Category Archives: city life

Subway Nervous System

Posted on March 9, 2011 by AXM

A detail of a bus sign in southeast Beijing, and a danchengpiao (单程票: single journey ticket) for the subway. With its increasing sprawl and traffic, Beijing reminds me so much of my hometown, Los Angeles, except for one key issue: public transportation. Beijing’s public transportation, soon to boast the largest subway network in the world, [...]

Busy Beijing

Posted on February 19, 2011 by AXM

And just like that, Beijing is renao (热闹: busy and bustling) once more. Want to get a sense of how many people there are in this city? Just stand on a bridge.

One Month in Beijing

Posted on February 12, 2011 by AXM

One month in Beijing. What’s changed since the first day? Helping my cab drivers navigate the city, a welcoming party for colleagues from Oslo… and snow, glorious government-sponsored snow. Let the disorientation period end… time to really discover this city. Below, images from Nuren Jie (女人街), or Ladies’ Street, one of Beijing’s many winding markets, [...]

Beijing in the Spring (Festival)

Posted on February 9, 2011 by AXM

It’s hard to explain the day-to-day experience of Chinese New Year in Beijing. It’s not at all like the Chinatown celebrations I’m used to back in New York. Or even the ones in Manila. It’s not quite like Thanksgiving or Christmas. Not like July Fourth, or the Western New Year. It’s a bit of all [...]

A Sense of Awe, A Sense of Time

Posted on January 31, 2011 by AXM

The night before I left for Beijing, I watched Outsourced , a silly comedy about a man whose call center job is outsourced to India. He reluctantly takes a journey to the small town where the new center is located, and he’s promptly and predictably overwhelmed with culture shock and the frustrations of a different [...]

Navigating the ‘Jing

Posted on January 27, 2011 by AXM

When do you feel like you’re in a city, and not just floating through it? Most cities I’ve traveled to feel like passing friends. They’re here, they’re gone, and next thing I know I’m looking down on the landscape as I fly home. How long does it take for you to feel like you really [...]

Not Allowed

Posted on January 23, 2011 by AXM

Hard to see in this photo, but the sign above reads，请不要在此停放自行车哦, or “Please don’t park your bike here.”

Cultural Convergence

Posted on January 18, 2011 by AXM

This picture isn’t Beijing, as you might guess, but you’ll see bike parks like this around the city. Come to think of it, you’ll see bikes and scooters parked like this in UCLA, UCSB, London, DC, any major city. We used to think of bike parks as distinctly European, or Chinese, but now these parks [...]

Chinese Breakfast (or, Welcome to the Globalized World)

Posted on January 13, 2011 by AXM

Thank you, Kanon Coffee in 798 Arts District.

Infected/Disinfected

Posted on January 13, 2011 by AXM

In an augmented world, can we expect a light, some kind of indicator, that tells us not just that the lift has been disinfected, but how recently, and whether it did prove positive for containing any diseases?