Pack
away those images of pods of revolutionary workers in
buttoned-down Mao tunics performing t'ai chi in the
city square; Beijing has embarked on a new-millennium
roller-coaster ride, and it's taking everyone along
for the ride. These days, the city's youth are more
interested in MTV then Mao; rhetorical slogans from
the Cultural Revolution have given way to herniated
English splashed across designer-copy T-shirts; and
expats, tourists, foreign investors are mixing it up
with the bureaucrats.
The
old hutongs and buildings are being demolished, new
buildings are going up, small things are giving way
to big things and big things are giving way to even
bigger things. This fast-paced, two-minute-noodles lifestyle
doesn't please everyone - the old comrades are complaining
about uppity youths and loss of values - but the capital
of the People's Republic of China doesn't look like
it's slowing down any time soon.
