三里屯: World Cup fever takes over

Sanlitun, 27ºC, sunny

Last Sunday, on the Beijing underground, I had my first encounter with a Chinese beggar: blind, a man was being led through the train carriage while playing a bamboo flute. This evening, I ventured with some classmates to the bar area of 三里屯 Sanlitun to watch USA v Slovenia in the 世界杯 World Cup. It is perhaps with some irony that in this vibrant and effervescent district there were a lot of people in the same situation: some were blind, others limbless, the one constant was that they were helpless. 外国人 Foreigners swarmed all over, hardly taking time to notice these people squatted on street corners, or even lying down at being unable to support their own bodies – the whole place was buzzing about one thing: the match.

Others were shadowed by World Cup fever too. A mother and her 5-year-old daughter were trying to sell balloons to the tourist mob. My heart jumped a few paces when I saw the mother motion to her child to go around the block in the opposite direction and to meet on the other side. If any mother asked the same of her child in either England of the US, would this not be child neglect?

A man was collecting glass bottles, searching dustbins, looking under chairs and tables, even loitering near people who had almost finished their beers so he could claim the bottles. Presumably he receives money in exchange for handing in recyclable glass bottles. As he peered over at our table, a couple of us finished our bottles and gave them to him.

On a night of great excitement, it seemed very easy, dare I say the norm, to overlook this less pleasant side of Beijing. But it is very real, and disturbingly normal, to see a handicapped person on the street. Any street, in fact.

The score was 2-2, by the way.