Beijing: Hutongs, Trains, Subways

Last week I went to Beijing for an internship project. The internship is based in Shanghai, so I needed to find a place to stay in Beijing as well as a way to get to there. I decided to stay in a Hostel near a hutong instead of staying at some western Hilton-type Hotel. Also decided to take the high-speed bullet train rather than fly.

The Hutong near Kelly's Coutyard Hostel at Dusk

Train Ride -  The 5 plus hour ride was nice, cushy, red.  Food wasn't served, so I went on a scavenger hunt. The prize was learning how to say crackers in Chinese. Bonus was ice Cream. First class was made up of business people, Singles, professionals, working or sleeping (ie, in their own world). There wasn't much interaction, yet there was a loud divide.  Literally, though. One guy was watching movies on his laptop without headphones.  When I walked around and went to seek out the food car, I walked through the other class sections. Those were primarily families, students laughing with each other. It was noisier, had more bustle, had more interaction....the scene reminded me of a trip I took with a good friend when we rode from Chengdu to Xi’an. We got the cheapest, most uncomfortable seats. The train to Xi’an was unsophisticated (in comparison to the Shanghai train) but the awkward, curious interaction was there despite language barriers. I also wandered into the “tourism” class. Those seats reclined so far that they transformed into a bed. They got blankets, too. Most of the people in the tourism class were Chinese…

Doorway near the Hutong

Inside Kelly's Courtyard Hostel.

Beijing Subway – The early morning crowd is made up of well dressed, sophisticated looking people. Beijing in July is hot, and people do a good job of business-casual that compliments the weather.  There is still a mad rush, and people seem to assume that I don’t know what I’m doing because I’m clearly not Asian and my hair is the opposite of sleek-straight. It works in my favor, though. Typically, I'm texting (likely boyfriend in Seattle) as I weave through the crowd. They generally lighten up the intensity when I have my phone in hand. I'm finally starting to make sense of the organized chaos! That makes me a crowd ninja!

That was the morning scene.  Midday, I rode the subway from the office back to my hostel. This crowd was quite different. Primarily migrant workers. Darker skin, primarily because they were born into a minority family or because of the labor-intensive lifestyle of working on a farm.  It's not an easy life. Like anywhere, China has its social stigmas. This one in particular mirrors aspects of the deep blemishes in American society.  Darker skin is perceived as undesirable, lesser.  Many of the minorities have darker skin. You see the bias in their perception of beauty (marketing, ads) and in the differences of classes, work, lifestyle. To be honest, because of the nature of this particular workday itself, I was at a low in my day.  But my “low” seemed so minuscule after observing this.  The subway was packed.  I was stepping over bags (probably loaded with produce, goods) as the train moved and shifted bodies. The smell was unfamiliar – it was beyond the smell of crowded bodies.  In Shanghai, people are careful about that sort of thing. As was the business crowd in Beijing.

I hadn’t smelled anything like that before.  There was what looked like a Tibetan family (high, sunburned cheek bones) dressed in modern clothes.  The mother was quite thin, and was holding a child (no older than 5 years) and was also managing the two men that were part of the group. When waiting (fighting) to get onto the subway, she and I kept bumping into each other. Subway politics. In the end, we both got on. Her husband’s backpack became unzipped, and she would’ve had to put the girl down to help him. I was within reach, so I quickly reshuffled his backpack and zipped it up.  She cleared a small pathway for me to exit the train when I needed to leave.  This was such a quick, simple exchange. It was a small moment yet very sweet: we were looking out for each other.  In a crowded society, I think people learn how to put themselves and those that are close to them first.  I think it’s hard to care about a stranger when that stranger is just another face in a sea of people.  In China, if you always put other people before yourself, you would get absolutely nowhere.  On the other hand, when people are involved in each others’ lives, it's a wonderful community to observe and to be warmly accepted into. It can be so sweet, so caring, so close. But first, you have to be part of the group.

 

Snapshot of the Hutong in the morning, on my way to work

If ever in Beijing, I highly recommend looking into Kelly's Courtyard Hostel! It's a special place with a ton of character.  The grounds keeper, Mark was so gracious and had much insight to offer about Beijing lifestyle. When he learned of my plans for Mongolia, he even passed along a book about Mongolian dialect.  Here is the information about the guesthouse:

Chinese name of the hostel:凯丽家酒店

Address: No.25, Xiaoyuan Hutong of Bingmasi Hutong, Xisi South Street, Xicheng District, Beijing, 

Chinese address:北京市西城区西四南大街兵马司胡同内小院胡同25号

Hostelworld Link: http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/Kelly-s-Courtyard/Beijing/23366?dateFrom=2014-07-04&dateTo=2014-07-07

My Room in Kelly's Courtyard