 |
| The tree-lined entrance to the Beijing Normal University campus in Beitaipingzhuang |
BEIJING NORMAL UNIVERSITY
Beishida, that’s what Beijing Normal University is called in Chinese and I will use that term out of habit and convenience, has been a kind of home away from home for me in China since I first got a room there in 1986. I’ve walked the grounds of Shida hundreds of times in the last three decades, initially as a graduate student in residence, later because my Beijing in-laws live nearby and I like the campus. It's not as pretty as the imperial garden setting of Beida, but it is much closer to downtown Beijing, which begins for me around the old city wall, an inner city surrounded by Second Ring Road and the Beijing's long-standing subway loop. The Beishida campus is not inspired architecturally, but it is a tranquil compound that offers a tree-lover such as myself some relief from the chock-a-block neighborhood that surrounds it. It's not secret that the campus doubles as an unofficial park, more or less open for strolling for residents of the congested area.
The campus is heavily gated, north, south, east and west, but it is open to the public most of the time, though entrances are guarded and those seeking egress may be stopped or questioned at the whim of the guards, with an uptick of inspections during times of political vigilance.
The East Gate is the main entrance to campus and the most thoroughly surveilled.
The East Gate is the main entrance to campus and the most thoroughly surveilled.
 |
| The East Gate has uniformed guards posted round the clock with a special booth to inspect auto traffic. |
 |
| Beishida foreign student dorm dating to the late 1980's as seen from the bicycle parking lot |
The Olympics were one such time; not so much out of fear of political turmoil but for the simple reason that the US delegation was ensconced on campus and with the attendant needs of privacy and security. Michael Phelps and his compatriots were housed in what normally served as the foreign student quarters and campus dining facilities were expanded to include the US team’s cafeteria.
The building where I once stayed, a three-story brick structure that housed campus shops was not technically a dorm but a “zhaodaisuo” for official university guests, one of the few buildings where foreigners (there were three of us when I was there) and Chinese could stay under the same roof. Convenient but shabby, with no showers nor hot water, it was torn down in 2007 to create a purpose-built facility for the US Olympic fencing team, later converted into a campus gymnasium for general athletic purposes.
The building where I once stayed, a three-story brick structure that housed campus shops was not technically a dorm but a “zhaodaisuo” for official university guests, one of the few buildings where foreigners (there were three of us when I was there) and Chinese could stay under the same roof. Convenient but shabby, with no showers nor hot water, it was torn down in 2007 to create a purpose-built facility for the US Olympic fencing team, later converted into a campus gymnasium for general athletic purposes.
Campus was extremely difficult to visit during the Olympics, a special permit was necessary, and normal school life came to a halt. It was the height of summer anyway and even provincial students were mostly sent home, though allowances had to be made for those hundreds of families who live in dorm-like structures on the north side of the campus grounds.
The ceremonial south gate, where the all but obligatory Mao statue once stood, is still mostly used for ceremonial purposes. I watched the Mao statue being torn down in the middle of the night in 1986, and the plaza was later widened to make way for a new library, which in turn was replaced by an bigger plaza with an even bigger library. The massive library structure with its huge over-hanging roof is apparently the image university authorities like to project, and while the architecture is a bit over-blown, and the library incomplete due to censorship, the wide open plaza in front is a delightful semi-urban space where old folks stroll, kids roller skate and students court and spark.
East Gate is the most cosmopolitan corner of campus; it houses hundreds of foreign students studying Chinese, and university guests of all stripes. The main building is 20 stories tall, the ground floor entry is flanked by Twelve Oaks café on one side, and a MacDonald’s on the other.
Deeper inside the recesses of the compound can be found a whimsically decorated “Canadian” restaurant, dotted with red lights, and a Japanese restaurant. The Korean restaurant is gone, replaced by a well-stocked dining hall with diverse stalls, but food cannot be purchased without a university ID.
The original east gate was located further south and was once a main entry point to campus. It still functions as a gate, and is guarded, but its prime traffic is a parking lot serving a tall commercial building that sits on the southeast corner of the university compound. Housing offices, dining and Chinese-style hotel facilities, it is typical of the showy facades and careless commercial expansion of the Jiang Zemin era but not well-integrated with campus.
