Rickshaw Boys: They Have a Lot of Pull

Rickshaws in the hutongs ... could there be a more iconic symbol of traditional Beijing culture? Well, actually, when I went chatting with some of the rickshaw guys by Gulou, I discovered that few of them are from Beijing or even know anything beyond the small alleys.

Have you had lunch?
Some daoxiao mian (knife-cut noodles) at a small place behind that hutong. It cost five kuai. We eat whatever costs the least.

Where are you from?
We are from everywhere: Henan, Hebei, Dongbei, Anhui. Lao Zhang over there is from Beijing.

How long have you lived here?
Most of us have been in Beijing for about four or five years.

Where would you be if you weren’t in Beijing?
Who knows? We’re ordinary people. We’ll go wherever there’s work and wherever we can make money.

Do you have any secret talents?
Every person who does this job probably isn’t very talented at anything. But one special talent we all share is that we have strength.

What would you like your kids to do for a living?
They should study well in school. Who knows what they can do if they don’t do well in school.

What was your first impression of Beijing?
Beijingers are not good.

Really? Why?
They trick you. And they have bad tempers.

Do you still feel that way now?
Yeah. God forbid that one of our rickshaws even touch a Beijinger – if it did, they’d ask you to pay. People from other places are much more easygoing.

Lao Zhang, you’re from Beijing. Do you agree with them?
You are not talking to the right people. Go talk to the old Beijinger over there. He’ll tell you everything about Beijing.

Click here to see the December issue of the Beijinger in full.

Photos: Michelle Dai