Beijing ❤
We travelled from Xi’an to Beijing by bullet train. The scenery became gradually whiter and whiter as the snow got denser and the air colder. The pure white and tranquil feel of the snow-covered fields seems strange to think about in retrospect after the week that would follow, with pollution levels reaching the highest ever recorded in history.
On our first day in Beijing we attended a joint lecture at Tsinghua University with the third-year fashion design students. Already after meeting thesestudents, I can feel how much more global and western influence there is in Beijing. The awareness of the global impact of fashion is a lot greater from the students I spoke to, as opposed to the students in Xi’an who didn’t seem to have as much understanding about some factors impacting the fashion industry. I also noticed a lot more consistency and similarities in our opinions about fashion consumption habits — including why we wear fashion and how we make decisions about around style and fashion.
The following few days were an opportunity for us to do some more cultural and tourist activities, so on Saturday we visited the Great Wall of China. We chose to visit the Mutianyu section of the wall, which is one of the best preserved sections of the wall outside of Beijing. This section stretches just over 2km and has a series of watch towers placed along the stretch. The day we were there was snowing quite heavily, which made the experience that bit more tranquil yet also challenging (I managed to fall over more than a few times).
The next day we day we visited Tianmen Square and the Forbidden City. This day was the first of a week that marked a record high for Beijing’s pollution levels. Somewhat oblivious, we spent the whole day wandering outdoors and with thousands of other tourists admiring the impressive and beautiful gardens and historical structures around the city. It was hard to notice the pollution effects on the day, as other than the usual smog there were blue skies and plenty of people out and about. It wasn’t until the few days following that you began to notice how much of an effect this can have on the human body as we all found ourselves worn out with very irritated airways.
It made me reflect on the purpose of our visit — exploring sustainable fashion and the impacts of the fast fashion industry, whilst being exposed to this horrible environmental catastrophe occurring in China. Globally the finger is pointed at the Chinese government and their political response to this issue, however I can’t but help think about the western consumer and the responsibility we also have. The constant over-demand of products — wanting the latest model at a lower cost and quicker pace comes at a cost somewhere elsewhere — not just in regards to fashion but also technology, household goods, energy and auto-motor industries. It seems unfair to point the finger at a nation who produce such a huge amount of those things, when we create a ‘need’ for them in glossy magazines with beautiful advertising. Responses to issues like this should be global and the awareness of the impact of consumerism should be a wider discussed topic in everyday life.
