Although the Coronavirus pandemic is far from over and we just came back from the five-day Labour Day long weekend, Beijing has basically re-opened. Some schools still haven’t sent their kids back but, while walking around the neighbourhoods over the last few days, people are back at work.
We were at Sanlitun on Sunday and security was tighter than it was a few months ago. Now, in order to get into the Tai Koo Li shopping area you need to scan a QR code to get an updated health check clearance, in addition to having your temperature taken. And should you enter a store, you may have to do it all over again. It’s a good thing to just screenshot it for the day.
I went to Baker & Spice and Great Leap Brewing #45 in Liangmaqiao on Saturday and both places had plenty of customers. Health checks were required but there was no longer a need to sit 1 metre apart from your table mate. Further, although people had masks with them, the government has recently stated that they are no longer necessary but are strongly encouraged.
Speaking of the government, the government has slated May 21st and 22nd as the beginning of the “Two Sessions”, a national meetup of sorts for all levels of government to convene and basically check that they’re all still on the same page. But the good thing is that if they are going to meet in Beijing, then that means we’ll probably be starting some time soon thereafter.
Let’s hope for a June start date because rent will be due and already I’ll need to pay part of what I normally pay. The way it works in Beijing and much of China is that you often pay three months in advance. However, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, I believe the government issued some sort of proclamation saying that landlords had to be a bit more lenient with their rent due dates. We’ll see how this goes.
But if there’s any surer sign of Beijing returning to normal it is that Beijing traffic has resumed. Out and about at 8.30 am today (May 6, 2020) and the Third Ring Road going North was clogged as it usually is during morning rush hour. Here’s a pic from Amaps of the traffic congestion in the morning:
And, more informally, I head my neighbour leave earlier than normal. Instead of the usual 8.00 departure, they left at 7.45. One look down the street and this would have been the reason why:
Further, the AQI topped 170 today which signals that the factory workers are back at work and that, couple with the hotter temperatures, the air has been rather dirty and humid as of late.
I’ve been keeping busy. I’m still studying Chinese a few times a week with a teacher in addition to doing some reading on my own time. I may cut down to twice a week for lessons mainly because I like having some days without thinking about homework.
I’m also still working my way through various Python sources and slowly building up a larger understanding not only of Python, but of some other aspects of computer science, such as SQL, git, working with Terminal , among a few other skills. One challenge I found interesting was being able to code on paper. Although I’ve spent much time typing out code into an editor, one video suggested learners also develop the skill to write code on paper, just in case you want to pursue a job in the industry.
For those of you who haven’t seen yet, I’ve started podcasting, which you can find here. I’ve done four episodes so far and have been enjoying the process. Although it’s taking longer than I anticipated to get the episodes recorded, edited and posted, I hope to streamline that process (and minimize editing) in future episodes. It’s a great format and I’m able to cover a few topics in the same episode so I think it’s worth the time to give it a listen.
