seems at least a bit “overcast”.  I couldn’t imagine running a marathon in that air.  I hear the government is attempting to limit the number of cars on the roads and the number of factories in production in the weeks leading up to the event, but this would appear to be a daunting task.
4. The word for “how are you?” sounds like knee-how.  The word for “thank you” sounds like shea-shea. [Read more...]