From the South exit of Forbidden City. Forbidden city is vast and exhausting. There is hardly any place to sit inside, and vehicles are forbidden to approach the entrance. As a result, you’ll find many exhausted tourists leaning on those red walls.
But here’s an approach I found at the North exit of Forbidden City. The couple or the lady accompanied them, surely know well about the location coming with foldable chairs as they wait for someone to pick them up.
The sticker placed in the car lists etiquette Beijing taxi drivers should follow. You can also interpret this as something that drivers tend to or used to do until recently.
1. Inside the car should be organized, shall not be personalized.
2. Inside the car shall not smell.
3. The driver shall wear uniform during operation (I have never seen a driver wearing uniform)
4. Passengers can request the settings inside the car
5. Driver should sincerely serve; talk politely
6. Make sure passenger carries one’s belongings
7. Should proactively help passenger to place their luggage
8. Should not smoke or drink during its operation
9. Use meter accurately
10. Should voluntarily provide receipts
11. Receipts should be clearly readable
12. Should not spit or throw bins outside
13. Should accept credit card payments
Based on my personal experience, Beijing taxi drivers are one of the best mannered taxi drivers in China now. We seldom come across with a driver who tries to cheat or resists to issue receipts. In a sense, we could already presume that by the time we see such stickers properly visible in a vehicle, these manners are most likely put into practice.
Personally I find the quality of Beijing taxi lies elsewhere, and I very much prefer Beijing taxi over ones in Tokyo. Beijing taxi drivers, they are flexible, friendly, and helpful. A taxi driver would keep an eye on my luggage and my daughter as I check if I am in the right terminal and fetch a cart at the airport. Without running a meter. Unlike in Tokyo, they wouldn’t play a recorded voice telling me that I should buckle a seat belt, either. What is there not to love about them?
When there are more availability than you could handle, star ratings come in handy. Here in Ditan Park, Beijing, found star-rated public toilet. Having had the experience of backing out of a public toilet as I was challenged with my limit for sanitary tolerance, I appreciate that now there is something I could assess the quality prior to entry.
The replacement works perfectly fine. Why spend extra money fixing it?
The Four Greats slogan from 1960s remains on the ceiling of Dashanzi. Reads “Great Mentor, Great Leader, Great Steersman. Long live the Chairman Mao”
Dashanzi Art District, a former military factory turned into art galleries, has become one of the most popular sightseeing destinations for oversea tourists, however, much of it has remained unchanged and attractive to this day.
Just when you think that there is no space left in this world for more advertising, China often surprises me as the country demonstrates how much there is to be exploited. Here inside the building in Dashanzi Art District in Beijing, I found mirrors inside the toilet double functions as a poster. Five to six posters appear one at a time as they were lit from the back. Poster themes vary from men’s shirts to an upcoming action film, covering everyone’s interest as the area is served for both men and women to wash their hands once out of their dedicated toilet space.
From lift waiting area, ATMs to gas stations, Chinese advertisement companies show that there are small slots of time that we waste in public spaces and can be utilized to get products advertised. It is no surprise that the advertisement has reached to toilets.
And whether people appreciate ads stalking them is another issue to be seen.
As I pass by a nail salon inside Oriental Plazain Wangfujing, Beijing, I found a man waiting for his girlfriend as she gets her nail done. Although not every woman have a company of a man, it is not uncommon in Beijing to see a couple spending their time while either one gets oneself groomed.
What is considered as a personal activity in one culture can be social and public in another. In this perspective, you will come across with private-go-public behaviors across the city. Here in Beijing I see men getting their hair cut in a park; Quite a few people carry nail clippers in their key chains; And you realize that even public toilets, where some of us might consider to be one of the most private activities, can in fact be much more social and public than you think; Most of my experience going to public toilets with my acquaintances resulted in engaged in a conversation rather than minding one’s own business.
