Beijing in 1 week

The trip to Beijing was as unspectacular as it was difficult, but the food on the Russian airline Aeroflot was unexpectedly good and the planes were quite new. Upon arriving in Beijing, I was initially shocked: smog, or fine dust, with values better than in Stuttgart. Blue sky and around freezing temperatures, unexpectedly good conditions for the first four days. The last three days of my stay, Beijing sank into fertile haze. The exhaust fumes burn in the lungs and throat, making any outdoor activity a real ordeal, while indoors, even with closed windows and no air conditioning, it starts to get quite stuffy.

Beijing is a very orderly city in itself. Not beautiful, but orderly. This is largely due to the multitude of state officials who sit in almost every corner of the city center and either watch over something or someone or clean something. Instead of being fully funded and subsidized by the state, those who are otherwise only limited in their usefulness for the job market work in very simple tasks in Beijing's public service. This constant presence of order forces, in addition to cleanliness, also creates a very secure feeling.

By the way, not the only thing that is kept very orderly. The internet as we know it does not actually exist in China. Most of the websites and apps we use daily simply do not work in China. Instead, the Chinese government provides comparable but state-controlled offers...

The parts of Beijing's city center that I was able to visit present a stark contrast of rich and poor. There is a very large number of extremely expensive cars and a wealth of shopping malls exclusively with designer stores (Prada, Gucci... and above all watches and jewelry). On the other hand, many residents of Beijing live in tiny huts without toilets (very often) and can only afford a scooter.

What makes Beijing special and attractive are not the sights, but the parts that no tourist will probably ever get to see and to which one needs a "local" to get lost in the eternal alleys, the hutongs, and find their way there. I have never seen such a variety of great restaurants, alternative cafes, extremely chic bars, and punk clubs in different colors. However, they are completely scattered and located deep in some alleys of residential areas, where you would never expect such things.

The food in the local restaurants is consistently excellent and cheap, apart from the peculiarities of Chinese table manners, and the nightlife with live music in numerous different venues is almost infinite.

For me, Beijing was above all a great experience because of its magnificent variety of nightlife possibilities.