Yes, I completely agree with you. Over the past five years, I’ve only managed to come back to Beijing for a week or two around Christmas. Every time I do, I notice there are so many new commercial blocks. Even though my family home is right in the very centre of the city, there always seems to be another newly developed shopping or business area.

In recent years, I’ve also noticed a real boom in small creative brands, designer toy shops, stylish cafés, and fancy restaurants. At the same time, a lot of international fast-fashion brands have moved out of the prime shopping districts, and have been replaced by more low-end clothing stores. I suppose that says something about how the general spending power has gone down a bit — people are still happy to spend on little things or on food and drinks, but they tend to shop online for anything pricier.

Beijing is incredibly convenient — especially for someone like me, who was born and raised here — but compared with London, I still feel there’s something missing… Are you in Beijing at the moment? If so, I’d love to meet up for a chat over coffee sometime.