This week in Beijing or why i love this city

After living here for almost five years, one of the questions I get to answer the most, either by newcomers or outsiders, is: “what keeps you here? the pollution is high, traffic is bad, salary low….”

So, what keeps me here, in Beijing?

1- my tribe:

“tous les gens qu’il ya autours de toi, c’est ca ta tribu” is a piece of lyric from Manau’s “J’dedicace” which can be translated as “everyone around you, that’s your tribe” and that is one of the main reasons i love Beijing and i stick around. You all know who you are!

2- The vibe & energy:

Things are moving in here! even post-olympics, Beijing is still rocking and moving forward! While the rest of the world – mostly Europe and USAnia- is busy complaining about an economic crisis, all is good in Beijing and life is moving along at a nice pace. I can’t think of another city I’d rather live in at this point business wise.

3- variety of events and this week is an example:

On any given week, there is so much to do in Beijing that it is mind boggling! honestly! Just as an example, these are some of the things one could look forward to over the next few days:

EU film festival: An initiative from member countries of the EU with loads of FREE movie shows throughout the various cultural centers and embassies. Indie is basically mainstream and accessible for this period of time! French, Spanish, Dutch, Italian…. you name it! some of the better cinematographic productions from the old continents are shown free of charge until December 4th. Download the PDF with schedules here

TEDx Beijing: Technology, Education, Design! If you’re lucky enough to be one of the 150 selected participants for this friday’s session, you’ll be able to spend the afternoon/evening interacting with a whole bunch of individuals that have made their mark in those fields and learn more about where things COULD be moving in the next few months/years. The panel of speakers includes the likes of Kaiser Kuo (Rock Star and Erudite Extraordinaire), Elyse Ribbons ( Playwright and Actress), Kristie Lu ( CNN correspondent / SOHU founder), etc… learn more at www.tedxbeijing.com

Hanggai live on November 13th: Mongolian Throat singing at Mao Livehouse (map) on friday night… these cats are just amazing and put on an inspiring performance

Girl indie Night: While hanggai is humming along, Beijing’s female indie artists get together at Yugong Yishan (map) to rock the house regardless of musical gender or status. It’s definitely a cool opportunity to discover and appreciate some of the driving forces behind a growing musical scene!

Hilton Wine & Food festival: Saturday between 2:00 and 8:00 pm at the Hilton (map) , there is absolutely no reason to be anywhere else in town! Over 1000 wines to sample, chocolates, delicatessen, cheese and the list goes on, for the petty amount of RMB200 per person. This is THE foodie event of the month! check out the Facebook page for a possible 20% off

So, folks, do you get my drift? AC/DC sang about how “Hell ain’t a bad place to be”, take that song and replace the word “Hell” with “Beijing”, then you’ll get an idea.

Leave a comment below about why you love or hate Beijing! The first 10 Comments gets a free copy of the iphone app “Beijing Travel Guide” from FidesReef.
Note that the you need to redeem the code in the US itunes appstore and i need a valid email address to send you said code!!!