The dragon morphs

摘要

I first arrived in Beijing in 1984. The winter was bitterly cold. We routinely wore three pairs of long Johns under our jeans, tops and sweaters, then added a bulky overcoat to go outdoors. What meagre heating we had was only on for four months of the year, even though Beijing hovered below freezing for almost six. It was also dark. One of my students cheerfully informed me it was "Save electricity Tuesday", which was always followed by "Save electricity Friday". These were rolling blackouts, when electricity was switched off across the neighbourhood for the entire day -even in factories, which meant no one worked twice a week. Despite the lack of warmth, light and transportation, Beijing was horribly polluted, especially in winter. Buses belched black smoke. When I rode my bike through city streets I'd often find chunks of coal in my hair, coughed up by the boilers of the surrounding houses. It was a full year before I knew that the Western Hills should be visible from right outside the Beijing Normal University, where I was employed as teacher.