北京 Beijing ...

I just arrived back from Beijing. Man, it has so many changes since the last i visited, about 3 years back. I don't have the luxury of having a travelling companion, as this was a business trip. I had to go resolve some network & equipment issues.

It has changed significantly since i last travelled to Beijing. My work site is at 健外ＳＯＨＯ, right at where the World Trade Centre is. Area : 國貿。Everyday i would travel to work on the subway system from 西單 (Xidan). Everyone has this preconceived notion of how dirty China is, especially for someone who has lived in Singapore for a number of years. But it's SO NOT. I love it so much. The surrounding temperature is cooling. You can get away with wearing a light sweater. But Beijing being Beijing, the weather is very erratic, one minute you can run around in a tee, the next you need a coat.

健 外ＳＯＨＯ is made up of a couple of blocks of offices, alike to Singapore's biopolis. Phase 1 is completed, and Phase 2's construction is around 70% done. Everything you need will be in that cluster : food, supermarket, travel agency, including a Starbucks. Being SOHO, there are a couple of units whereby people do actually live & work out of their units. There are also an influx of Caucasian people working in the cluster. Singapore's very own Capitaland's group has also built a couple of work blocks very close to SOHO. It is proof that Beijing is really evolving.

The food this time round wasn't too oily. Since i travelled alone, i spend my meal times alone. I decided to venture to Wang Fu Jing. They closed off a portion of the road for people to walk around, leaving enough space for like police cars & tour trams. Wang Fu Jing has many little shops, from your regular Giordano, to Metersbonwe, to a couple of locally owned departmental store. At the start of the road, there's a huge mall that caters to the well-heeled crowd, having Max & Co, Tiffany's & the likes as its tenants. Truly a sight to marvel at.

The saving grace was i had a really plushy hotel room. I got the rest that i've been yearning for. Overall the trip is an eye-opener. Much has changed over the years. When i took the subway from my hotel area to my work site, it doesn't feel as though i was in an unfamiliar grounds. Perhaps that's a sign of the times. Perhaps it's a sign that i should relocate. Whatever the case is, i have another work trip coming up. SHANGHAI , here i come.