In Beijing, the past is neither erased nor venerated, but constantly negotiated in the shadow of the future (thanks, deepseek, the rest is all me).
Making my way from Beijing's newest airport (Daxing, south of the city) to Qian Liang Hutong today, one of the first things that struck me was a circular economy design flourish in the paving of a hip new F&B area, nestled right in amongst preserved courtyard houses and rambling hutongs. Check out the repurposed curved roof tiles below.
My base for the next ten days (literally, Base Beijing) is a spacious serviced apartment with an industrial chic spin, and there's no shortage of espresso to be found:
Staying so close to the centre of gravity in Beijing allows me to use a bicycle as my preferred mode of transport, and my friend here was kind enough to lend me one. The traffic is reassuringly chaotic, with cars, bicycles, electric scooters and 三轮车 delivery drivers constantly jockeying for space. A good number of people seem to know how to give way and merge.
The tech highlight of the day was a friendly and unassuming robot who would receive 外卖 orders of takeaways from delivery riders in the hotel lobby, then autonomously communicate with the elevator and recipient to get the food to their room quickly. Nifty:
And the nature/culture highlight of the day was Jingshan Park (just north of the Forbidden City) for a reasonably priced 2 RMB (they happily accepted my crumpled old notes). This spot gets me every time, even the madding crowd couldn't dampen my enthusiasm for these views: