Trending in Beijing: Skyrocketing Rent, a Crackdown on Perverts, and Disappearing Share Bikes
A wrap-up of the top stories and hashtags Beijingers have been discussing on Chinese social media this week, exclusively for the Beijinger by What’s on Weibo editor-in-chief Manya Koetse.
1) Beijing’s Rental Market Prices are Going Through the Roof
Experts Fear a Crisis Worse Than the P2P Panic
A short supply in housing and an ever-increasing demand is causing a sharp increase in rental prices in Beijing. In July, the average Beijing rent was RMB 91.5 (USD 13) per square meter, showing a 2.2 percent month-on-month rise.
Tenants share stories of more extreme rent increases with Chinese media; small single bedrooms in the Shuangjing area that were rented out for 2,600-2,800 (USD 375-405) in May-June are now skyrocketing to a monthly rent of RMB 3,290 (USD 476). One tenant told reporters that rental rooms near Tuanjiehu have seen a price increase from RMB 3,400-4,300 (USD 492-623).
Various experts are expressing their concerns over the rental market in Beijing. News media outlet Caixin is speaking about a “housing bubble,” while the CEO of Beijing real estate agency Wo Ai Wo Jia (我爱我家) said in a recent interview that long-term rental market prices have become so deviated from the average, that he fears an implosion that might cause similar panic as with the recent P2P crisis.
The problem is not specific to Beijing. According to Global Times, rising demands have led to an increase in rent princes in first-tier cities across China.
“People are speculating in rental housing,” concerned social media commenters say: “House prices shouldn’t be messed with.” Another Weibo user says: “I cannot afford to buy, cannot afford to rent, cannot afford to die – it leaves us with nothing at all.”
For now, the most expensive areas in Beijing to rent a room or apartment are Dongcheng and Shunyi. These areas have recently seen a 10.5 percent and 10.7 percent rent increase.
2) Two Beijingers and a Pervert
Cracking Down on Sexual Harassment on Public Transport
Sexual harassment on China’s public transport system has been a much-discussed problem for years, especially during the rush hours when people are squeezed together on the trains.
Men secretly filming under women’s skirts has become a specific problem since the ubiquity of smartphones in China. Every year before summer, social media users warn each other to be extra vigilant when wearing skirts in public transport or on escalators, because offenders find creative ways to get up-skirt footage.
One incident attracted the attention of netizens this week, when two Beijingers – speaking with thick Beijing accents – caught a pervert on a subway line in Xi’an, who was secretly filming a young girl.
A video (link) shows how the two Beijingers grab the man (wearing glasses and striped shirt), take away his phone, and assist public security guards all the way into the station to hand him over to police.
According to a statement issued by Xi’an local police, the man turned out to have many more illegal improper recordings of female passengers on his phone, and has been given a 10-day prison sentence, along with a RMB 500 fine.
On Weibo, the incident attracted hundreds of reactions, with many saying the Beijingers did a “beautiful job,” and expressing the hope that people across the country would do the same in these kinds of situations.
A similar incident that took place in Shanghai in 2016 also became a trending topic at the time, when one angry passenger caught a man filming up women’s skirts and publicly slapped and shamed him (video).
This month, the Shenzhen police department also received much praise on Chinese social media, after they published a statement promising female passengers to catch predators, saying: "Go and wear your beautiful miniskirts! Perverts, we will catch you!" Shenzhen is not the only city cracking down on harassment in public transport; Beijing now also has an active team of plainclothes police officers who patrol the subway network each day to prevent the sexual assault or harassment of women.
3) Where Did All the Bikes Go?!
There are 20 Percent Fewer Share Bikes in Beijing
From Wukesong to Tuanjiehu, many Beijingers have recently started to notice a decrease in available share bikes. “When I need one, I can never find one, and when I don’t need one, I run into piles of them,” some people complain.
If you also had the feeling you’ve not been able to get a bike on the Beijing streets when you need one – it’s not just Murphy’s Law, there has indeed been a drop in the number of bikes available. Earlier this month, the Beijing Transportation Commission disclosed that the total number of share bikes in Beijing has declined by 20 percent compared to September 2017.
That still leaves around 1.9 million sharing bikes in Beijing, which according to the Beijing Transportation Commission has been set as the new maximum number of share bikes the city for now.
But what happened to all the others? According to Xinhua News, over 400,000 bikes have been retrieved from peripheral areas and from river channels outside the city center over the past months. These bikes will not be allowed to enter the city center again.
Some people are happy with the city’s new limit on share bikes: “There are indeed less of them now,” one Beijinger says on Weibo: “The streets have finally become more spacious.”
To see more topics that have been trending in the capital recently, click here.
By Manya Koetse @manyapan
What’s on Weibo editor-in-chief
Manya Koetse is the editor-in-chief of www.whatsonweibo.com. She is a writer and consultant (Sinologist, MPhil) on social trends in China, with a focus on social media and digital developments, popular culture, and gender issues.
Images: SCMP, Weibo
