CHINA

Country Overview:

“Love the food, hate the government”

I arrived in China in May 2013 and left August 2020. I taught English for awhile, did my master’s of politics & foreign policy at Tsinghua University, worked for a year at China Today, and then two years at Xinhua News Agency. I spent most of my time in Beijing, but also traveled to Shanghai, Wuhan, Inner Mongolia, Shenzhen, Panjin, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Qingdao, Xi’an, Sanya, Macau, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

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Still In Beijing

Despite a government notice only suspending visas for a period of 1 month from March 30, Cambodia has yet to resume visa services. As such, I’m stuck in Beijing until the foreseeable future. My apartment is empty, my bags are packed except for gym shorts, a tank top, and a few t-shirts, and I finished my job on May 1. I have nothing to do. My only course of action is to wait until June 1 and see if countries in SE Asia open up. I’m on day 88 of quarantine and without a day job, I am slowly losing my mind.

Gyms in Beijing are still closed. Awesome.

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6 Weeks of Quarantine

It’s officially been 6 weeks since I landed back in Beijing. Since then, I’ve been working from home and adhering to the city’s mandatory self-quarantine measures. Here’s what it’s been like:

  • Some days are good and some are bad. Some days I’ll feel full of anxiety and let the existential dread creep in, wondering how I’m going to make it another hour. Other days, the sun is shining, I go out for a run, and I can get through the day with no negative thoughts.

  • The lack of socializing is difficult. Yes, my friends are still in Beijing, but with most bars closed and restaurants enforcing the “2 people per table” rule, as well as residential areas not letting in non-residents, it can be challenging to find somewhere to meet up.

  • I’ve found that some days, I lose all interest in any form of entertainment. There’s only so many movies or tv shows to watch, sometimes I can’t focus enough to read, and other days I have zero appetite to write. Other days, I find myself caught up in a good book or catching up on movies I haven’t seen.

  • Not knowing when things are going to end is the hardest part, especially since I’m preparing to leave China forever on May 4th. At this point, I have nowhere to go because due to the epidemic, many countries in SE Asia have stopped visas on arrival or closed the country entirely. I’m optimistic that over the next 6 weeks, things will improve and countries will start to open back up, but at the rate things are going, I’m not sure how long my optimism will last. Regardless, I will still leave China in May.

  • My gym, along with all the other gyms in the capital, has also been closed for 2 months now. Which is super annoying because gyms in Shanghai are open but because it’s the capital and serves as a representation for the rest of the country, Beijing is being super cautious about everything. I hope they open soon — there’s only so far I can get with working out at home. I’ve lost 3 kg since arriving back in Beijing on February 8th.

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