LOVE CHINA

[izus]

I just got back from 4 weeks in Beijing and I love that city more than ever.

Sure there are too many cars on the road (it seems there are more in ShangHai maybe it¡¯s the roads that are not designed as well, maybe I¡¯m crazy and partial to the north capital) then you got the smells so many different smells good ones and of course nasty disgusting ones, just about any street you walk you get whiffs of the sewer and take 2 more steps and get whiffs of some strange spice cooking maybe fresh flowers or exhaust fumes, always some smell going on¡­ But throughout all the bad odors and all the pollution from the cars what makes it all so fantastic are the people of that city. I absolutely love the people over there. Every time I go there it¡¯s the people that make the trip so wonderful. My Chinese is getting to the point that I can at least converse a little and it seems most of the people are so happy to hear me talk to them in Chinese that 9 times out of 10 I end up telling them I have to go.

Now I know what some of you guys are thinking¡­.. Very unfriendly city, or too much pollution.

The starring doesn¡¯t bother me¡­ I usually just smile and say Ni Hao and most of the time I get a smile and a hello right back.

Maybe it¡¯s because it¡¯s my wife¡¯s home town and that she loves it so much that it rubs off on me¡­

Either way Beijing Rocks!!

[rogerluli]

Beijing has a lot of interesting stuff to see... But yeah, the pollution, the traffic, the weather...just wouldn't want to live there...

[IllinoisDave]

I just got back from 4 weeks in Beijing and I love that city more than ever.

Sure there are too many cars on the road (it seems there are more in ShangHai maybe it’s the roads that are not designed as well, maybe I’m crazy and partial to the north capital) then you got the smells so many different smells good ones and of course nasty disgusting ones, just about any street you walk you get whiffs of the sewer and take 2 more steps and get whiffs of some strange spice cooking maybe fresh flowers or exhaust fumes, always some smell going on… But throughout all the bad odors and all the pollution from the cars what makes it all so fantastic are the people of that city. I absolutely love the people over there. Every time I go there it’s the people that make the trip so wonderful. My Chinese is getting to the point that I can at least converse a little and it seems most of the people are so happy to hear me talk to them in Chinese that 9 times out of 10 I end up telling them I have to go.

Now I know what some of you guys are thinking….. Very unfriendly city, or too much pollution.

The starring doesn’t bother me… I usually just smile and say Ni Hao and most of the time I get a smile and a hello right back.

Maybe it’s because it’s my wife’s home town and that she loves it so much that it rubs off on me…

Either way Beijing Rocks!!

Welcome back Bill.

I've only been to Shanghai,Hangzhou,Beijing,Shenzhen and Guangzhou so my experience is pretty limited as far as China goes. Shanghai is my favorite for a lot of reasons and GUZ my least favorite for others. But I didn't encounter anything in Beijing that would stop me from living there if it ever came to that. I enjoyed/disliked all the things you mentioned except for the language. Can't speak much Mandarin beyond Ni hao and Xie Xie.

[Li & John]

I just got back from 4 weeks in Beijing and I love that city more than ever.

Sure there are too many cars on the road (it seems there are more in ShangHai maybe it¡¯s the roads that are not designed as well, maybe I¡¯m crazy and partial to the north capital) then you got the smells so many different smells good ones and of course nasty disgusting ones, just about any street you walk you get whiffs of the sewer and take 2 more steps and get whiffs of some strange spice cooking maybe fresh flowers or exhaust fumes, always some smell going on¡­ But throughout all the bad odors and all the pollution from the cars what makes it all so fantastic are the people of that city. I absolutely love the people over there. Every time I go there it¡¯s the people that make the trip so wonderful. My Chinese is getting to the point that I can at least converse a little and it seems most of the people are so happy to hear me talk to them in Chinese that 9 times out of 10 I end up telling them I have to go.

Now I know what some of you guys are thinking¡­.. Very unfriendly city, or too much pollution.

The starring doesn¡¯t bother me¡­ I usually just smile and say Ni Hao and most of the time I get a smile and a hello right back.

Maybe it¡¯s because it¡¯s my wife¡¯s home town and that she loves it so much that it rubs off on me¡­

Either way Beijing Rocks!!

I agree with you 110%!! My wife and I love Beijing! Another city that I like is Harbin, it is old and has all the smells like you said about Beijing. But it has a charm about it and the people are great and the food is excellent. Beijing is great for there is so much to see and do. Take care my friend.