Wishing upon a Beijing Christmas

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By Alexis Hooi (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-12-10 07:43

I won't be home for Christmas.

I'll actually be spending Christmas Eve through Boxing Day in the newsroom again, one of the most piercing ways I can think of for an expatriate to mark the festive season here in Beijing.

But this personal bugbear will hardly dent the attraction of the Chinese capital for those at home and abroad, as one of the major metropolises of the modern world.

For all the Chinese and foreigners lured to the capital by the promise of a better future, nothing seems to beat being at the center of the world's largest developing country even in these tough economic times.

The municipal authorities said latest figures show the city's population surpassing 16.3 million and pushing toward the 18-million limit allowed by current land and resources. Estimates put Beijing's population at 21 million by 2020.

Innovation has become one of the city's draws, researchers from the China City Development Research Institute said recently. Beijing's reputation as a magnet for universities and research agencies has made it the most innovative city countrywide.

Measures to curb the city's notorious air pollution, widely considered a major impediment for those who want to set up homes here, are also making encouraging headway. Beijing hit its target of seeing 256 days of blue skies this year a full month in advance, the environmental protection bureau has said.

However, there are other ominous signs that threaten the capital's allure. It became more expensive than Hong Kong for foreigners for the first time, thanks to surging inflation on the mainland and an appreciation of the yuan, a recent survey by human resources firm ECA International showed.

For the last two years, Beijing also did not make the top 20 list of livable cities in a popular annual survey by urban lifestyle magazine, Monocle.

For the mobile worker of a globalized economy, Beijing apparently has some way to go before it can compete with top-class cities ranging from Copenhagen to Kyoto. These places are said to offer urban residents a quality of life covering comforts from cutting edge environmental design in infrastructure to charmingly preserved residential enclaves that help city-dwellers create and rejuvenate.

I am still excited by the promise of Beijing as a great place to live and work in. For one, not many global cities can claim to have a history as long and as fascinating. So, in line with the holiday mood, here is my Christmas wish list for the city's planners to keep the capital attractive:

Setting aside more green areas such as free-entry public parks, parkways and park connectors to boost walkability

Planting more trees citywide

Opening up and adding on affordable sports facilities

Keeping more selected areas buzzing after sunset - all-night streets with food, drink, bookshops, cinemas and shopping served by nighttime subway and bus services

Promoting and diversifying independent, small-business districts

Balancing preservation of historic areas with development of avant-garde architecture

Celebrating citywide and community-specific cultural festivals

Supporting more of theater and the arts

More avenues for recycling and green projects

Reducing cars on the road, improving public transport and encouraging cycling

Better access and facilities for the disabled and elderly

All these in, Christmas in Beijing is something I can grow to like.

E-mail: alexishooi@chinadaily.com.cn