Wudaokou Watch: "Beijing Life Made Me More Confident and Brave"

Welcome to Wudaokou Watch, where we profile a different Beijing-based student from abroad each week to hear about their life in China's capital. You can read the whole series here.

My name is Ali Abdul Rehman and I am from Pakistan.

I came to Beijing to learn the Chinese language. I came there in November 2017 and studied the Chinese language at Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) for two years. I completed my Chinese language diploma in July 2019.

Life in Beijing is very different from my home country Pakistan. In Beijing, people live in small apartments but in Pakistan people live in big houses. In my home country, usually one family member works and earns money and other family members depend upon him, but in Beijing, every single member of the family usually has a job. Also, customs are also not the same, with food being another big difference.

Beijing is very developed in every aspect as compared to Pakistan. Public transportation is very convenient and cheap, law and order are also better than anywhere else I know – there is a rule of law and people do obey it and follow to the letter. But in my hometown, there is no rule of law and there are different rules and laws for rich and poor people.

I love Beijing because someone can buy anything online according to their ability and capacity but in Pakistan, there is no online shopping. Method of payment is also very easy and secure in Beijing. WeChat pay and Alipay are so convenient.

The biggest challenge during my stay in Beijing was the food. In the beginning, I didn't like the Chinese taste, that's why I always preferred to cook my own food. The other difficulty was the language barrier. In the beginning, I could not understand a single sentence of the Chinese language, and that was big trouble for me. Without knowledge of the language, it was very difficult for me to buy things and ask for directions. I think these were the main problems I had faced in Beijing.

My favorite place to visit in Beijing was the Great Wall of China. It was very memorable for me because it was my dream to see and visit the historical wall, which is also a wonder of the world.

I also loved visiting Shanghai with my friends. It was another dream of mine to visit Shanghai because I had only ever seen it in movies. It was very memorable for me because I had a lot of fun there and we also visited Disneyland – a very beautiful place.

My third favorite travel experience was to visit Inner Mongolia, to witness an international skating competition.

When I feel homesick in Beijing, I often visit a famous Pakistani restaurant called Khan Baba. It serves authentic Pakistani food and I often go there to eat. I had a lot of Pakistani friends here in Beijing during my stay and we would often gather and make our food, crack jokes, and hang out together. That was my routine whenever I felt homesickness in Beijing.

What I love most about Beijing is my university. Beijing Language and Culture University was my love and I miss it, as well as my university friends, very much. They made my stay in Beijing worthwhile.

I also love the historical places in Beijing that show the culture and history of Chinese development. As the capital of China, Beijing is also a cultural hub because people from all over the world come to the city. I love multicultural places because it gives us a great opportunity to learn about different cultures.

I had many memorable experiences in Beijing but one of my favorites is climbing Xiangshan, the Fragrant Hills. A historical mountain in Beijing, it was a hot day when we decided to climb that mountain, making it very enjoyable but also tiresome.

Beijing life has impacted me greatly. It made me develop the spirit of punctuality and now I do my all work on time and with great responsibility. It made me a responsible person and it has taught me how to live and survive even when far away from my parents and home. It showed me how to face difficulties alone without any support. It made me more confident and brave.

My father is my inspiration. He was a school teacher and a very honest and hardworking person. I want to become like my father. I also want to become a rich person that can fulfill his parents' dream and be able to give them a happy life with all that they want.

READ: "I Quit Making Plans Many Years Ago"

Photos courtesy of Ali Abdul Rehman