Utilized mainly for parking now, the old east gate is a forgotten campus thoroughfare, but in 1989 this was the key passageway in and out of campus and the gateway through which students broke past campus security to enter the streets, in defiance of warnings from police and university security. After assembling on the basketball courts at the crack of dawn, it was from here that began a series of epic marches to Tiananmen Square.
 |
| Interior of Twelve Oaks Cafe which overlooks East Gate |
Deeper inside the recesses of the compound can be found a whimsically decorated “Canadian” restaurant, dotted with red lights, and a Japanese restaurant. The Korean restaurant is gone, replaced by a well-stocked dining hall with diverse stalls, but food cannot be purchased without a university ID.
The original east gate was located further south and was once a main entry point to campus. It still functions as a gate, and is guarded, but its prime traffic is a parking lot serving a tall commercial building that sits on the southeast corner of the university compound. Housing offices, dining and Chinese-style hotel facilities, it is typical of the showy facades and careless commercial expansion of the Jiang Zemin era but not well-integrated with campus.
 |
| The Jingshi building abutting campus |
 |
| The old east gate area is a parking lot behind the Jingshi Building |
Utilized mainly for parking now, the old east gate is a forgotten campus thoroughfare, but in 1989 this was the key passageway in and out of campus and the gateway through which students broke past campus security to enter the streets, in defiance of warnings from police and university security. After assembling on the basketball courts at the crack of dawn, it was from here that began a series of epic marches to Tiananmen Square.
 |
| This is today's remand of the tree-lined street and gate where students first broke free of campus in 1989 |
"What happened to all the student hangouts, cafes and restaurants?"
The answers, all of them interesting, all of them likely containing a kernel of truth.
"The university is cleaning up...""it's to combat air pollution""beautification" "there were complaints...""unsightly,” “unsanitary,” "too many unregistered provincials..."
If the shops that sprouted out with little help from the authorities in the ambiguous zone outside the campus wall were not completely illegal, they were not fully authorized by the university, but more to the point, not in keeping with the latest trends under Xi Jinping for urban beautification which meant in essence restoring something of the simplicity of the Maoist Beijing he knew as a youth to what today is an admittedly intensely capitalistic commercial environment.
The idea seems to be to restore the university exterior, part wall, part fence and partly composed of buildings that line the street but do not open to the street.
 |
| Blue fencing blocks access to the recently closed restaurants and bars on Xinwai Road by campus |
Certainly, the complaint that the shops were run by provincials, that is to say “waidiren” or rural migrants was a political factor in the clean-up campaign, as similar clearances have taken place throughout the city. But one cannot underestimate the power of bureaucratic greed, either, and it was explained to me that university officials long looked askance at the vibrant activity going on just outside the gate, or perhaps secretly coveted it, and wanted to rope it in by establishment a monopoly on food and drink outlets inside and outside the campus walls.
 |
| Welcome no more. Closed by order of the university |
 |
| Korean restaurant closed down as part of the clean up campaign |
The food and drink on offer were no better or worse than what one would expect for a no-frills collegetown, but it was never bloated and busy as was its counterpart at Wudaokou where several campuses meet. Wudaokou has been the scene of intrigue, it was described as a place where spies roamed during one particularly paranoid period a few years back, and foreigners were banned from gathering in groups of more than ten. The many bars and dance clubs servicing the area's huge student population now have to comply with attendance limits and attendance booked by phone in advance. The advance booking is telling, for phones are the easiest way to track and monitor the masses and there's ample evidence of this monitoring going on in Beijing law enforcement these days.
As if to answer the rowdy street life is a spanking new high-rise mall fronted with a Huawei shop, featuring multiple floors of branded fashion and and a fairly decent restaurant floor on the top. Progress? Social control?
The powers-that-be seem to have a higher comfort level with luxury brands and chain stores than mom and pop shops and entrepreneurs.
Keeping things prim and proper, at least in appearance seems to be a ruling ethic of today's Beijing.
