An insider's guide to Beijing: caged birds, smog and internet satire

by Yuan Ren

 A wake-up call … old Beijingers keep birds caged in the hutongs. Photograph: Jens Schott Knudsen 
   
Old Beijingers have a hobby of keeping caged birds that sing – their bright, melodic chirps are a pleasant wake-up call, even if you’re not an early riser. In the narrow hutongs, their tones echo alongside the boisterous conversations of residents, the thick Beijing accent unmistakable anywhere. But these oases are never far away from wide-scale chaos: bad urban planning from the Mao era means that huge roads cut across the fabric of the city, so the sound of cars is a constant in the capital...https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/oct/17/insiders-guide-beijing-caged-birds-smog-internet-satire