Capital city inspires literature
By Li Jing (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-11-09 10:36

Beijing is like an onion?!

In the eyes of the city's Chinese residents, such a simile could earn you a stretch in the funny farm.

But when foreign visitors were asked to write about China's capital, strange similes, magical metaphors and awesome alliteration flowed freely.

"Onion," written by a Korean student at Beijing Language and Culture University, was just one of the fantastical entries in the essay competition.

With the theme of "Beijing through my eyes," 38 winners of the competition, organized by the Foreign Affairs Office of the municipal government, were presented with awards yesterday.

A total of 926 essays from 49 nationalities were collected from August 25 to October 25.

About 40 per cent of entrants were foreigners who were allowed to write in either English or Chinese. Chinese entrants had to express themselves in English.

The list of prize winning essays can be seen at www.ebeijing.gov.cn.

Li Xishun, the Chinese name of the Korean girl who wrote "Onion," wrote in Chinese.

"In Korea (the Republic of Korea), I hate onions because they make me cry," she said.

After coming to Beijing, she began to like onions.

Li says that, through her eyes, Beijing's landscape looks like an onion. The six ring roads around the city centre are like an onion's rings around its heart.

But the city's landscape alone was not enough to make her like onions.

At the very beginning, she felt that Beijingers were dirty and rough, just like the outside skin of an onion.

One day, she lost her wallet on the road. To her surprise, the man who picked it up called her and sent her the wallet with 5,000 yuan (US$600) still in it.

She was moved by the experience. Like an onion, the outside was rough, but the heart was pure.

Li says she now likes eating onions very much. Her essay won second prize in the group of "foreigners writing in Chinese."

Li's sentiments were echoed by T. Draper, from the United States, saying Beijing is its people people shape a city just like a city shapes its people.

M. Hossein Ayati, an Iranian student of Chinese Medicine, at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, wrote: "Here you can enjoy the mix of contemporary and old architecture; glass buildings next to small mansions ... you will find that Beijing is a fine blend of tradition and innovation.

"If you want to know how Beijing exactly is in my eyes and my heart, put the first letters of my paragraphs together!" The letters form "Wo Ai Beijing Tian'anmen."

The majority of foreign entrants expressed their personal feelings towards the city, but also gave sincere criticisms and suggestions, said Yang Liuyin, director of the foreign affairs office.

They showed concern for the poor quality of public English signs, and complained about people who try to sell and overcharge wherever foreigners go.