Your say - Chris's China diary

It's a scorcher

Beijing, 14th of July

Now xia4 tian1, summer, is in full swing and I am experiencing my second summer in Beijing. Being here at this time is like living in an oven. Most days tian1 qi4, the weather, is boiling hot and there is little or no feng1, wind, to provide a cool breeze. Whenever I go out or do some shopping, I usually return home bathed in sweat. I have never been more grateful to the person who invented kong1 tiao2, air-conditioning, as there is no better feeling than coming back to a nicely air-conditioned room after a walk in the stifling heat. I often wonder how Beijingers coped before air-conditioners were invented but now, I'm told, nearly all apartments in Beijing have them – though it's not a legal requirement. Needless to say I can't imagine what my life would be like here without wo3 de kong1 tiao2, my air conditioning! I reckon that there are plenty of people here who can't afford one so I'm thankful for the privilege. Last weekend wen1 du4, the temperature, was 38 degrees and there is no sign that it will cool down in the near future. Apparently it's a law in Beijing that if the temperature reaches 40 degrees people can have the day off work, so officially it hasn't reached 40 degrees for years!

Casual generosity

In the area in which I live there are loads of xiao3 fan4, street-vendors, selling anything from shui3 guo3, fruit, to slippers, from jewellery to toilet plungers. Most of the stuff they sell is really cheap yet these guys work from sun-up to nightfall, endure the daily heat and are still very friendly and helpful. Late last night walking past a fruit-stall, the seller asked me if I wanted to buy some tao2 zi, peaches. I said bu yao4, no, and as I walked off jokingly said: ni3 yao4 song4 gei3 wo3 ma, but you can give them to me for free if you want. The guy laughed, carefully cleaned two peaches with bottled water he was carrying and threw me both of them. I was taken aback and feeling a little embarrassed said fei1 chang2 gan3 xie4, thanks a lot, and walked off. His casual generosity gave me a reassuring feeling, priceless when you live thousands of miles from home.

Crazy drivers

The main shops and di4 tie3 zhan4, subway station, are about a ten-minute walk from the University. With all the pollution from cars and the oppressive summer heat, a ten-minute walk can be a bit of a nightmare so I decided to go against my own better judgement and buy zi4 xin2 che1, a bicycle. There are two reasons why I don't think it's a good idea to buy a bike in Beijing. One – they are regularly stolen. Two – car drivers in Beijing are feng1 le, crazy! Honestly, in London I consider myself a confident enough driver but I wouldn't have the guts to drive qi4 che1, a car, in Beijing. People cut in front of each other without indicating or even looking. Cars, not people, have the right of way and I can't for the life of me work out the system for crossing the road at a pedestrian-crossing! Beijing has a little green man and a little red man, just like London, but when the little green man is showing cars still drive right through! The 'Green Cross Code Man' would have a fit if he saw what goes on here!

Editor's note: Chris is writing Chinese words in 'Pinyin', Latin script, using numbers that indicate the tone of the word. Find out more with our course Real Chinese.

Sent by: Chris

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