Bicycles in Beijing

In what seems like an eternity ago, and certainly looks like it in photos, Beijing used to be covered in bikes, with the odd car a tourist attraction. In 20 years this has changed somewhat, but some legacies remain: bike lanes segregated from the main roads are common on many streets which can make it a joy to cycle around the city. Others have a bus and cycle lane combined by the side of the road, though this is rarely useful as it is normally used for parking as well - either legally or illegally, there are few parking restrictions actively enforced.

Cyclists, like pedestrians, do not have right of way. The car does. Or so it seems. You need to have your wits about you, and you need to be brave to cross the road when you have a green light, particularly since a car probably is probably also turning across you. For those who have traveled overseas, you'll be aware that this is common across the world, but not in the UK, where (and it would be a left turn, since the UK drives on the other side) red means red and pedestrians do not have to worry about other traffic also being able to cross their path). And so pedestrians need to be brave and stick their necks out as they cross the road. Unfortunately it leads to a culture of pedestrians doing this all the time, whether they have a green man or not - and so they make things worse, blocking the road and causing a hazard. And of course the cyclist, or the e-cyclist may come zooming along at any time, because the color of a traffic light is irrelevant for him or her with a silent deathtrap.

When the wind blows, the typical cyclist hides. In Beijing you come out, fresh in the knowledge that the wind has brought fresh air with it. And after the rain, with fresh air all around and puddles on the floor, the cyclist can joyfully go wherever and stay dry. Increasingly there are cycling parks in office buildings and shopping malls (not least for the low-paid staff who work there and who need to park their bikes), and there are new bike renting schemes across town (several have failed in the past, but the latest seems to have survived though may not be that popular). And so bikes become less prone to theft. And as the traffic gets worse more people realize the speed of cycling is unrivaled.

Yet I was unable to cycle recently for almost a month. A difficult month, spent searching for taxis (whose price recently went up, finally, for the first time in 8 years), sitting on buses in traffic jams, and trying to squeeze on subways at rush hour. It was difficult. But now, with a new bike, I am back on the road again. And with me being on the road again comes Hannah, sitting on Andrea's bike, and we are more mobile and able to explore Beijing again.

At the weekend we went out, first to a shopping mall, since it was raining, where we found H&M had a sale on to someone's delight and Hannah tested out her recent interest in sitting down and refusing to walk with us where we want to go. Ahh, now she really does feel like a kid. Then we took Hannah to her first beer festival: 7 craft beer brewers were there along with some food options and a band, but it was a small affair. Quite the opposite of a British beer festival. This one had a kid's area set-up (complete with a bouncy castle), was held outside (since it's so warm), and was full of a young crowd. Hannah's taken a liking for beer recently, in a comical way. She doesn't really like it but sees us drinking it so grabs a spoon to dip in the beer and take some. Then she grimaces, but takes more!

There's a nice photo on facebook of her at the beer festival with two of her friends. She's the one standing on stage, lifting her shirt up to show off her belly to everyone. So actually, maybe there is one thing the beer festival had in common with a British one after all....

An encounter with Ai Wei Wei

I often comment in a half-joking fashion that Andrea and I do similar things but with different groups: I work with large companies which may be somewhat bland and uninspiring while she works with small amazing non-profits/social enterprises and inspiring individuals. Fortunately I get to tap into her world, going to many of her events, meeting some of the great people she meets and being inspired.

China certainly has its issues--and a lot of people in China may not care or may be making things worse, as with many Western countries, but it also has incredible individuals who are trying to improve things, who are making sacrifices, and who are going against the grain (in a country that really really does not encourage you to go against anything). Many are now well-known in the west because they win Nobel peace prizes, or get locked up, escape to the US or whatever. Some of them do have some impact. Others keep their head down and stay the right side of the line, and don't get noticed (intentionally) but also do great work. And this line is interesting. In China the line is always moving. What can you do that is ok and what can you do that is not ok? What will just mean the police "inviting you to tea" to find out more and be reassured about your motives vs what will lead you to being under house arrest without any legal conviction or actually detained?

I'm always intrigued as to this line, how it moves, where it moves, and most importantly how to stay on the right side of it - not for personal reasons, since I am a long way on the safe side of the line, doing pretty boring stuff (from the government's perspective) - but because it is a really interesting side of China. In most cases when I have spoken to people that are still on the right side of the line, they talk about how they try to push up to the line and try to push the line, but they never across it. They talk to the government where possible to understand where the line is and where it is going (things can move unexpectedly here) and to explain that they sit firmly on the safe side of the line. For many groups and individuals, particularly those fighting for the rights of certain minorities, like prostitutes, gays, HIV+ persons, disabled or others, they really struggle with this. They desperately want to push that line, but they need to be careful. Sometimes they succeed, but sometimes they do not.

There are a few exceptions to these two groups of people that I mentioned earlier (the ones who are across the line and in prison, and the ones who operate under the radar and still behind the line) which is a few people who are right on the line and are vocal about it. Ai Wei Wei is one of these people. He's managed to get himself well-known for boring issues (architecture, art etc) and then used his fame to create a platform for talking about more controversial issues. He's so well-known that the government struggles to keep him quiet without making things worse (when they did put him away for 81 days or so for tax evasion, it just got him more attention), so they don't quite know what to do with him. He continues to walk the line carefully, using the media as a cover to some extent, whilst also cleverly using it to push his agenda. And I'm not an expert on him, so this is just my perceptions and may not be entirely true.

But today i did get to meet him. We went to the German School here which had a summer festival with BBQs, music and games, and he was there. We think because some German friends had invited him along, but he was recognized (he is pretty distinctive) and spent all the time there (that we saw him) which was at least 45 minutes (then we left to go somewhere else) taking photos. Now it was a very orderly and low key. A few people would hang around nearby waiting for their turn, there were laughs, there were kids, there was beer. I could barely imagine if there were Chinese around it might be quite another story (there weren't - the event is really only for Germans and others related to the School). Anyway, before we left I went up to him for a chat (no photo - i'm not sure he really enjoyed spending all his leisure time taking photos, but i did hope he might be interested in some interesting conversation - and besides i can't get anything out of a photo but i hoped for some insights from our conversation.

What did we discuss in the 3 minute conversation? I asked about the line. He reinforced my suspicions (see above) and we talked about his conversations with the government (to find out where the line is, so he can explain his opinion and be honest about his intentions). I asked about his recent music video where he recreated his prison cell and heavily criticized the Chinese government and the government reaction (he said the government were too embarrassed to do anything about it beyond blocking it here, but they did compliment him on how accurate his depiction of the cell was). I also asked about the story of thousands of people donating money to him online and by throwing money into his courtyard to help pay a deposit that was necessary to fight his tax evasion case (he said there were 30,000 people who gave him money, he had written thank yous, and he did try to return it as he promised he would, but that some people did not want it back, and others did not give their names or addresses with it).

My parting words - keep doing what you're doing, keep staying the right side of the line, and good luck! I'm sure he's heard that before.