Preface
Hello! My name is Liuba. I am Russian and hail from the picturesque, but freezing cold Siberian city of Irkutsk near Baikal, the oldest and deepest lake on Earth. My family and I are Buryat, an indigenous group of Mongolian people. In 2007, participating in an exchange program of my university I took the chance to study for more than a year in northern China. During my studies I visited Beijing and fell in love with the friendly people, history, architecture, vastness, cozy chaos, convenience, abundance of amazing parks... and I thought, “Why not live here?!”
After completing my studies, I took a leap of faith, moved to Beijing and have been living here for many years. I’ve heard that only if you’ve lived in New York City for ten years, can you call yourself a New Yorker. Following this logic, I’ve earned my title of true Beijinger.
People overseas used to associate the capital of China with heavy smog lasting for days, but there is so much more about this megalopolis and its inhabitants. Plus, the air quality has drastically improved over the past years. Days of heavy smog are over and I want to proudly introduce the colorful city I’ve come to know and love instead of the grey Beijing as portrayed.
Beijing is always evolving and developing, something I try to take record of in my drawings. In this book you will not find glossy photos of attractions with opening hours and addresses, but rather illustrations and little stories of impressions, adventures and experiences of my time spent in Beijing. This city and I grew and developed together as partners, reflected by the different levels of skill in the illustrations in the following pages. Beijing and I try new things and learn that not everything would work out perfectly. We make mistakes, fall flat on our faces, get back up again, hope to do better in the future and eventually succeed in doing just that. We are both messy at times, but also charming. You might not like us at first, but give us a chance and you won’t regret it.
