Living in Beijing: an expat guide
What to expect when moving to Beijing
Language is a stumbling block for many, and communication for non-Mandarin speakers is a tricky thing to say the least. We thoroughly recommend taking a few Mandarin lessons before arriving – just to get the basics – and then continue if possible once you’re there.
Mandarin is tonal. The word ma, for example, when pronounced in one of four ways can mean anything from ‘horse’ or ‘mother’ to the verb ‘to swear’ or it can change a sentence into a question. So tone is quite crucial to avoid any embarrassing misunderstandings.
Where to live in Beijing
You may have images of living in a splendid courtyard house with wind chimes gently blowing in the breeze. This is possible, but only if you are of robust constitution and able to handle the sub-zero temperatures of winter and the oppressive heat of summer. Air conditioning and reliable heating are not commonplace in old traditional courtyard housing.
Living in the city or the suburbs
Initially, the most important choice to be made when looking for somewhere to live is whether to live in the city itself or the suburbs. This can depend on your work location and if you have children at school. Most offices are centrally located, yet many schools are in the suburbs, namely the Shunyi area to the east of the capital stretching up to the airport on the expressway.
There are pros and cons for each. If you live in one of the grandly named complexes in Shunyi such as Capital Paradise, Yosemite, or Champagne Merlin Town, then you will live in a house, often with a garden and certainly with a large clubhouse facility including a swimming pool and tennis courts. It is almost 100 per cent expat living and there is a certain sense of community, but you do not necessarily get the feeling you’re living in Beijing.
If you choose to live in town, then you have all the benefits of the city’s delights including restaurants and bars on your doorstep. There’s a huge choice of private apartment blocks, with the range in space and cost for these apartments varying enormously; finding a house in town, however, is not as easy.
Either way, you will compromise on something. It’s at least a 30-minute drive into town from Shunyi, but if you don’t want the commute, then will you find the spacious accommodation you’re looking for in town? Your children may be closer to their school in Shunyi, but how’s the drive home in the evening’s heavy peak traffic? It’s a case of deciding what will work for your particular needs.
Getting started in Beijing
Healthcare
Drinking water from the tap is not a good idea; almost everyone has a large water dispensing machine, and refills can be bought and delivered very easily. In fact, Beijing is very good at delivering just about anything you want to your doorstep at pretty much any time of day or night.
The top two healthcare clinics for international families are SOS International (where you will likely be seen by either Australian or European doctors and the care is effective, efficient, and prompt) and Beijing United Hospital; both are extremely expensive. Some people choose to fly to Hong Kong or Singapore for more serious conditions or if they need extensive tests.
There are, of course, a huge number of practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine.
Day-to-day living in Beijing
The International Newcomers Network (INN) welcomes newcomers and long-term residents. The INN holds special networking meetings and covers anything ranging from where to find good food to where to find medical assistance. Everyone attending is either in the same boat (or certainly remembers that boat) so you can all paddle around together without feeling like a conspicuous new arrival.
Beijing itself has some wonderful temples and palaces, and there are also all the usual things to be found in capital cities – art galleries, museums, and parks.
Driving
Traffic in Beijing is crazy but methodical. There is a method in the madness, which involves holding your nerve and your breath and just going for it. Cars rarely use indicators but favour the horn, they ignore lane systems but would never jump a red light – often making the situation rather more dangerous than if they’d carried on.
Driving and cycling are not for the faint-hearted but can make you feel more in control of your destiny than if you travel in Beijing taxis, which are plentiful and cheap.
Shopping
Beijing is a shopper’s paradise with the Silk Market, the Pearl Market, the Flower Market, and any number of jade, furniture, and cashmere shops as well as the more essential clothing markets such as Yashow.
Some local fruit and veg markets are fantastic. Hygiene is not always top of the agenda but the choice is great. Lychees are unbelievably delicate and juicy. Strawberries and peaches are in abundance plus many other delicious fruits. Vegetables are fresh, and the choice of fish in some of these markets is vast. If you’re buying chickens don’t forget to ask to have the head and innards removed!
Generally speaking, you should end up paying for one-third of what the seller originally wanted. That varies from market to market but is always worth bartering. This is a very cash-based society so be aware that not everywhere will accept credit cards.
Eating out
There are restaurants representing just about everywhere in the world to choose from: Belgian, Brazilian, or Russian, to name a few. For those wanting to explore Chinese cuisine, there is every variation of Chinese food from every province the country has to offer. Not the best city for vegetarians in terms of restaurants, but it is improving. Meat is generally pork, and many Chinese find it difficult to make a dish without incorporating it, so often the vegetable dishes have a bit thrown in for good measure.
Having this great choice of restaurants makes it quite clear as to why Beijing is called the ‘ten-pound post’ in expat circles. Many people top up the scales with just that amount after their first few months in the city. It’s difficult not to.
Where to go and what to see
Beijing itself has some wonderful temples and palaces, and there are also all the usual things to be found in capital cities – art galleries, museums, and parks.
Weekend visits to the Terracotta Warriors in Xian, the limestone peaks of southwestern provinces, or the coastal resorts of Qing Dao and Beidaihe where the Great Wall meets the sea are all fascinating places to see. The Great Wall is only a 40-minute drive from central Beijing and lives up to all expectations.
The last word
Beijing is a city of contradictions; the locals coming to terms with the changes modern life offers while passionate about keeping a hold on traditions, all exemplified on a Sunday morning in one of the city’s parks: the measured movements of a Tai Chi routine, a weathered face of a man flying a kite with the concentration of a zen Buddhist, spontaneous ballroom dancing to cover versions of the Beatles, loud bursts of patriotic songs from shrill haunting voices, slick brushes of calligraphy with water and thick horse-hair, families parading their prized and only child.
This is China, responding to change in its enigmatic way, reacting to capitalism in a blatant yet traditional manner. Moving with the times but keeping one foot stuck very firmly in the past.
