Opinion | A view from Beijing, China's road to recovery
By Tom Fowdy
From Friday to Sunday, I was privileged to travel to Beijing. The trip marked my first visit to Mainland China in three years, with the country having been closed to the outside world owing to the impact of the covid-19 pandemic. My last time in China was in fact from January 3rd-5th 2020, in Shanghai, just one day before the virus's discovery was revealed to the outside world. As such, this was an important trip for me because I had waited so long for this moment, which gave me an opportunity to see how the country had changed.
As I landed in Beijing Capital Airport, no longer of course the primary aviation hub for the city following the construction of the newer, larger, Daxing Airport in late 2019, I discovered a place which was in fact very quiet, drawing a sharp contrast to its once overwhelming crowds years ago. While some Americans were visible, it was clear from the get-go that overseas travelers were not yet piling into China, drawing a sharp contrast to South Korea, or for that matter, even the Hong Kong SAR, where they remain visible in large numbers, assisted of course by favorable visa-free regimes. The terminal also bore the scars of the past few years, with most of its duty-free shops closed, painting a similar picture to what Korea's Incheon airport looked like in 2021.
This theme repeated itself in the city itself. Although of course Beijing's streets were back to their usual bustling nature as residents pursued life as usual, again the impact of the pandemic was still visible. Wangfujing, the city's premier shopping street, for one, also possessed many shuttered retail units, although not those of the top international brands. The area's street food alley, which once contained many exotic foods such as pigeons and even bugs, had been completely wiped out. It seems like an eternity ago when I encountered fellow Brits in that location. While of course it will all come back, this will take time, and shows how the smallest businesses were the hardest hit.
In addition to this, the experience of covid has transformed Beijing into a much more intensively regulated city, which if not prepared for, can catch foreigners out. Firstly, for example, new "bureaucratic hoops" have been added to the city's main attractions, such as Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Palace Museum. These destinations must be reserved in advance, which requires applying through WeChat Mini programs with a passport, and not at the last moment, I was able to visit Tiananmen, but the limited ticket quotas for the latter two will lock you out unless you prepare early. The expansion of the use of WeChat Mini Programs, for both exit and entry QR codes too (which are relatively simple to do) means it is effectively impossible to transverse the country without the app.
On the other hand, one of the highlights of the trip was my visit to the new Universal Studios Beijing Resort. Opened in 2021, few foreigners have got to visit this park owing to the pandemic, and thankfully because the May Day Holiday was only two weeks before, it wasn't too busy. Getting into this park for a foreign traveler is not complicated, you do not need to use the official app but can buy tickets from a 3rd party vendor such as Klook and it is accepted from the gate. The park, of course, is ironically a fest of American cinematic culture, yet it nonetheless shows the power of commercial ties between the two countries and even amidst the insanity today, is a cause for optimism.
The park also reminded me of the immense euphoria Chinese have for Harry Potter, which whilst of course being essentially British, is owned by the US Warner Bros and the rights for the park attractions are licensed to Universal. Thousands of Chinese flock to the park every day wearing Hogwarts-style school uniforms and robes, waving their wands despite the 30c sun. Outside, hawkers hassled the que hassling people to buy more of them. One thing is for sure, even if covid closed a few shops, the power of Chinese consumerism is still highly visible and there is little doubt the Universal Resort will be a long-term demonstration of such.
Therefore, in conclusion, I personally witnessed China's road to recovery. However, I must be honest and noting it is still in the early stages. Consider the situation akin to a long, cold and bitter winter that has come to an end. The trees have been bare, but spring is coming and you can now see the green shoots of new life coming through once again. China however, will have to do a bit more to reassure the confidence of foreign visitors to return amidst the tidal wave of negativity and propaganda espoused by the mainstream media, but that doesn't mean there weren't any tough times, otherwise, my own experience would be lying to me.
The author is a well-seasoned writer and analyst with a large portfolio related to China topics, especially in the field of politics, international relations and more. He graduated with an Msc. in Chinese Studies from Oxford University in 2018.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.
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