Eric's Beijing Diary

Climate. The climate of Beijing is a lot like Arizona except for the temperature. Don't laugh; sunniness is a big issue with me. I can deal with cold. But endless days of cloudy weather tend to wear on me. If it is cold and windy, the wind is an irritation. If it is cold and wet, the wetness is particularly offensive. But mere coldness is not a problem. Dress for it. Having said that, it is nice to see spring time. My tutor and I can sit outside now.

Actually, Beijing reminds me of Northern Arizona without the mountains. You don't think of it as a mountainous city, but otherwise it does have the feel of a northern city. The evergreens here are very much like what I have seen in Northern Arizona, or in Alaska when I was working in Denali National Park. Anyway, it has been pretty sunny most of the time since I got here. I have heard a lot about the spring dust storms, but the one we had the other day didn't seem that bad, although I did see a lot of people covering their faces. I don't do that. Takes all the fun out of it. Some people say it's because of all the construction, but that is not true. It has nothing to do with construction. It's the Gobi desert. Possibly a result of bad management in previous years, or just nature. Anyway, the government is trying to do something about it now by planting trees. In another 300 years, they may get rid of the dust storms. But, as I say, it hasn't been bad so far.

Some people from Shanghai and South China complain about the dry air, but I actually prefer a dry climate. I am interested to see how it develops through the summer, though, because I have heard that it gets more humid then. Can't imagine Beijing could compete with the stickiness of Shanghai, but we'll see.