Return to Beijing

We arrived in Beijing on June 27th. This was a return trip for me not for Carol. I was here in 1991 as part of the Semester at Sea program. We had ported in Shanghai and I flew to Beijing as part of a tour group from the ship. Diplomatic relations with the world were just starting to open up at that point under Deng Xiao Ping's leadership and the Tiananmen Square Incident in which the government violently ended student calls for democracy was still a fresh memory for all. I had the great opportunity to meet with students and discuss politics at a time when many students felt quite anxious about their future.
Beijing looks like a different city to me today. Some things look the same..Tiananmen Square, Mao's frozen body on display at Memorial Hall, the beautiful Forbidden City, many beautiful historic temples, and charming hutongs (narrow alleyways accessible by bike and foot where people live, run shops, sell food).
..but many things look quite different. There's a wonderful modern subway system in which you can get around cheaply and efficiently. There are lots of skyscrapers, and there's a flurry of construction leading up to the Olympics! For one, the international terminal at the airport is a gorgeous new addition- apparently shaped like a dragon but I couldn't see that. There's a bizarre egg shaped glass building called the National Grand Palace that lies just west of Tiananmen Square. It's a strange contrast of new and old architecture at the heart of the city. The contrast of the new and the old is something that you will find throughout Beijing- old architecture in the hutongs, and just around the corner a modern skyscraper.
Just like when I was here in the early 90s, there are still heated political critiques of China especially when it comes to Tibet. I do get a sense from my conversations with students, and friends from the States that live here that there seems to be a bit more room for dissent than there was back in 91 but that's hard to guage from my short time here. It has been interesting to hear people's perspective on Tibet and disagreement with the Dalai Lama's critique of the Chinese government.
It will be interesting to continue to see the influence that the Olympics will have on China and the world's view of China. They are certainly putting tons of energy into making it a great experience for all. I just found this editorial on New York Times Online that I found very interesting. It references the Olympic mascots. There are Olympic mascot paraphenalia everywhere you go. They are actually quite cute! Anyhow check out this editorial when you have a moment:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/02/opinion/02rabkin.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin