One of the things I'm always fascinated with in other countries is how much daily goods cost. With the price of gas a major concern here in the U.S. I wondered how much it cost in Beijing. As you can see on this sign, 97 octane goes for 5.68 RMB per liter. With an exchange rate of 7 RMB to 1 U.S. dollar and a conversion factor of 3.79 liters to 1 gallon, that equates to about $3.10 per gallon. Premium is running between $3.60 and $3.90 right now in San Diego just as a comparison.
With the price of gas relatively high for the average person's income (average monthly income was U.S. $227 per month last June according to an article in People's Daily newspaper online), bicycles are a major mode of transportation for most folks. I'm not kidding when I say there are bicycles EVERYWHERE!
Although mostly old and run down, bicycles come in a variety of forms in Beijing. There are regular old getting-around bikes, then there are the utility bikes! We saw bikes hauling everything imaginable. From sticks and logs to trash, merchandise (TVs specifically) to little old ladies pumping their legs to haul what seemed like a whole apartment worth of furniture. No kidding, I saw a bike similar to this one with the wood hauling a sofa and two love seats! For all you cyclists out there, do you see how loose that single gear chain is in the pic? Now imagine hauling your own body weight plus probably a couple of hundred pounds of cargo with that!!!
Of course, you can cook out of these things also! From rolling produce stands to actual rolling kitchens, we witnessed all sorts of foods being cooked on the back of these cargo bikes. This picture is actually a very common scene around the city. Just in case you get a craving for baked sweet potato on your way home from work, there are multiple vendors on bikes baking some up in a 55 gallon drum for you!
Now, I don't know if it's because of all the carbon monoxide in the air or being exhausted from pedaling all these loads around, but it was not uncommon to see napping going on in some of the strangest areas. This pic was taken out of the bus window of guys literally on the side of the road (about 5 feet off a major highway) taking naps!
I hope this post isn't construed as making fun of the Beijing population. Just about everyone we met was very friendly and seemed genuinely pleased that we were visiting their city. Since I'm always asked back here in the States, I simply wanted to point out some things that struck me as interesting and unique from U.S. culture. Even though my current occupation qualifies me as somewhat of a white collar professional, I've always considered myself in the "worker bee" category, so I can appreciate folks putting in a hard days work. This picture of the lady sweeping up outside the Temple of Heaven seems to sum up the majority of folks we encountered on the streets in Beijing- hard-working.
One of the things I'm always fascinated with in other countries is how much daily goods cost. With the price of gas a major concern here in the U.S. I wondered how much it cost in Beijing. As you can see on this sign, 97 octane goes for 5.68 RMB per liter. With an exchange rate of 7 RMB to 1 U.S. dollar and a conversion factor of 3.79 liters to 1 gallon, that equates to about $3.10 per gallon. Premium is running between $3.60 and $3.90 right now in San Diego just as a comparison.
With the price of gas relatively high for the average person's income (average monthly income was U.S. $227 per month last June according to an article in People's Daily newspaper online), bicycles are a major mode of transportation for most folks. I'm not kidding when I say there are bicycles EVERYWHERE!
Although mostly old and run down, bicycles come in a variety of forms in Beijing. There are regular old getting-around bikes, then there are the utility bikes! We saw bikes hauling everything imaginable. From sticks and logs to trash, merchandise (TVs specifically) to little old ladies pumping their legs to haul what seemed like a whole apartment worth of furniture. No kidding, I saw a bike similar to this one with the wood hauling a sofa and two love seats! For all you cyclists out there, do you see how loose that single gear chain is in the pic? Now imagine hauling your own body weight plus probably a couple of hundred pounds of cargo with that!!!
Of course, you can cook out of these things also! From rolling produce stands to actual rolling kitchens, we witnessed all sorts of foods being cooked on the back of these cargo bikes. This picture is actually a very common scene around the city. Just in case you get a craving for baked sweet potato on your way home from work, there are multiple vendors on bikes baking some up in a 55 gallon drum for you!
Now, I don't know if it's because of all the carbon monoxide in the air or being exhausted from pedaling all these loads around, but it was not uncommon to see napping going on in some of the strangest areas. This pic was taken out of the bus window of guys literally on the side of the road (about 5 feet off a major highway) taking naps!
I hope this post isn't construed as making fun of the Beijing population. Just about everyone we met was very friendly and seemed genuinely pleased that we were visiting their city. Since I'm always asked back here in the States, I simply wanted to point out some things that struck me as interesting and unique from U.S. culture. Even though my current occupation qualifies me as somewhat of a white collar professional, I've always considered myself in the "worker bee" category, so I can appreciate folks putting in a hard days work. This picture of the lady sweeping up outside the Temple of Heaven seems to sum up the majority of folks we encountered on the streets in Beijing- hard-working.
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