BEIJING UNBOUND (12)

In which Jim gets escorted inside a cruelly exclusive Beijing club only to lose his bearings and moral compass. He overcomes his qualms by jumping to the conclusion that all resistance is futile.

*EAST GATE

I’m waiting for my ride on the threshold to campus, the place where the order and decorum of the stately academic enclave gives way to the anarchy and chaos of the street. East Gate is almost always busy, and not just from the coming and going of students, either, for it sits on the border crossing of two districts, one on one side of the road, the other on the other.

Divided by a highway and connected by a bridge, traffic tends to converge at East Gate. Buses roll by at frequent intervals, depositing loads of commuters and picking up new ones. Taxis likewise, like to idle and congregate at this bottleneck.

As I scan the road, looking for my ride, scores of students mill about on the sidelines with cries of excitement and youthful energy to burn. Some are looking for something to do, others are looking for mates, others are just looking.

It’s Saturday night.

The broad pedestrian bridge bustles with the usual vendors hawking the usual black market goods on the sly, as usual. Ever…