It's not surprising that young people who are being groomed as teachers should be gently pressured to behave in an upright manner, and conservative students and administrators were shocked in 1989 when so many of the nation's finest teachers-to-be broke out of campus to join other college students in the big protest at Tiananmen Square.
As if to answer the rowdy street life is a spanking new high-rise mall fronted with a Huawei shop, featuring multiple floors of branded fashion and and a fairly decent restaurant floor on the top. Progress? Social control?
The powers-that-be seem to have a higher comfort level with luxury brands and chain stores than mom and pop shops and entrepreneurs.
Keeping things prim and proper, at least in appearance seems to be a ruling ethic of today's Beijing.
It's not surprising that young people who are being groomed as teachers should be gently pressured to behave in an upright manner, and conservative students and administrators were shocked in 1989 when so many of the nation's finest teachers-to-be broke out of campus to join other college students in the big protest at Tiananmen Square.
Today politics is not a popular topic, but lifestyle is, and today's youth eagerly seek toescapetheconfinesofabuttoned-downcampus as much as their predecessors did. It's a place where rules abound and are taken seriously, even the elevators signs in the high-rise classroom building have a pedagogical ring.
Being a key teachingcollege, and in keeping with its motto, Beishida likes to see itself as a model school in keeping with its motto:
xue wei ren shi
xing wei shi fan
Learn, so as to instruct others;
Act, to serve as a model for all
 |
| The motto of Beishida carved in stone |
It’sunderstandablethatstudentsshouldseektoescapethiscrib fromtimetotime,justasitiseasytoseewhystreet-wearylocals,whoarenotunderthewatchfuleyeofprofessorsandadministrators,shouldfindawhiff offreedomfromthethehumdrumlife in the monitored world of the workplace and neighboring residentialcompounds.
Thustheflowgoestoways,non-studentsflocktocampusintheeveningstopromenadeandunwind,justasstudentsrushoutthegatesforfood,drinkandthedistractionsofthestreet.
Duringthehey-dayoffreemarketreformsinBeijing,littlecollegetownsfeaturingfoodandbrewwithaparsimoniousstudentbudgetinmindflourishedinplacesliketheeastwallofShida,Wudaokou,neartheEastGateofTsinghuaandHaidianroadsouthofBeijingUniversity.
Setagainstlongnon-descriptuniversitywallsandvyingforthecontrolledflowoftrafficatuniversitygates,dozensoffunkyeateriesanddrinkeriesblossomed,somegoingbust,othersbecoming“establishments”knowntomultiplegenerationsofstudents. Oftenthelittleshopssufferedintermsofsanitation,lackingadequateventilation,wasteremovalandsometimesevenlackofrunningwater. Eveninlegendarybars,suchasD-22punkmusicvenuenearTsinghua’sEastGate,popularwithlocalsandvisitorsalike,theconditionswereborderlineappalling,poorly-lit firetrapswithaveneerofgrimeoneverything,customerscrowdedtogethercheekandjowl,andbathroomsforthetrulybraveatheart.
Inotherwords,theperfectstudenthangout,aplacetogetdrunk,aplacetomakefriendsandaplacetoforgetaboutthestrait-lacednicetiesofschool.
Shidadidnothavealegendarymusicjoints,butithadhalfadozendrinkingplaces,somewithlivemusicandthepatternwasmuchthesame. Thepriceswerereasonable,thelocationhardtobeatanditwaspackedwithstudents,allofwhichundercutthegrimrealityofamateurcooksmessingaroundinmessykitchens,doingthebestjobpossiblewithinadequateventilationandlimitedplumbing. Manysuchjerry-riggedfoodandfunoutletssproutedup,seeminglyovernightduringtherelativelyfreewheelingHuJintaoyears,everythingfrommassageparlorstosushishops. Therewasnoshameinnothavingabathroomifcustomerscouldbepointedtotheno-frillspublictoiletdownthestreet.
