www射-国产免费一级-欧美福利-亚洲成人福利-成人一区在线观看-亚州成人

Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
Opinion
Home / Opinion / From the Readers

Beijing — One of the easiest places to have a comfortable life

By Rosemary Bolger | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-10-10 14:14
Share
Share - WeChat

Rosemary Bolger poses at a section of the Great Wall. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] 

People that haven’t visited China often consider it an intimidating place to travel, let alone live, as a foreigner. ”Why China?“ everyone asked when I announced I was moving to Beijing last year. It’s not a question asked of those who move to London or Paris. Diplomatic staff members get extra pay and perks to take a posting in Beijing. Living in China also looks good on your resume; employers assume that if you have the skills to survive in China, you can do anything. While I’m happy to take the questions and the extra credit, it hardly feels justified these days as China becomes more open and continues to make huge progress.

In reality, Beijing has become one of the easiest places to lead a comfortable life. One of the first Chinese words I learned was fanbian, meaning convenient. It could be applied to so many aspects of Beijing’s day-to-day life, from getting around to splitting the bill. Certainly, the language barrier makes things difficult initially. But even that is changing as more Chinese people study English and travel overseas. I was twice asked to “tutor” different toddlers within my first month - their parents eager to expose them to English at a young age to ensure they mastered it by the time they were teenagers. The language barrier, particularly in the major cities, is crumbling and will be gone within a generation.

The more fanbian aspects of life in China are even more obvious once you leave. After growing accustomed to paying for everything on my phone thanks to China’s amazingly user-friendly e-commerce systems, it feels like going back in time to rely on cash and card once again. Last month, banks announced they would soon allow same-day money transfers – something China’s been doing for years!

Since experiencing China’s metro subways, waiting 10 minutes for a city train in peak hour is agonizing. It does not help to realize that three or four trains in Beijing would have departed in the time you’ve been stuck on the platform. The subway is not the only form of transport that makes the big cities so livable. The plethora of clever and colorful share bikes has not only changed the streetscape, but has transformed people’s traveling habits. They are easy to use and quickly became one of the most enjoyable parts of life. Again I have that sense of going backwards as I return to pounding the pavement or driving a car.

The success of share bikes and e-commerce is of course due in huge parts to their brilliant design and good marketing. But similar schemes are struggling in other parts of the world. The same share bikes adopted by millions in China have been shunned in Australia with more trivial complainants than customers. This shows that a key reason for China’s progress has been down to people’s willingness to embrace change and new things. It’s a refreshing attitude that has enabled the country’s entrepreneurs to thrive. The words innovation and entrepreneurship are perhaps a little worn out in the Chinese press, but their repetition is not without justification.

Change is not only obvious in the tech sector. When I came to China, I had braced myself for a concrete jungle. One Tasmanian nature-lover told me gravely that she’d heard no bird sounds in Beijing. I was able to report back that not only are birds alive and chirping rather loudly in the trees outside my city apartment, there is a growing appreciation for bird watching. Not only are there canal-side parks, there are far more natural wonders around the country than I had time to visit. A former colleague bought her first pair of hiking boots this year. She’s part of a fledgling hiking scene as more Chinese people develop an appreciation for nature. It’s a significant shift from the previous approach to making progress at any price. Now, more efforts are being made to protect the environment through regulating industries, while the government tackles huge environmental problems with gusto. As other countries let petty politics derail action on climate change, China announced in January it would spend 2.5 trillion yuan ($367 billion) on renewable energy by 2020.

These are the signs of progress and change I noticed in just under a year in Beijing. I can’t wait to return and see what else is new.

Most Viewed in 24 Hours
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
主站蜘蛛池模板: 成人影视免费 | 精品国产综合成人亚洲区 | 久久视屏这里只有精品6国产 | 亚洲成人高清 | 免费看一级毛片欧美 | 国产91九色刺激露脸对白 | 亚洲欧美中文日韩二区一区 | 国产在线视频h | 国产操操 | 国产或人精品日本亚洲77美色 | 1024国产欧美日韩精品 | 成人a视频片在线观看免费 成人a视频在线观看 | 国产精品嘿咻嘿咻在线播放 | 中国性孕妇孕交在线 | 国产精品视频免费一区二区三区 | 欧美精品亚洲精品日韩专区 | 欧美日韩精品乱国产 | 国产韩国精品一区二区三区久久 | 在线视频精品一区 | 欧美经典成人在观看线视频 | 日本亚洲免费 | 久久久久久久99精品免费 | a级毛片在线播放 | 国产精品手机视频一区二区 | 亚洲国产99在线精品一区二区 | 一级做a爰片久久毛片看看 一级做a爰片久久毛片鸭王 | 亚洲网站视频 | 日韩视频国产 | 欧洲国产伦久久久久久久 | 久久国产欧美日韩精品 | 亚洲自拍高清 | a一级毛片录像带 录像片 | 久久免费视频99 | 亚洲午夜精品 | 欧美高清性刺激毛片 | 成在线人免费视频 | 国产夫妇精品自在线 | 黄色毛片子 | 影院亚洲| 日本欧美中文 | 成人在线网 |