Notes from Beijing

Beijing is a gathering place for all kinds of talented people. It is a city bolstered by the prestige that comes from over a thousand years of history as an imperial city. However, when speaking objectively of the city's natural environment, one discovers that there are quite a few problems at hand.

Troubled waters and blowing sand

First off, Beijing suffers from water shortages. The water, furthermore, is very hard and contains many minerals and ions; to properly treat it is very costly. Beijing is currently engaged in a project to bring water up from the south to the north, diverting water from the Yangtze River in Hubei up north to Beijing over a total distance of over a thousand kilometers. After the Three Gorges dam project, this is the next epochal engineering project. One rationale for this diversion is so that the Yellow River, the "mother of China" will not be depleted. Another reason is so that Beijing can continue to attract high-tech enterprises such as semiconductor manufacturers, catering to their demanding resource needs.

An equally vexing problem for Beijing is the sandstorms that blow through the city. Every spring, great gusts of wind descend upon Beijing, carrying with them sand and dust from Mongolia. This yellowish sand obscures the skies, and winds can reach gale-force magnitudes. These destructive winds can last anywhere from two or three hours at the shortest to an entire day at the longest. The sand and dust can slip through windows and penetrate door cracks. Even rooms with doors and windows sealed shut cannot escape the path of these sandstorms. Frank Jeng, Viatech marketing director for Asia, remarks laughingly that when the sandstorms descend, Beijing traffic police become caked in mud and turn into real-life "terracotta soldiers" (referring to the figures found in the tomb of the First Qin Emperor). Facing increasingly severe sandstorms, is one to trade in the settled life of the city for the life of the shepherding nomad? Should one sacrifice to the gods to ask for their help? Or should one prepare to abandon Beijing and change capital cities within the next 30 years?

New life for an ancient city?

Setting aside the issue of sandstorms, Beijing is actually an extremely pleasant city. Arriving by the direct highway that runs from the airport to the city, one arrives at Chang'an Boulevard. The boulevard is spacious, 50 meters wide, and the buildings on either side are grand. As a poet has written, "Before I saw the grandeur of the imperial palace, how could I know how lofty the emperor truly was?" When one comes to the Forbidden City, just entering through the Meridian Gate and walking through the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony, and the Hall of Preserving Harmony is enough to completely overwhelm one. This is not even to mention the hundreds of layered halls and chambers in the complex.

Aside from this, there are Beihai, Zhonghai, Nanhai and Yuyuantan Lakes, and Kunming Lake at the Summer Palace. . . Beijing possesses an abundance of green hills, and ancient trees that touch the skies. Moreover, one readily meets the easy-going, talkative, and friendly residents of the city. All this makes one want to linger on and on in this charming ancient capital.

In the past few years Beijing has developed rapidly, necessitating a new city map every so often. If it's not another ring road that's been added, it's that the subway has gained a new line. The name of Shangdi Industry Base in Zhongguancun's Haidian Park, a gathering place for Taiwanese high-tech firms, first appeared on Beijing maps only in October of last year. The 18 districts and counties under the jurisdiction of Beijing Municipality comprise an area of 16,800 square kilometers and support a population of 12 million. This is more than half the population of Taiwan.

Beijing's grand scale is truly dumbfounding. The speed of its coming economic growth poses challenges to its water and power supplies, air quality, and natural environment, as well as the well-being of its ancient buildings and cultural artifacts, which date back thousands of years. Whether Beijing can follow the lead of cities such as Tokyo or London in breathing new life into an ancient metropolis will depend on the abilities and courage of its current leaders.