Under the Grey Sky

"China is incredible!" my stepfather repeatedly told me in amazement. He had recently visited the country to observe it's manufacturing sector, which has been radically growing for several years, and has recently accelerated into high gear.

During the first few minutes of our arrival we could see the new economical growth and outrageous development here in Beijing. There are so many people in our view, many new high-rise buildings under construction in all directions, and brand new cars on every street.

The expressions of the people are bright, with smiles and laughter filling the sidewalks. And all of this is moving around under the huge dome of the grey sky that hovers over the city. These were some of our impressions, immediately after our arrival on a train from Ulaan Baatar.

Unlike Europe in a cold summer and dry Mongolia, the humidity is 100% in Beijing. Add smog to that and we have a kind of air so thick that you can literally cut it with your own hand. On a sunny day, the visibility is no more than two kilometers. Even buildings nearby are in a grey haze due to this hazy air quality. We are maneuvering through the city mainly by taxi and on foot in this atmosphere that is different from any other cities we have visited so far.

We plan to stay in Beijing for two weeks. However, our time for exploring is limited, because Lyn is collaborating with students at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in conjunction with her SIGGRAPH artist-in-residence. When we walk in the city, we like to avoid the main streets and wonder into the backstreets, called Hutongs. Once we get away from the touristy spots the real lives of Beijing begin to come into our view. The city is quite safe to walk anywhere and so many of the elements in the people's lives here remind me of my childhood in Japan.

When was the last time I saw middle-aged men in a neighborhood sitting around a chessboard on the sidewalk, waving fans, and drinking beer? At dusk, I can hear and smell cooking that comes from houses nearby. Young housewives yell at trouble-making little boys. Older women are gossiping loudly, seemingly all talking at the same time. And vendors come in and out of the neighborhood; selling goldfish in bowls and crickets in a little bamboo cages.

There seems to be a park, small or large, in every neighborhood. The people who utilize those parks are mainly in middle age and older. Some take their grandchildren and some others walk their little dogs. Others group up for various forms of exercises, such as walking, Tai Chi, sword dance, fan dance, and social dance. Men surround Chinese chessboards or play cards. They use these parks daily and they all seem to enjoy being there. No parks seem to be just a manicured, pretty waste of space.

We saw photos taken by young Chinese photographers in Berlin, depicting rapidly changing urban sceneries and contrasts of the old and the new. The Beijing that we are looking at now has so much of the expressions that we saw in those pictures. Once we recognize that the similar changes are taking place all over China, we would have to say, "China is incredible!" On the other hand, it is beyond our imaginations how these changes in China would affect itself and the world in the coming years.