There was a neat view outside one of the halls at the Forbidden City that made me pause. Beyond the yellow roof tiles emerged cranes and buildings - modern Beijing. Having spent our first two days stepping into the Beijing's past, Andrew and I wanted to devote some time on Day 3 to experiencing modern Beijing.
We ended our long Saturday by getting off at Dengshikou subway station at the Dongcheng District - the area of our hotel. We walked down a street and passed by large shoppings plazas, luxury hotels (like the Legendale Hotel above) that rival some of Toronto's best and an intersection with electronic billboards and ginormous ads that conjured up feelings of a mini-Time Square.
International brands like Gucci, Nike, Armani, Louis Vuitton make their presence known - some through localized campaigns featuring Asian celebrities like Takeshi Kaneshiro for Armani and Chinese athletes for Nike. Magazine stands carry Asian versions of Elle, Cosmopolitan, Bazaar and Vogue. And heaven help us: a Dora the Explorer balloon has made its way across the Pacific.
Other corporations have infiltrated Beijing through sponsorship. The info plaques at the Forbidden City are thanks to friends at American Express. Volkswagen has subtly parked its logo throughout the Beijing Zoo. As a Torontonian, I had to wonder where Scotiabank was.
Yes, I realize I make it sound like skyscrapers and such are a recent phenomenon - but hey, these observations simply reshape the preconceptions I had coming to Beijing.
But our experience is just a very minute sample of modern Beijing - I'm sure we haven't even seen the best yet. We've also been wayyy too exhausted after our long early days to experience the night life here (and we're also saving this for Hong Kong). So don't take my word as the complete picture. Rather, just come out and experience it for yourself. Modern Beijing is waiting.
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