Beijing friendlier than Delhi but too Western
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However, it is not the infrastructure but the friendliness of Beijing that has impressed me most. By contrast, Delhi is not only messy but treats its citizens rather harshly.
Recently, I went to visit a media company in Beijing with a friend. When we were still a kilometer short of our destination, the taxi driver stopped the meter. Surprised, my friend - whose Putonghua, unlike mine, is very good - asked the driver why. We were both surprised by the driver's reply. He said he had mistakenly taken a wrong turn which had made the journey a little longer. As we were foreigners and could have complained, to compensate for his mistake he decided to stop the meter halfway.
In Delhi, the driver of an autorickshaw, the equivalent of a Beijing taxi, would do the opposite. Literally and figuratively, he would take me for a ride. First of all, it would be very hard for me to convince him to run on the meter. If he reluctantly agreed but knew that I did not know how to get there, he would take me via a circuitous route to extract more money from me.
Delhi is Delhi. It represents India, its culture and diversity. Be it architecture, dressing habits, traditions or festivals, India is a hundred countries with different cultures and habits. And Delhi rolls all of that into one amazing city.
A visit to Nizamuddin Dargah, Old Delhi - Chandni Chowk, Jamia Masjid and Lal Qila, and then on to New Delhi - Connaught Place and Presidential House, literally makes you travel through different periods of history. All those places are living, active, vital sites, not sites artificially preserved for tourists.
Sari, the traditional dress for Indian women, is considered elegant formal dress and worn by everyone from the President of India to ordinary women in the street.
By contrast, in Beijing, from high-rises to dress, everything looks western. Traditional hutong and courtyards have been ravaged to make way for tower blocks, except for a few preserved near the Forbidden City. The only places where you can see Chinese dress are the movies or at the theatre or in a museum.
Delhi may be messy and disorganized, but at least it has retained its Indian look, its Indian character.
The author studies global business journalism at the School of Journalism and Communication, Tsinghua University. viewpoint@globaltimes.com.cn
