Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes: back in Beijing

In the short month that I've been away from Beijing, a lot's changed. Nothing too big, just little things that show China rushing to modernize and prepare for the Olympics. I read that China's sinking 25 billion yuan (about 3.5 billion US dollars) into Beijing. So what's that buying?

Well, almost every major highway/street is lined with flowers. Two days ago my taxi driver was bragging about it. “Do the roads in your country have this many flowers?” No, I said, I didn't think they do. He beamed with pride.

Also, nearly every building has been pressure-washed or repainted- including the apartment I'm renting. When I left, the building wouldn't have stood out in any 3rd world country or war zone. Now it resembles any mid-rent apartment building near my Ontario suburban home.

Almost 50% of the restaurants have new signs. The old signs were pieces of painted plywood that were usually painted with some grainy Chinese characters and perhaps an unappetizing-looking dish or two. The new signs are the sleek, modern, self-contained lights: like the big McDonald's “M” logos that light up from the inside.

Some restaurants haven't adapted yet- they never got the chance. A whole line of dingy “xiaochis” (direct translation: small eat) has closed, one of which I used to eat at everyday after working out at the gym. I'd place my order in the crammed restaurant sitting at a table of 4 with three Chinese construction workers, then listen to the peasant girl waitress yell out my order in her village's dialect to her family members upstairs working the woks. Sometimes, I'd have a rote conversation with the construction workers, who'd ask me what my salary was (currently: 0), ask me how much cash I had on hand (usually not much) grunt, and then pay the dollar or so that my meal cost. Now, these authentic parts of China will probably be replaced with a glitzier, classier restaurant, or maybe even a block of condos.

For the past three days, I've been touring Beijing with my mom and sister. It's been a great chance to tour around the city again and see the changes. In sum, nothing here is fundamentally different- the traffic's bad, the pollution's noticeable (worse than before)... but from the fresh looking buildings to the rows of freshly planted trees, Beijing has a shiny new veneer.