Last month, I returned home for a vacation, transferring in Beijing before flying to Europe. Because my family of three had a lot of luggage, we booked a hotel near Capital Airport for convenient departure the next day. Taking advantage of the evening in Beijing, I arranged a get-together with a few university classmates.
It was a Tuesday, and I arrived at the hotel around 4 or 5 pm. I’m grateful for the warm hospitality of my Beijing classmates, and also felt a little apologetic for making them travel all the way to the airport after work to see me.
One small observation: people in Beijing really work late.
The earliest classmate arrived at 8 pm, and the latest at 10 pm. Because everyone had to work the next day, and with a child present needing early rest, we broke up around 11 pm.
Actually, I’ve been away from Beijing for over ten years, and I’ve almost forgotten that I also used to get off work at 9 or 10 pm, sometimes even working overtime until midnight.
For the past ten years, working mainly in foreign companies in Dalian, the work pace has been relatively relaxed. Generally, if I had evening plans, I would go to the office earlier, leave earlier, or take an hour’s leave. Even if I left early occasionally, nobody would calculate whether I had actually sat in the office for a full eight hours.
Now, seeing the lifestyle of my Beijing classmates, I can hardly imagine how to balance such late working hours with family life, especially with children.
Of course, everyone has their own coping mechanisms.
For example, some classmates have their parents come to help with childcare; others, due to school issues, have their children temporarily living in their hometown, only reuniting during holidays.
They also mentioned the issue of kindergarten enrollment in Beijing. A classmate said that different kindergartens in Beijing have a certain priority order during enrollment, such as whether the child is a local resident, whether they have property in the district, etc. The ranking considers factors like household registration, property ownership, and even residence permits, making the process quite complicated. This again made me realize that life in Beijing is indeed not easy, especially after becoming a parent; one can no longer afford the pace of life in Beijing.
“Escape” is not an impossible choice. Avoiding these realistic pressures, making life simpler and purer.
While chatting with my teammates, we didn’t think the grass was necessarily greener on the other side.
How should I put it? Maybe this is a characteristic of a populous country. Limited resources and a large population mean that even if you try your best, you often feel a sense of helplessness, as if you’re being pushed forward.
Think about it, if a European country had such a large population, the competition would probably be just as fierce.
As individuals, all we can do is to stay prepared, continue moving forward, and meet and seize our opportunities at the right time.
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