Rangingfromrattytolegendary,andsometimesabitofboth,thelargemajorityofsuchrag-tag“collegetown”shopsalongtheeastwalloftheBeijingNormalUniversitycampushavebeenclosedandcordonedoff,perchancetorestorethestreamlinedlookofbusyXinwaiStreetasaplacetopassby,notlinger.
Forcityauthoritiestoengageinno-holdsbarredfull-frontalattackonstudentbars,restaurantsandfunkyforeign-themedhangoutsthatproliferatedaroundcampusgateistodestroytheecosystemofeateries,foodfindingclients,clientsfindingfood,asystem,thathoweverimperfect,evolvednaturally,fitfullyandaccordingtotheartofthepossible. Itgrewinagrayzone,azonenowrenderedbacktoblackandwhite,asthethenarrowspacebetweenuniversitywallandthestreethasbeendeclaredaDMZbyfiat. Itisnowano-gozone, emptiedoutandropedoff,anointedfordestruction.
ThenaturalbuthaphazardshapingofacityscapeaccordingtothecollectivewillofindividualscanproducevibrantresultsasseeninmanyashoppingstreetinJapan,orFranceorevenHongKong,butontheChinesemainlandtop-downdevelopmentfavorsthebigplayerstothedetrimentofthelittleguy.
Thetransformationissothoroughthatonecouldeasilystrollalongthatpathunawareoftheghostsoftherecentpast,oblivioustothefactthatithadbeenaragtagforeignenclavecomposedofsmallshopsjustafewyearsago. Still,thereisnoturningtheclockbackforthesignificantlylargerdisplacementofresidentsandbusinessesthathadtomakewayforahigh-endshopper’sparadise. Intheend,bigmoneywon.
AsforBeijingNormalUniversity’sunofficial“college-town,”thenetlossseemstooutweighanygains,sincetheprincipleobjectiveseemstobetidyingupandconsolidatingcontrol.
Thereisperhapsanundercurrentofanti-foreignsentimentoncampuscomingtoheadaswell. Ontheonehand,Chinesestudentsmaketheperennialcomplaint,andnotwithoutreason,thatforeignstudentsenjoybetterdorms,morefoodchoices,privatebathsandbathroomsandotherprivileges,whilelocalstudentscramintobunkbedlinedroomswithsixor8studentsperroom. Evengraduatestudentscanfindthemselveswiththreeroommatesandit’stherareChinesestudentwhogetsadouble,letaloneasingle.
Perhapsthere’ssomecommunityresentmentaswell,fortheShidaiswell-integratedintoitsneighborhoodasafunctioningparkandathleticzone. Chineseresidents,insideandoutsidethewallsofcampusalikearenotenamoredofseeingirreverentforeignyouthcongregatefordrinkingandrelaxationjustoutsidecampusgate,eventhoughtherewasnoshortageofChineseentrepreneurswillingtoservethatmarketnicheintheformofpizzajoints,sandwichshops,barsandcafes.
Indeed,itwasrightacrosstheroadfromtheEastGateoftheuniversitythedeeplyunwelcomingwords,“thisisChina”and“gobacktoyourcountry”camewithinmyhearingradiustheotherday.
ifonlybecausetheshabbyshopsthatlinedthecampusperimeterprovidedgoodsandservicesindemandbystudentsandnotavailableelsewhere.
Thecampaignto“tidythingsup”mightseemtobeofapiecewiththemanyclean-upcampaignsthatBeijinghasseenovertheyearsasthecountryclawsitswayoutofthemireofitsfeudalandcapitalistpast,aimingforabrightsocialistfuture. Butit’salsoaretrogradetrend,notunlikethenostalgiafor“theolddays”inBrexit-obsessedBritainandTrump’scoreaudience,seekingareturntoalessraciallycomplexworldthatnolongerexists.
UndertheleaderofconservativeXiJinping,Chinaisfullofnewmovementsthatarereallythrowbackstothepast. NotjustthechauvinisticChina-onlymusicandslogansoftheMaoeracanbeheard,butalsogripesaboutalltheoutsidepeopleinBeijing,outsiderChinese (iewaidirenorprovincials) andforeigners,theultimateoutsiders.
