Housing in China

I have recently moved to a new apartment. Although I loved the old apartment, I realized shortly after moving there that it would take a lifetime to acquire enough furniture to make it feel lived in, plus it was on three floors. For those unfamiliar with China, Chinese people are very small. So are their feet and the stairs were made for those feet. Another drawback was that the Chinese actually built the place but that is difficult to avoid here. When things break, they don't go to a lot of effort to fix them and over time in an old house that takes its toll.

My new place is a highrise across the street from the old place. Because it is China, there are many humorous stories to tell. The architect of my highrise, like probably every other architect in China, failed to include a service elevator in the conceptual plans of the building. As a result, there are two elevators, both of which were made to hold........Chinese people. Not furniture. Never fear, when the antique furniture salesman is made to understand that if he cannot get the overpriced newly- minted antique into your apartment you want your money back, he will mysteriously round up a posse of poor Chinese men to haul the 2 ton furniture up 28 flights of stairs to your apartment. Yes it is embarrassing, and yes you want to hide when they finally make it to the top. Particularly when there are still two heavy pieces sitting downstairs in the lobby waiting to make their way up the stairs.

A bit about my apartment. It is much smaller than the old one and feels much more comfortable. It still has three bedrooms, but I am down to 2 bathrooms. Not a problem since I only used one in the old place anyway. There is tons of light - windows in every room and well configured. In two rooms, I have sliding glass doors that open to let the heavy smog that starts to accumulate around floor 25 into the apartment. All windows and doors open. There are no screens. The first sliding glass door opens, naturally, on to a balcony off the bedroom. The second set of sliding glass doors open onto the concrete driveway 28 floors below. There was enough foresight to place a wrought iron fence just outside the sliding glass doors so guests who might presume there is something on the other side of the doors are not caught off guard. Probably not ideal for small children, however.

In my old apartment I had a very large kitchen - it was one of a number of misguided requirements that I drilled into my real estate company. Having used the kitchen in the old place a total of once, I decided I didn't need to pay for that real estate again. This apartment has a kitchen just slightly smaller than my guest bathroom. While I can turn a full circle in it, it is better not to be holding anything at the time. It has a refrig, a microwave (mounted of course - no counterspace) and what passes for a stove/oven in China. There is an oven hood of the type that suggests a large Viking range lives below it. Mine however hovers above two scrawny burners. Below that you could be fooled at first glance into thinking you have an oven. Ovens are pretty rare in China since Chinese people cook on woks. My "oven" is a plate warmer (I think). My maid uses it to store my silverware and cooking utensils. The cabinet space is sparce, largely due to the size of the oven hood and a nice window. The cabinet space I do have requires a ladder or very narrow boxes/bottles due to the sofits that line the walls behind them. Hence the need for the 2 ton piece of furniture just outside the kitchen. Must have room for plates!

Another requirement of housing in China (modern and old lane homes) is that the doorways must be small enough that no furniture, no matter how many pieces it breaks down into, can pass through the door frame. It is great fun to watch the moving men give you a forelorn look after carrying the piece up 28 floors only to discover it won't fit through any of the doorframes in the house. Try a little harder to get it in????