The place where I live
I'm living in the slums. Or the historical area. Depends on your attitude.
Most of Beijing's downtown is composed of hutongs - very narrow winding streets with one- or two-storey houses.
Unlike most other cities, the business district stands not in the middle of the city but a little bit aside.
The hutongs are centered around the Forbidden Palace (Emperor's dwelling, similar to Kremlin in Moscow) and Tiananmen square (the largest square in the world). I'm living within the Second Ring Road, which is a huge highway with about 20 lanes. It repeats the contour of the former city walls that were demolished long ago. The ring line of Beijing Subway goes under this Second Ring Road.
Most of the subway station names on the on the ring line (Line 2) end in -men: Dongzhimen, Xizhimen, Qianmen etc. "Men" means "gate" - these place once were the gates in the city walls that provided exits out of the protected capital. Now most of the gates do not exist anymore and huge highway junctions replace them.
I'm living just a minute away from the Lama Temple, an ancient centuries-old Tibetan temple. Shame on me - even though I walk past it every day, I never walked in to see it.
To the east is the Russian Embassy. It is as large as a small neighborhood, with many residential houses and well-guarded walls. Russian Embassy in Beijing is officially the largest diplomatic mission in the world, numbering 1500 people.
My tiny street (hutong) is called something like "2nd Gun Street" - that's because the place I live in is a former gun factory, converted into a warehouse, then a prison, and finally, into more or less usable residential space. So you can basically say that I live in a warehouse or in a prison.
There's 4 bunk beds in my room. Unlike people who stay here for a night or two, permanent residents are all colourful characters, as if from a book, and deserve some notes about each of them.
Ivan. A Vietnamese Canadian living in China. Hides away from the CIA. Prints, reads and writes something for the whole days. Prefers to joke that he is a double agent when asked about his job. A huge fan of Russia, likes to put on a record of the Russian anthem or Putin's speeches. Hates Jews and likes China as one of the few countries in the world (the three others being North Korea, Iran and Russia) not controlled by the Jews.
Marjo. A hot (as she reasonably calls herself) Filipino woman, came to China for work even though the salary is the same as at home. Works as an English teacher at places that cannot afford a native English speaker. Devotes her free time to romantic internet chats. Tried to avoid her marriage in all possible ways and then ran away from her husband and her child - exactly what men usually do. Just like me, she cannot stay in one place and with one person for a long time.
Nathan. A typical foreigner in China - studies Chinese and teaches English. The only person here to have meaningful conversations with - partly due to being a native English speaker. Probably a Jew, so we have a nice company here: a guy who hates Russia (me), a Vietnam War veteran, a Vietnamese guy who loves Russia and hates Jews, and a Jew, the most reasonable person. Absolutely no tensions though.
Shasha. My favourite character in our little family, a charming girl from Hong Kong. Worked as a shop assistant for 2000 USD per month. After 10 years of working, decided to take a long break and tour China from Tibet to Harbin. Very successfully tries to resemble anime characters in her manner of voice and behaviour. Never stops smiling and shouting "bye-bye" and "hello" in a most "kawaii" way. I initially thought she was not more than 18, but she's 28. Keeps a backpackfull of ultramodern gadgets, just like a typical Hong Konger. Despite earning $2000, she can quarrel for ages with taxi drivers about extra 3 yuan (35 cents), and knows where to buy cheaper and how to fool vending machines - just like a typical Chinese.
Tom. An old guy from California, formerly a dentist. Jokes a lot and keeps talking quietly, as if to himself, trying to attract attention. Won my respect by admitting that he's a pilot - flies his own Cessna 150. Already purchased an electric bike and a motorcycle in Beijing. Being my age, wanted nearly became a hippie but went to the Vietnam War instead. Came to China for no special reason and for no definite period, just like the most of us.
What's interesting is that people from Mainland China are not allowed to stay in one room with us. And this place is not the only one with this rule. I have no idea why - it's either regulations or we, the foreigners, are carefully guarded against savage Chinese.
This little company of ours is just like a family - we're having dinners together, going together to see the sights, and learning more and more about each other.
It's not the way most people would like to live, but I like it and I'm probably not going to move any time soon.