TherewasatimewhenlivinginBeijingcouldbeconsideredaprivilege,itstillisregardedassuchtoday,onlymillionsofprovincialhavecrowdedthecapitalcity,seekingfortuneinwayshiddenandplaintosee,illegalandlegal,andit’sputastrainonhousing,transportation,publicsanitationandsocialfabric. Asaresult,themanylittleshops,cafes,foodstallsandstreetvendorsthatfindamarketniche,makingBeijingatoncemoreconvenientandmorecluttered,aregettingsweptawayinaclean-upcampaignthatseekstorestorethestreets,bridgesandpublicthoroughfarestothemodelsocialistcitystylethatcameofageinthelateMao,earlyDengera.
Youwanttoliveinthecity?Youneedahukoutoproveyou’rerighttoresidence. Thetighteningupofresidentialarrangementsappliestoforeignersaswell. Thosenotstayinginhotels—theapprovedforeignerhabitat—mustregisterwithpolicewithin24hours,evenifonlyvisitingrelatives,aswasthecasewithmysonandIwhowereputtingupathisgrandmother’shome.
Theproblemwithauthorities,whoovertheageshaveatime-provenknackforaccordingthemselvesgoodhousingandgoodsinecuresinwhichsippingteaandreadingthepaperishalfofthejob, (theotherhalfisjustshowingup) tryingtoreturntoatimebeforemigrantsandforeignersswelledthestreetsistheinherentplayofprejudiceandprivilegeinexecutingsuchcampaigns.
Beijing is a grand planned city since the time of the Ming, built on a gridline structure of capacious roads and walls, but some of its inner precincts have a strong organic feel; one need only lookatwhat’sleftofthemazeofhutongisproofofhowinterestingandaccommodatingthatkindofneighborhoodgrowthcanbe,butstateplannerswanttohaveahandineverything,evenifitmeansruiningit.
TosweepBeijingcleanofsmallmomandpopshopsandstreetvendorsistoBeijingistothrowthebabyoutwiththebathwater. Theresultissterility,state-plannedchock-a-blockneighborhoodsofbigboxybuildings,amenabletobigmoneybutnotneighborhoodcommerce. Localretailgiantsandforeignchainstorescanaffordthepayoffsandinefficient,time-consumingbureaucraticbarsthatkeepthosewithoutdeeppocketsoutofbusiness.
Takentoitslogicalextreme,thecity’scommerciallandscapewillbecomedominatedbyover-priceddesignermalls,andthetransformationinonce-vibrant,homeyneighborhoodslikeSanlituniscomplete.
ButevenifChinaisricherthanever,andconsumedwithconsumermaterialism,itdoesnotmeanthateveryonewantstospendalltheirtimeindesignershops,chainstoresandslickmalls.
Thelittleeverydayeateriesandthemom-and-popshops,somelovingly-run,othershodge-podgeandbohemian,wheregenerationsofvisitingstudentsandscholarsread,chatted,gotdrunkandwiledawaythehoursareallgonebutforone. Inacorporatistworldwherebigfisheatlittlefishandeconomyofscalehelpsweatherchanges,shoulditcomeasanysurprisethattheonlyeateryadjacenttoEastGatewiththewherewithal,connectionsandcapitaltotakeatoughstandagainsttheebbandtideofclean-upcampaignsisanAmericanhamburgerchain?TothenewgenerationofPrinceton in AsiaandothernewcomersatBeijingNormal,jet-laggedbutkeenonexploringthenewChina,it’sachoicewithnochoices:
MacDonaldswelcomesyou.
Giventhevagariesoffateandthepressuretodevelopandevolve,itisperhapsinevitablethatthephysicalartifactsthatconstituteChina’spresentshouldbecrumbledandreducedtodusttomakewayforfutureschemes,butthere’salsoadispiritingsensethatthingsareculledandtorndownbeforetheirtimeforthewrongreasons. Whetheritbevicissitudesoffashion,architecturalegoism, petty resentment,orpoliticalfiat,it’sseemsthefateofChinese home-grown neighborhoods to be forever under the blade on the choppingblock ofchange.