Looking back over the years it seems that, around this time of year, I usually write some sort of post titled “Things are getting quiet” in Beijing. The strange thing is, although I’m writing another one this year, things have been quiet for a while.
If you haven’t seen the news as of late, China is experiencing a resurgence of THE VIRUS that has been making life troublesome for a lot of people all over the world. Shijiazhuang (sheh – zha – jwang, for those who want to try to pronounce it) had an outbreak a couple of weeks ago and they literally shut down the city… with some of my colleagues till there! Unlike Dalian, I’m not sure people are allowed to leave even if they have NAT tests.
Beijing itself is experiencing an outbreak of sorts, mostly in the Shunyi district (located by the capital airport in the northeast region of the city) and now in Daxing district (which is south of the city centre and where the new, much bigger, international airport is located), so scrutiny has increased as of late. Whereas things slackened a little bit a few months ago, we’re right back to the times of scanning QR codes, taking temperatures and wearing masks all the time everywhere. The added layer of security is the NAT test.
I’ve written about the NAT test before, or nuleic acid test, or 和酸碱次 he suan jian ci, in Beijing and the process and procedure isn’t painful, but it is inconvenient. The hospitals, in addition to dealing with their regular barrage of patients, now have to deal with hundreds of people needing to get a NAT test for work purposes. Not only do city governments require negative NAT tests, but some building owners, ie, the people or company that actually owns the building you’re working in, may require a NAT test. The sad thing is that some of the health stocks that trade here in China have gotten so expensive that it’s difficult to trade them now!
Speaking of money, one thing I have noticed less of are high-end luxury cars. There is one Mercedes Maybach that is driven around my neighbourhood (~$173,000 USD) that I see often enough but the Lambourginis ($393,000 USD) and Ferraris (cheapest one starts at $218,000 USD) are hardly seen. Even the two-toned Rolls Royce ($450,000 USD) is absent from the streets. Even during the lowest points of the pandemic last year I’d still see them ripping around town or at least hear them go by. Now, however, you might hear a motorcycle every now and then, but very few supercars.
Other than that, however, it seems the city has quietened down a lot much earlier than it normally does. “Chinese New Year”, or 春节 (chun jie) Spring Festival as it’s known locally, is still a few weeks away and there is typically an outflux of people from the capital to their hometowns. Usually around now you would see businesses put up a notice of their Spring Festival hours, but that hasn’t happened just yet.
This year, however, people are being encouraged to stay where they are and not travel home. Apparently some companies are offering incentives for employees to stay local rather than travel during the holiday season. It may be that things just keep chugging along the way they are since no one can go anywhere. To be honest, I’m not really sure because I never plan to travel during Spring Festival as it’s just too crazy.
Usually the cities start putting up red lanterns on the light posts but that hasn’t happened yet either. With only three weeks to go you’d think they would start that to help people get in the mood. I’ve read already that the temple fairs will not take place this year so there will be one less thing to do.
And since school is out for the holidays, many university campuses are shutting down so as to not risk the stigma of getting THE VIRUS. This means that work itself has gone down quite a bit, much earlier than usual. We probably won’t be busy again until March at this rate.
I have things to keep me busy, so long as I don’t somehow attract THE VIRUS, either directly or indirectly or indirectly indirectly. If I do, then it’s a home quarantine for me and no leaving the apartment. That would mean burpees and mountain climbers and kettlebell swings for a workout, no more outdoor running or cycling. Here’s hoping that that doesn’t happen.
In all, people are calm, things are calm. The NAT tests and health checks are a nuisance but they’re not overly intrusive to our daily lives. The masks are annoying but I bought a cloth on so it doesn’t itch my nose as much nor cut the back of my ears. If you’re wondering how or why there is an outbreak when it seemed like China had beaten THE VIRUS, that’s a good question. I don’t know. Apparently this VIRUS can be transported on dried goods and can linger in the air for a while. Strangely, they don’t always mention which VIRUS they’ve detected, just “coronavirus” (of which there are several).
Ah, and we had snow once this year. I mention this because “Beijing” is supposed to host the Winter Olympics in 2022. The Games will actually take place in Zhangjianankou, which is about four hours northwest of the city.
