China: Beijing dispatch

End of April: "The new look"

That is, the new look of Beijing. Which would be empty. There are still people out walking around and playing badminton and riding their bikes and walking their dogs. All the normal stuff. But last week there were about 10-15 times more people than there are now. And the traditional Chinese greeting ("Have you eaten?") has changed to be more along the lines of "What's the latest about SARS?"

I went into my office for a few hours this morning. There were vegetables and pans all along the windowsill of the office. My Chinese co-worker is living there round-the-clock because there were two reported cases of SARS in his housing complex, and he can't go home now. He doesn't seem to mind too much, though; he loves his work, and now he can do it whenever he's not sleeping.