Words and Pictures

Historically China has been quite xenophobic and even when foreign “guests”, as they are called, are allowed into China, a lot of effort is made to separate them from the Chinese populace. They live in separate housing areas and attend foreign schools and for a long time had their own stores. Many of those barriers are breaking down as China becomes from affluent and the gap between China’s wealthy and the foreign residents narrows. Still it is nothing like what one would find in other countries. I never saw this separation more graphically illustrated than on a trip to the seaside resort town of Beidaihe (known for the secretive meetings of top officials). Here there was one beach for the general populace and another (slightly less crowded) for the foreigners.