Image (left): Chang An Avenue

The "Buddhas" of Beijing are usually found in hutongs (alleys), sitting in groups in front of their houses. From a distance, they look like stout statues. At a closer range, they emerge with broad smiles, their big bellies in the sun, and they appear so comfortable in this universe that belongs only to them. What kind of philosophy or morality are they talking about in the middle of the narrow alleys, amid the smells of Chinese pancakes and rice noodles sold at the roadside stalls, I do not know.

These are the most popular "Buddhas" of China. They live in the deep heart of the big city.

I shut my red swing doors, get on my bicycle, and there I go, following the rhythm of bells and horns. I ride through the alleys, my heart plunging into the life of Beijing.

Image (right): Author Leaving Siheyuan

In three minutes, I move through the living "Buddhas" and ardent merchants. Here I am on the periphery of the main street, the Second Ring Road, where I have to ride upstream, in the opposite direction. The trick is to try as much as possible not to step down, to avoid cars, trucks, and still sleeping riders. Everything is moving and yet I feel they are not fast enough.

Suddenly, the rhythm slows down again. In front of the Workers' Stadium is a morning market. Baskets overflow with green leaves. Here people come, not only to fill their baskets, but also to have their morning chat. There is no point in ringing the bell. I get out of the bicycle lane and circle around the buyers and peddlers, leaving them in their atmosphere.

In 10 minutes I reach the embassy district, which features diplomatic cars, small teahouses, and flower boutiques. By this time, I have plunged into a ghetto, where the expatriates live in China as if they were living at home. Here are usually too many cars and school kids. So if you ride a bicycle, you must be elegant and artistic enough to make it look like a physical exercise instead of a means of transportation.

Image(left): Morning Bike Riders on Chang An Avenue

So in 10 minutes, I have said good-bye to the Chinese "Buddhas" to greet white-collar foreigners of my kind.

Although originally a French student in Chinese studies, later an overseas student in China, and now the wife of a Chinese photographic artist, I don't feel like a foreigner, and thus turn out to be a foreigner among foreigners. I work with embassy people. Sometimes I like their way of life, but I have another life with my family and my Chinese friends. In this district of superior quality -- perfumes, leather bags, jewelry, bright colors of African and classic European dresses -- we greet each other amiably, no more.

I arrive at the embassy. The iron gate opens. I get off my bicycle once within the walls. I greet the Chinese guard, then the gardener, climb a few steps, exchange a nod with the Chinese operator, say hello to the French guard, and arrive at my desk at the visa section. Usually I cannot help thinking: how can these people, who think about their retirement and their house in France, justifiably receive those who have never had a chance to leave China?

Image (right): Great Wall

We foreigners live in diplomatic compounds in Beijing for three years on official assignments, and tour around China on so-called "official trips." A foreign woman like me does not seem to belong to the world of the Buddhas in hutongs, but more to the other world on the other side of the Second Ring Road. However, it is such short "long-distance trips" that enable me to see two different societies. Every day, I shuttle between the two societies divided by the periphery, where the heartbeats throb at totally different tempos. When I ride my Phoenix 26, I try to keep a steady speed. I feel fortunate that I live on both sides of the periphery.

Note: This article originally appeared in the November 1995 issue of "Beijing This Month," a monthly magazine published for visiting tourists, business people, and long-stay expatriates in Beijing, China. It is freely available from all major hotels, airports, and air ticketing offices in Beijing.

We would like to thank "Beijing This Month" for its support and cooperation.

Some of the images were included by Multiworld.

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