Today I hired a guide to take me to the Great Wall, which ended up being incredibly interesting as he not only pointed out major sights, etc. but also gave incredible insight into the society here and how it all runs under the communist party. Enjoy the pics, what follows is extensive...
This may be old news to many people but to me it was interesting:
There is no property ownership whatsoever here. The government controls all the land, major corporations lease the land from the government and have ownership rights to whatever is built there. Those leases however only run for 50 years for international businesses (only allowed since 1983) and 70 years for domestic businesses. Residents either live in old, rent stabilized buildings paying a maximum of 100RMB (~$14) per month in rent, or new market rent buildings at about 2,000RMB per month. Because of this disparity, the government is trying to wipe out all the old low buildings that exist in the city and build new buildings in their place, forcing these rent stabilized residents into higher rent buildings - with all the rent being paid to the government... As the government tears down these buildings, residents have built tents where their homes once stood, holding out as long as possible. How do you get into one of the super nice rent stabilized apartments that are built? Party officials and VIP's are assigned to live there - the wealthiest individuals in the country. The 'party' by his account (he supports the government because in doing so you have the ability to benefit from the government or if you're lucky become a party official, it's twisted) sounded sort of like the mafia, where you do everything you can to build connections and establish yourself in society in the hopes of gaining admission and then reaping the benefits and they protect you. The benefits are crazy.
If you're connected, you are tapped into the government policies before they are publicly known. Since the entire nation's business is dependent upon the government policies, this early info allows you to participate in insider trading (not enforced since the one's committing the crime are the one's who would be tasked with punishing for the crime). In a market that's up 600% in the past 5 years, this ability is beneficial... Plus the aforementioned $14 rent, and one can only guess what else.
Even those who build new, private businesses do so in the hopes that it establishes them as a person of importance worthy of joining the party. Another reason why you see political figures going back and forth into private business, since then those private businesses become protected by the government and are essentially able to set up monopolies. I found this whole system fascinating in its corruption.
My first impressions of how nice Beijing looked were also explained today since he told me that essentially every square foot of the visible city has undergone a full makeover in the past 5 years in preparation for the games. All storefronts have been remodeled, streets have been widened, landscaping planted. I saw a totally unbuilt bridge on the way up to the wall today - turns out it is a new highway to the wall that he assured me will be completed within 3 months for the games. Same with half built hotels, etc. that are already booked for Olympic visitors in August under construction on either end of my block right now. Basically, if something needs to be completed, it will be completed, no doubt about it. I see no way that these games don't run exactly according to plan and work seamlessly, they have been an entire nation devoted to its success since they were awarded the games. It's incredible. Look below at the Dragon Tower, Birds Nest Stadium (for the opening/closing ceremonies) and entrance to the Athletes' village - all still incomplete.
Anyhow, the whole visit was enlightening to say the least. Enjoy the photos. I'm still digesting the 25 dumplings I had for dinner for about $7 at some place where not a single person spoke a lick of english and served cups of boiling hot water as ice water. I felt like an alien or something. It was special...
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