We hear that modernization of cities is quickly changing all these behaviors. Many of the families have abandoned old, Hutong style homes a long time ago, and prefer to live in an apartment where they could have the toilet of their own; I see fewer hair dressers strolling in parks than 10 years ago; What is more, the Beijing government campaigns and promotes Beijingers not to walk around half naked when they are playing chess in the neighborhood during hot summer time. But looking at couples spend their time as one gets groomed, I feel that people have not forgotten to enjoy the company.
When foreign investors consider tapping into such culture, they should remember social aspect in offering the service plays a huge role here. Apparel shops should remember to provide more space for shopper’s company to spend one’s time comfortably; Game industry should constantly remind oneself that people prefer to be connected with others rather than playing the game for oneself. And personally, I believe there is a large potential when it comes to housing industry, where they could promote toilet placed outside the bath areas, enabling such business to take place in more public space of the house but in a sanitary manner.
The back of the car can be really expressive. By default the car is often a reflection of your financial status and taste; number plates and other identification given to the vehicle also describes where you reside as well. In addition to these given information, a lot of times the owner places some messages which could be read to the driver behind.
The one I found unique and reflects the problems in China is 请勿靠近 which can be translated “Do not drive too close.” It is a reflection of a bad traffic and how some people, as they try to express their frustration and eagerness to go forward, approaches the front car and end up bumping into one another.
The red vehicle in the photo had an extra twist to the message and reads 警告：车有美女，请勿靠近。which can be translated as “Caution: There’s a good-looking woman inside, do not come close.”
This sticker at the back of a car reminded me of typical classifieds I often found in free English magazines you can easily find in popular restaurants among foreigners. Those classifieds were written by self-claimed beautiful and young women seeking for rich foreign men. They did not contain photographs and the message was very straight-forward: I am young, intelligent, beautiful, and seeking for serious relationships.
Coincidentally I came across with a famous novelist Wang Shuo describing his preference over women:
I prefer to trust women, especially those young and good-looking ones who tend to have less social pressure than other groups and thus have a relatively stronger integrity of character.”
Whether the power of beauty actually transcends to prevent car accidents, I do not know; but certainly if you are in China, we encounter descriptions which explicitly talk of one’s appearances and perhaps it reflects the values of the country today.
The owner of the handbag leaves the table to order some food in a fast food chain restaurant in Beijing.
While the scene is somewhat familiar for a resident of Tokyo, the action was definitely something unseen in Beijing a few years ago. In fact it was precisely in Beijing, where I was reminded by a stranger that in many cities this is not safe to do, and Beijing is definitely one of them. That was 15 years ago.
Whether 15 years is enough for a change is certainly something we could argue for. At least this was the very occasion I realized that the city is definitely developing with safety. If I were to be wrong, I hope the lady is not too hasty to be relaxed about her bag.
Photo by: Benoist Sebire, all rights reserved.
Back when I was in Beijing, I loved listening to stories from my friends about the old times when they were younger. One of my particular favorite was the story from my friend who spent her childhood in XiAn.
One day when she was back from high school, she realized there were some strange things built on the street. With funny orange hoods and some sort of equipment underneath, it took her some time to realize they were what people call as phone-booths. She also told me that back in those days not many people actually realized what they are for, and found a few families ripping them off the streets, bringing them back home as a new piece for display.
What surprised me was that this story only took place 18 years ago. Since then, pagers appeared and very quickly, mobile phones came and penetrated the entire country. If we simply look at how vast the country is, and how much effort has
to be made to complete the infrastructure, it is no surprise that
mobile phones quickly swept over the landlines. But to those like me, who experienced these changes in much longer time span, it strikes almost as an agressive evolution.
And what is left behind, is a collection of bare cables tangled and hanging from houses. They may still work, who knows, I often saw amazing old antiquities work after a few strong slaps. But perhaps it is not the most serious issue any longer, as we now have mobile phones, which work perfectly without all these physical, tangible complexities.
Leapfrogging takes place for a reason. And the reasons would remain visible to our eyes.
