Harvey Dzodin：Beijing, my destiny

Harvey Dzodin, Senior Research Fellow of Center for China and Globalization

My name is Harvey Dzodin, I’ve lived in Beijing for fifteen years. But the first time I came to Beijing was 30 years ago in 1988. When I was a young boy back in Detroit Michigan thousands of miles from Beijing. I used to listen to my short wave radio and one of the most exciting stations to listen to because was the other end of the earth was from Beijing and it was called Radio Peking. Its signature tune was The East is Red. It’s a far different China from today. But if somebody told me back in 1988 that one day I will be living in Beijing in China I would told them that they were crazy.It was less developed. Reform and opening-up was just beginning at that time, so Beijing is one of the most modern cities in the world.It was a completely different city from it today,it’s not different by a matter of a few years but seems like a few centuries. One of the things that I really like is a shopping center and office building in the center of Beijing called Parkview Green Terrace. It’s full of not only beautiful shops but beautiful arts as well. So you can say that it’s a shopping center within an art museum, as well as an art museum within a shopping center. Another place I like and it has changed quite a bit since I lived here is the 798 art district.It’s full of art galleries and art studios, it’s now much more diverse, it’s not only a place for art, it’s also a place for design. It’s full of the energy and creativity that marks modern Beijing and I think everybody who comes to Beijing should go there for both the inspiration and just to feel the naturally high. I could choose to live anywhere in the world but I’ve chosen to live in Beijing because it’s such a dynamic city and there are so many opportunities not only for Chinese but for foreign people like me. Beijing has progressed into one of the world’s most modern world cities and that’s one of the many reasons that I proud to live here. I was in New York recently where I lived for 22 years and it’s phenomenal, there buses subways they are antiquated ,they don’t run on time  and compared to Beijing, with modern subways, modern buses .It is such a world of difference. What’s Beijing going to be like then? I see a very livable city with great public transportation, I see a greener city because the government is working very hard to solve the very difficult problems of the pollution and air quality and I see a city of more museums, of more culture and more visits by foreign friends. It’s going to be one of the most important cities in the world. Because China will be one of the most important countries and Beijing is its capital