Recently by Betty

I've mentioned before that it's said that taxi dirvers in Beijing are overly talkative. They surely were!

After several concrete experiences of riding in a Beijing cab, I can safely come to the conclusion that there is rarely one moment when a Beijing cab driver keeps his mouth shut.

They seem to be the know-all in town and anxious to know it all about you: what's so heavy in your bags, who's calling on your cellphone, why in a hurry, why not some music, where do you come from and stay in town, how do you like the city, the weather, the food, the day, the road, and various other topics of samll talks.

And it's so weird that, as prying as it may sound, you might not feel the slightest trace of offence in most cases. Probably because of their warmhearted attitude, and their witty way of conveying the conversation.

Even when it comes to a guest who is prone to keep most of the feelings to herself, like I am, they can still manage to mutter to themselves all the way from the spot you hail the cab down to your final destination.

My formative education of Beijing Olympic Games was indeed given by a cab driver over my twenty minutes ride in his carriage.

And it was his idea to make a detour to the National Stadium, aka Bird's Nest, which was under construction. Here is a photo taken from inside the car.

Beijingnese also have a very strong master consciousness, this was especially true after their hometown won the bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympics. And I'm sure they will continue to keep it that way for years to come.

No matter he or she is a bus conductor, sanitary personnel, construction laborers, office worker, street artist plying Erhu under the wall of the Imperial Palace, or an old lady working for the Residents' Committee of a community around a Hutong, they all share the same pride and joy of this ancient and bustiling city, they care about the past, present and future of the great nation and energetic country, and they are ready to share with you their sentiment as well.

Taxi dirvers in Beijing, for instance, are known to be overly talkative, you should be prepared.

Whenever you tour a city which claims to be a cultural center of a particular region, you would always enjoy observing how local residents convey that cultural predominence in one way or another, such as festivals, architecture, arts and crafts, etc.

While for me, high-browed culture and high-engergy activities are not really my thing. Beijing  has  indeed an abundance of that and I enjoyed all of them during my stay and framed those memories in photos for future review.

But it is the group of Beijingness and the way they live their daily life that impressed me most.

Trueborn Beijingnese are easily recognizable by their "R" accent, which is redundantly used at the end of practically every other phrase. Beijing colloquial language is very much different from the kind of language you have listened and learned in your Putonghua (Mandarin) class.

Listening to them is quite an experience. They use very concise yet multivocal phrases, a musical tone, a clear and lively timbre and an easy and deliberate altitude to organize and sophisticate their speech to the point of concinnity and sagaciousness.

Listerning to them engageing in a verbal fight or something is an even more fascinating experience. They are so self-dignified that they seldom use dirty words, or escalate their reciprocal verbal counterattacks into physical combat.

No kidding, it's considered as an art, and it has to be heard to be belived. Yet for out-of-towners, chances are you're getting insulted and don't even have any clue!