Beijing is the capital of China. It is also historical and cultural city spanning for more than 3,000 years of history. During this time, it has also been the country's capital for 860 years. There are five historical periods when Beijing was the capital, namely Jin (1115–1234), Yuan (1271-1368), Ming (1368 -1644), Qing (1644-1912) and the Republic of China (the period of the Beiyang Government, 1912-1928). Beijingers who were born and bred in Beijing have always been proud of their heritage. With such long period of history, it is said that any taxi driver in Beijing can talk at length about anything Beijing with passengers, and some joked that even the dumb can talk about the stories of Beijing. On the contrary, if you live in a certain "new city"(new city refers to the newly developed areas outside the 3th Ring Road of Beijing), there would not be much to talk about. Stepping out of the place you stay in this "new city", you will see huge, wide roads. However, you will not be able to see people staying around you. Looking at the city square in this "new city", the most conspicuous building is definitely the city government's. If you want to take a glance at someone opposite the square, you will not be able to do that without a telescope.
Beijingers don't like this "new city". They prefer the old Beijing of 3,000 years of history. They love the budding willows of Beihai Park, the sunset of Shichahai lakes, the joy of the old neighborhood in the city's narrow alleys, the aromas of the old eateries, the hustle and bustle of the small shops, the sounds of cicadas beneath the trees, and the city's pleasant breezes and blue sky in April. All of these are precious memories that any Beijinger would cherish.
Now, Beijing has changed from an ancient city to a village.
On a weekend, I saw two drivers parked in the middle of the road. They were arguing in a non-Beijing accent, and their license plates indicate that the cars are not from Beijing. That incident was not something serious. In the old Beijing, some old man would appear in such a situation to settle the matter amicably for the two parties. However, the roads now are too wide. The old people in Beijing are almost all gone, so no one would step up to handle this kind of matter now. In all likelihood, so long as no one is dead in the incident, the parties involved would go away on their own. They would not want any troubles. This is just like what would happen in a village, even if the roads are wider.
There was once I accompanied a foreigner to Tongluo Alley, a place I once considered to be full of the characteristics of Beijing. The narrow alley was full of the sounds of ringing bicycle bells. Coffee shops, tea houses, drinking places and restaurants were everywhere, where singing voices and music filled the air, making the place romantically and uniquely Beijing. When I arrived there however, I found out these were all things of the past. Tongluo Alley became more crowded with outsiders with very few native Beijingers. Long gone are the coffee shops and tea houses, not many of the drinking places remained, while the restaurants that are open are the types that people would not want go, even if they were in a third-tier city in China. The shops there only sell mass-produced souvenirs made in towns specializing in tourist items. A woman appeared out of nowhere, stood in the middle of the crowded alley and wailed, "my child is missing!" A fat, local Beijing man tried to help, but was clueless on what he should do, and could only stand there doing nothing with much embarrassment.
The New Beijing is indeed new.
New buildings have emerged at the western part of the city, and an area which was once an open space in the middle is now an entertainment zone mostly selling food and drinks. These modern-day outlets have replaced the little street side shops, and with the collapse of the street side economy, Beijingers now have to drive an hour for shopping, and another hour to get to work. This has created a reason for them to buy cars. Hence, the old city is now full of cars. To accommodate the cars, the roads are widened, which in turn created more reason for the people to buy cars. Gradually, people will become more insignificant, while cars become the real masters of the city. With all these, Beijing now has become a place where even the local people cannot recognize. The whole city has become a giant car park.
The street business in the city was once a medium of city's thousand years of culture, tradition and the relationship of people's life. These are all gone now. Given that e-commerce is on the rise, the remaining street business has been washed away. People will no longer go out to neighborhood shops to buy things while chit-chatting with others. They only have two options now, either driving to further places to shop, or buy things online. Beijing has become so boring that it has become like an ordinary third-tier city in China. Take the entertainment zone on the west side of the city as example. The nightlights there are indeed splendid, but among the bustling crowd, you can it is rarely see any Beijingers. The people who come to this area are youths from other places, and the food served here are from different regions as well.
In the past, there were no railings in the road. The current railings and traffic lights did not block the people crossing the road. Instead, we see people occupying the space, illegally crossing the railings, racketeering, begging, spitting, taking drugs. We also see many people putting on the latest K-pop style make-up, making them all look the same. Some of those who work in Beijing would buy houses there, and their parents would move in, often bringing along their rural habits with them. In China, it is said that Beijing is the most unique city. This is in comparison with Shanghai. People from all over China moved to Shanghai and adopted the Shanghainese dialect and lifestyle. Shenzhen is a city formed by people from different parts of China, and because of its proximity with Hong Kong and Macau, it is also integrated to the culture of these two places. Hence, Shanghai and Shenzhen retain some of the urban traditions.
It is only Beijing that has nothing to integrate into, as everyone speaks Mandarin. Given the influx of tens of thousands of people coming to Beijing, the city is drowned beneath this sea of people, and the three-millennia old city has become like a giant hotel where people from everywhere stays. The popularity of the internet has also brought people closer to each other. A young man who is far away in the northwest may be arguing with a professor in Beijing at the moment. Everyone in this city feels that everything is what it should be. Beijing was a city of many gods. There were the gods of fire, water and sky, and all these gods come to represent the inhabitants' respect for the land. Likewise, they respect the guests coming to the city too. All these ancient customs however, are gone under the multitude of people in the city. What is left is only the pretentiousness and the madness, the remains of a "cultural wreckage".
It is said that all these are collectively called urbanization.
For China's current intellectuals, the big cities are already metropolitanized, while the smaller cities too have become urbanized. However, to the older generations of Beijing, things have changed too rapidly, and the city has become unrecognizable. In their view, no one will appreciate and cherish the city anymore.
Final analysis conclusion:
Beijingers are giving the land to outsiders, while themselves are moving away from the 5th Ring Road that encircles the city, to an unknown future.
