A Summer Without Beijing

There’s always a peculiar feeling when one breaks out of a cycle. Sometimes it feels freeing as if you’ve broken out of shackles that held you in place. Other times, it leaves you with a sense of emptiness, uncertainty on what to do during the time which was once occupied with a thoughtless routine. This summer, we have all experienced some sort of unease, trying to find something new to do within the boundaries of our familiar countries, cities, or even homes. I often stop to wonder and think how much my summer in my hometown of Toronto is in truth, is more foreign to me than a summer in Beijing: thousands of kilometers away.

Each year for the past ten years, I have traveled with my family back to the city in which I was raised as a child, Beijing, and for me, it was something that became the norm for the summer: running out of school on the last day to pack the bags in preparation to head off the next week. But this year, everything changed as lockdown procedures and travel restrictions meant that one: there would be nowhere to run out of except for my room, and two: that I would not be packing my bags but instead putting them away as they were no longer needed. So instead of actually experiencing the summer that I am so accustomed to this year, I am left only to recall and imagine the things that are missed in a summer without Beijing.

The first thing that you notice when you step out of the plane is the heat. Getting out of the cold cabin of the airplane with layers worn to keep warm, the second you pass through the door, all you can feel is the rush of warmth and humidity that surrounds you. This is when most people start stripping and considering whether getting back on the plane is the better option.

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Sweat dripping down with every step, never have I ever felt the need for air conditioning more than during the first few days in Beijing. This paired with the twelve-hour jet lag calls for sleepless nights where I would wake up finding myself drowning in an ocean of sweat, sneaking to the fridge to grab a chilled drink to help cool down. Fortunately, this experience no longer is the case after the first week, but the heat and sun still show no mercy during the day.

Cheng and his family

Luckily, there is more to summer in Beijing than its desire to slow cook a person. In Beijing, we meet friends that though live halfway around the world, can manage to strike up conversations that are more engaging than ones I’ve had the entire year. Whether it be laughing around the hotpot table at the Haidilao while we drink down our Sour Plum Juice (SuanMeiTang), or singing (sometimes shouting) in our private karaoke rooms, friends in Beijing though estranged, quickly become the closest friends anyone could ask for.

Most of my family is in Beijing as well. We often go on road trips during the weekend all over the country. Waking up early to escape the deathly traffic of Beijing’s Ring Roads, heading towards a mystery destination: The Great Wall, Tianjin, and Hebei are just some of the places we go. Longer trips that cause long-lasting back pain and cramps include Qingdao or even Shanghai!

During these trips, my family and I go hiking up trails of places with names I cannot pronounce to take in the scenery and snap artsy photos of the greens. Bewildered by the cultural landmarks, I try to do the same, all while dodging and slapping mosquitoes that can’t seem to get enough of me! It’s all worth it in the end surprisingly as the gift of fresh air from nature is appreciated to escape the often smoggy days within the busy city.

Despite the fact I could be considered a foreigner to Beijing, it is quite rare to actually find me doing things that foreigners do: exploring the Summer Palace, circling the Forbidden City, or scaling the narrow and crowded alleyways of Nanluoguxiang are places that you won’t find me (in case you were that is). Instead, search the local football pitches (or soccer as we call it on this side of the Earth) for the most talented player (not kidding one bit…), or if you have access, at my father’s workplace in the bustling business district of Haidian. Close friends are also welcome to join me on a shopping spree in Sanlitun, or any of the massive malls of Beijing.

So as this year’s summer comes to a close and many unique memories were made, many of us will cherish this year more than the others. Instead of asking us to remember what this summer had, we recall what it hadn’t. For some, it may have been a summer without sleepovers, a summer without beaches, or even a summer without leaving the house. For me, it was a summer without Beijing; and as ironic as it may seem, I don’t regret any bit of it.

Michael Cheng was born and raised in China and moved overseas at a young age to pursue an education in Canada. He is currently a grade 11 student at an independent boy’s school in Toronto, participating in a variety of sports and activities. Cheng is an avid traveler, cellist, and filmmaker, drawn to all things arts, culture, and history.

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Photos: Michael Cheng, pexels

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