The great blessings of Chinese public life

• Source: Global Times
• [21:10 September 06 2009]
• Comments

One of the most beautiful places in Beijing, at least for me, is the park right by my apartment. It was created out of a scrap of wasteland for the Olympics, and it's long but very narrow, so that the rush of cars is always audible.

It's a strangely tranquil place; walking through it in the afternoon, I often find four or five students, retirees, or migrant workers taking a nap around the benches, undisturbed in the quiet sunlight.

In the morning and evening, however, or on the weekends, it transforms into a bustling playground for young and old alike, as old people gather to gossip, make music, or do exercise, and the kids scamper around the sandpit or swing on the exercise machines.

Parks show one of the great strengths of Chinese society – living life outdoors. It isn't just parks, but all public spaces that the Chinese transform into meaningful environments.

In the US and the UK, it's rare to spend time on the street. Business, eating, and friendship are all conducted inside, in sealed-off, private locations. Young men who hang around on street corners are, rightly, seen as menacing by others because there's no reason for them to be there.

There are exceptions, such as Washington Square in New York or London's Soho, and many European countries still have a strong street life, but too often public areas are just somewhere you walk through to get to where you're really going.

In China, by contrast, public space is somewhere you really spend time in. People cluster around food stalls, play cards or mahjong on the ground, talk with their neighbors, or hit a shuttlecock around.

This is partially because Chinese private living spaces are smaller than in the West, partially because street level businesses are still a major part of the economy, and partially because of the emphasis on personal exercise and health, but mostly because of China's admirable collectivist heritage.

A thriving public space has numerous advantages.

For children, it means they can easily find playmates and do healthy outdoor activities. When I was small, it used to be common for kids to play on the street with each other in England, but with increasing paranoia about children's safety, this has nearly vanished.

In China, in contrast, children playing outside are never by themselves; there are always neighbors, local businessmen, or old people near them and able to keep an eye out for their well-being.

For the elderly, it means that they are integrated into the community, rather than being shut up in apartments or old folk's homes.

Even those who are physically limited can still enjoy the feeling of being with others just by stepping outside their front door.

When somebody is missing who would normally turn up for the normal exercise or afternoon nap, their neighbors are concerned about them and go to check up.

For young people, it gives them an area to hang out without intrusion from their parents – and sometimes, late at night, to make out.

Another advantage is that it ensures that the spaces themselves are kept beautiful, or at least tidy.

Filthy alleyways and vandalized phone booths or bus shelters are all too familiar in some Western cities; in China, the constant flow of life on the streets means that vandals can get little hold – although public areas inside buildings are too often gray and dirty!

There are other disadvantages, of course; for those who value their privacy intensely, the intense gossip of a close neighborhood can be oppressive, and the intersections between roads and pedestrian areas are sometimes clumsily handled. I hold my breath every time a small child runs across the road in my compound just as a car is coming.

The greatest benefit, however, is simply the sense of life and joy that a thriving community exudes.

For foreigners, walking through such spaces, watching people dance, sing, play, shop, and talk is one of the great pleasures of visiting China.

It was sad that during the Beijing Olympics over-zealous police were allowed to clear many people and businesses off the streets; it meant that the city looked dull and empty compared to its normal vitality.

Unfortunately, some areas seem to be moving away from this.

Modern Western-style suburbs lack the closeness of previous buildings, and, critically, lack the street-level businesses, from countryside fruit sellers to malatang (spicy soup) vendors, kebab stalls, and newspaper kiosks, that help keep public life important.

Still, people there spend much more time outdoors than their American or British counterparts. With luck, people in China will still choose to spend much of their time outside even when they have a Western-style house to go back to.