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and sociableplacesthatthey’vealwaysbeen,theperfect
place to go withfamilyorfriendsonSundayafternoons.
During the week,mainlygrandfathersandgrandmothers
come here withtheirgrandchildren.Thereis a striking
increase in pramsbeingpushedaround,comparedwith
the past, whenthechildrenwerecarriedandheld.Thereis
still old-fashionedballroomdancingin thepark,tomusic
played on smallspeakerboxespeoplebringwiththem.A
little further on,twowomenaresingingwiththehelpof
a karaoke machine,t’aichiis practicedonthegrass,and
old men sit andplaycards.Likemanyparksin Beijing,the
Purple BambooParkdatesfromtheMingDynastyandis
very attractivebecauseofthearchedbridges,weeping
willows andthelakeonwhichyoucangoboating.Angie
loves cominghere.Whentheweatheris nice,shegoesfor
walks with herhusbandandsonherein theevening.“I
don’t know whatyourteenagersarelike,”shesays,“but
mine hardlyevertellsmeanythingabouthimselfanymore.
Even when Iaskhima directquestion,I don’tgetmuch
of an answer.Butduringourwalks,heoftendoesstart
talking of hisownaccord.”BOYS ANDGIRLS
Last time I interviewedAngie,I askedherwhatthemost
important differencewasbetweenherchildhoodandthat
of her parents.“Theworldis somuchbiggerandmore
open to me thanit wastothem,”shetoldme.“I reada lot
of books—withmyreadingclubwereadChinesebutalso
foreign literature,suchasPamukandMurakami—andI
think I understandmoreaboutdifferentcultures.Butthen
that was thelifelessonmyparentsgaveme:Learnmore
about the worldin ordertogettoknowyourselfandto
find out whatyoushoulddoin thefuture.”ThistimeI’m
curious to hearwhatAngiethinksis thebiggestdifference
between herchildhoodandherson’s.“Inmyday,China
was doing muchworseeconomicallyandchildrenwere
not raised as comfortably,” she says. “There were fewer
educational opportunities. I remember that there was a lot
of fighting at my primary school; every school had its own
gang. That has really changed. Children are much nicer to
each other and boys no longer only deal with boys butalsowithgirls,andviceversa.Thereis a strongemphasis
onlearning.Almostallschoolchildrentakeextralessons;
sothere’snotimetofight.”SENSEOFFREEDOM
Attheendoftheafternoon,weeatata Pekingduck
restaurant.Talkingaboutpoliticsin Chinais alwaysa
bituncomfortable,butI askAngiehowshefeelsabout
thechangethatallowsPresidentXi Jinpingtorule
indefinitely.“Tobehonest,I don’tfollowpoliticsmuch,”
shesays.“Youreallyhavetobepartofthepoliticalsystem
if youwanttohaveanyinfluence.ButaslongasChinais
doingwell,I don’tseea problem—andheis nolongera
youngman,ofcourse.”Angiesaysshefindsit difficultto
havea goodopinionaboutdemocracy.“I realizemoreand
morethatourcountryis complicated,”shesays.What
shedoesknowis thatthegapbetweenrichandpooris
becomingsmallerthankstothestill-growingeconomy.
Moreover,it is officialpartypolicytoeradicatepoverty.
“Andcorruptionis decreasing,andbureaucracyis also
beingcutback,”sheadds.“Youcannowregistera new
companyorapplyfora driver’slicenseonline.It usedto
costmeendlesspaperworkandhoursofwaiting.The
taxruleswereonceratheropaque,butnowyoucan
viewaninstructionalvideoontheWeChataccountof
theTaxAuthorities.”
Angieis alsopositiveabouthowmanypeopleare
receivingbettereducation:theyarelearningbetterEnglish
andaremoreconfidenttostarta conversation.“And
peoplearemorecivilizedin general;there’slessspittingon
thestreet,”shesays.WhenAngiebringsmebacktomy
hotelbytaxiafterdinnershetellsme,“I canonlyspeakfor
myselfwhenI saythatI feelfree.I candoanythingI want
andI earnenoughmoneytobeabletoaffordthings.I
travela lot,oftengoabroadandmanagemybusinessmy
way.I feelstrongerthantenyearsago.”TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHYCAROLINE BUIJSILLUSTRATIONISTOCKWITH THANKS TODIMSUM TRAVELS‘ The life lesson my parents gave me was : Learn more
about the world in order to get to know yourself ’