Lotus Pods and Jambalaya in Jianguomen: Memory and Change in a Beijing Neighborhood
“It was like walking through a time capsule.”
I arrived in Beijing in July of 2012 with the newfound optimism of an exuberant college student still reeling after her first year of independence. The Connecticut winter had been a shock to me—in Hong Kong, we had monsoons; in Middletown, Connecticut, we watched the snow pile into three-foot-high walls. Even more perplexing were all the people on campus who’d insisted on dissecting my identity upon introduction. Some remarked innocently on how good my English was for a person who grew up in Hong Kong; some felt the need to try and tell me who I was—one even demanded, point-blank, “Why are you here?”





All photos courtesy of the author.
Born in Beijing, bred in Virginia and Hong Kong, Amy Zhang is a budding writer, journalist, and filmmaker. Follow her on Twitter: @azhang852
Enter your email address to receive notifications for author Amy Zhang
Success!
Confirmation link sent to your email to add you to notification list for author Amy Zhang
More in this series
A Map of Lost Things: On Family, Grief, and the Meaning of Home
“A body always returns to the place that shaped it.”
I’ve Been Deported Ten Times: A Honduran Seeks Refugee Status in Mexico
“Gracias a Dios I still have all my fingers.”
Manhattan’s Vanished Little Syria, and the Work of Preserving My Family’s History
Raji Lian, my great-grandfather, came over from Syria in 1899.