Why did I come to China, people sometimes ask me. The answer is that it just happened, and then I kept coming back. My daughter and I first went to Xian in 1985 because one of our relatives was living there at the time. We liked the place, and so we returned every year. Before long, my daughter got to know some students and decided to come here to study for one year. That was from 1991 to 1992.

　　Again, I came to see her, and ended up staying at the Jianguo Hotel. From the very start, I very much liked this place. In those days, it was pretty much the only place where foreigners could meet. Apart from Frank's Place or the Mexican Wave - or the TGIF functions at the Swiss embassy or some others - Charlie's Bar was the only watering hole in town.

　　So this is where I stayed. I met quite a few people, and returned twice during that year to visit my daughter. After her return to Europe I, too, decided to learn Chinese, registered with the International Finance and Business University in Beijing, and took classes for one year, and lived on campus.

　　Come to think of it, it wasn't just my daughter being here. It was the culture of this country that had begun to interest me. I'd attended a course on the culture of the Ming dynasty in London during the 1980's, for example, and that's what gave me the idea to learn the language of this country. By the way, I am still working on it. I realise that I shall never be fluent, but I am giving it my best. Why? I am fascinated by this language, as I am by the culture.

　　Interestingly enough, what I have learned about Chinese culture has helped me gain a more profound appreciation of European culture. Becoming more familiar with Chinese culture has given me quite a different angle at which to view my own, which has been quite an enriching experience. I have found that, in one's familiar surroundings, one just tends to take things for granted. One lives in a city like Berne, Switzerland, and that city is beautiful, but one never asks oneself: "What is it that's beautiful about it? Why is it beautiful?" Having been away in a completely different environment one begins to see facets that one didn't see before. As for me, I have acquired a tourist's way of looking at my own country's culture. My sense of perception has increased enormously. Interestingly enough, my love for both Switzerland and Europe as a whole has grown as a result. I really cannot imagine living without China nowadays, nor without Europe. Both of those places, they are my life.

　　Anyway, back to my early days in Beijing. After finishing university, I rented a small studio in Chaowai and bought some furniture. A wonderful existence! For about three weeks. Suddenly, at one o'clock one morning, I received a visit. Not knowing who it was, I kept quiet. That did me no good, alas, because before long someone started using a jemmy to get into my flat. I unlocked the door and found myself face to face with the police. My landlord, it turned out, did not have the requisite permission to let accommodation to a foreigner. That was the law in those days, and I was told to clear out by eight o'clock that same morning. That's what I did, leaving my furniture behind.

　　"What to do?" I thought. The first thing that came to mind was to ring the general manager of the Jianguo Hotel. Even though it was a bad time, September, the high season, and room rates were sky high, I was in luck. A room was found for me, and that's how I came to be staying in this hotel. A few years later, in 1997, I began living in Beijing for about six to eight months per year.

　　"What's so nice about the Jianguo?" people ask me at times. "There are so many other fine hotels." What I say to them is that the Jianguo is shufu - 'gemütlich', as they say in German - more than just 'comfortable', in other words. I know the people who work here, and I find one gets personal service and attention. It's a four-star hotel, but often one gets five-star service. I'm happy to be here. Whenever I come, I get the room I want, the furniture and fittings are the way I want them. And I certainly get VIP treatment.

　　Unfortunately, nothing seems to last forever. There have been rumours for some time now that the Jianguo will be torn down in the course of creating the Central Business District, though I still hope that won't happen. The marble palaces that are now being built mostly are much of a muchness, frightfully impersonal and cold. They're all right for businesspeople who want to stay for a few nights, but they definitely aren't places for people to stay for any length of time.

　　Whatever happens, this hotel has given so many of its guests so much, incalculable joy, and it's done quite a bit in the cultural sphere. I'm sure everyone knows about the Sunday concerts in the lobby, but there are other things as well. For example, I once held a Swiss-Chinese joint photography exhibition; there was a week of Venetian culture, with an opportunity for people to try their hand at making carnival masks; and there was a writer who organised the launch of one of his books in the ballroom; besides so many other things. And then, on a everyday level, there still is the lobby or Charlie's bar where one just bumps into old friends from years ago, plus Justine's restaurant. That was a trend setter for quite some time, and it's still one of the best places for French food in Beijing today. What a place!

　　The Jianguo has become my home over all these years, and it's hard to try to imagine trying to fit into another place in this city. I have met so many people in this hotel, and a handful of them have become friends whom I even meet with again when I am in Europe, even though when we are not residents of the same countries.(By Jacqueline Vuichard)