VAN CLEEF & ARPELS EXHIBITION IN BEIJING AND MY EXPERIENCE IN CHINA

It all started with COVID—and an unexpected pregnancy :)—and it continues with the inability to travel and visit new cities and exhibitions that I would have loved to see. One of them was the Fabergé exhibition in London, which I had really hoped to catch. It’s not that I can’t travel now, but to be honest, with all the restrictions, uncertainties, and stress (even just for a short trip within Europe), I simply don’t feel like traveling in my current state. The absolute safety of our little one is my top priority right now.

I hope to make up for it later—whether through family trips or short getaways with my partner, my mom, or a close friend. Until then, all I can do is reminisce about past travels and the adventures that now seem almost unimaginable. I suppose with age comes a bit more fear. There was a time when I found myself in places that were far from peaceful or safe. One of my biggest trips lasted a full month. It was the summer of 2018, and I spent it in Beijing—almost entirely alone.

I’m not someone who plans things too much. Researching in advance usually bores me. I believe in firsthand experience and tend to dive headfirst into things. That approach (especially when traveling to China) can backfire terribly, so I’m glad that, about a year in advance—and alongside studying Mandarin in Prague—I watched countless YouTube videos from seasoned China travelers. Without a VPN and a few other essentials, life in China is nearly impossible. It wasn’t until right before landing that it fully hit me—what kind of madness had I just signed myself up for?

That month turned out to be incredibly eye-opening and transformative. I had booked a three-star hotel on Booking, and the location didn’t seem bad. But upon arrival—where I quickly realized that English was completely useless (many Chinese people don’t even understand basic words like “stop”)—it became clear that I had actually booked a worker’s dormitory rather than a hotel. It was a place for rural laborers coming to Beijing for cheap jobs. My tiny room had a sealed-off window and a bathroom that required a fair amount of hygienic courage to use. I was desperate. Luckily, a good friend of mine, who had lived in Beijing for ten years, happened to be in Prague at the time with an injured foot and unable to sleep. So, at 3 AM Central European Time, she picked up my call and navigated me to a four-star hotel just 500 meters away. To my surprise, I even managed—using my very basic and broken Mandarin—to get a partial refund on my prepaid stay.

Many Czechs don’t believe that ordinary Chinese people are kind and welcoming. Sometimes it’s just ignorance; other times, it’s outright prejudice. Lesson learned: If you’re traveling to Asia, book a four- or five-star hotel, because their standards are much lower than ours. I spent two nights in that hotel before moving in with the daughter of my Mandarin teacher’s friend. When we made arrangements, she told me her room was about 15 square meters. Reality? More like 8. It was a tiny space with a mini-bathroom, a mini-kitchen, and a living area. A small couch was pressed up against the single bed. And yes, the bed was for one person. Sleeping on a single bed for a month, even with the most beautiful Chinese woman I had ever seen, was… well, a harsh lesson for a spoiled European.

Chinese people are used to living in such small spaces, often sharing them with many others. In similarly sized apartments nearby, you could hear at least four people living in each one. Housing prices in Beijing are among the highest in the world, so people find creative solutions to afford them. That very first evening, for the first time in my life, I opened Airbnb. Over the next four days, I was searching for my fourth place to stay. The problem? Western booking platforms aren’t widely used in China, so the options were limited. Eventually, I settled on a studio apartment for 30,000 CZK (about $1,300) for three weeks—hoping it wouldn’t turn out to be a shabby hutong. (Side note: Hutongs are Beijing’s ancient alleyway neighborhoods, where the poorest residents live. They have shared kitchens and bathrooms, creating a labyrinth-like community within the city.)

I don’t believe in coincidences—fate exists. Yes, my fourth apartment had its flaws—it wasn’t as clean as advertised, the couch smelled, and the bed wasn’t great. But that’s just China. Cleanliness is simply not a top priority. I originally planned to deep clean the place and buy disinfectant, but in the end, you just adapt. It took me a few days to get used to the floor-to-ceiling windows on the 18th floor (especially with my fear of heights), but now? I look back on that place with joy. If I were to return to Beijing, I would want to stay in the same neighborhood—Baiziwan Road, on the banks of the Tonghui River. It was located right next to Today’s Art Museum in a hip district full of small boutiques, galleries, and local artists. It was Beijing’s attempt at a European-style artistic quarter. You couldn’t find a better location!

The cleanest streets in all of Beijing were right there. The city’s modern business district was within walking distance—if you didn’t mind a 30-minute stroll. I often spent entire afternoons wandering through the city after class, discovering hidden gems you’d never find in a guidebook. Maybe I had to go through all those other places just to end up right here. In an artist’s district.

Next to a gallery that was hosting a rare Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry exhibition—a traveling showcase that only visited a handful of world capitals. I had no idea I would come across such an event in the heart of Beijing. And even though it had nothing to do with China itself, this exhibition remains one of my most memorable and positive experiences from my time there. It told the entire story of the Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry house—from its founding by the Karpeles family (a common Jewish surname, and not by chance) to their phenomenal jewelry creations and rare objets d’art. I probably don’t need to tell you anything about Van Cleef & Arpels, at least not here. Instead, I’ll let the photos speak for themselves. Enjoy them just as I did—in the middle of that other world called China.

I definitely plan to explore more of China in the future… And for those who have never been there and still think China is all about communism—think again. It’s brilliantly planned capitalism with an almost frightening level of Western consumerism. There’s a lot to be inspired by and a lot to learn. But some things will take much longer to change—individual rights, environmental policies, and more.