In September 2023, my colleague Sunny visited Beijing and took a brief cycling trip around the city. Her exclamation was: "Beijing has changed a lot, so much cleaner than pre-COVID times." Since then, Ive started paying closer attention to the cleanliness of places in China wherever I travel, and Im pleased to find that they are all quite clean.

Take Beijing, for example. This is what the streets look like:

If you pay attention, you can easily see why. The cleaners are constantly maintaining the citys cleanliness. I recall that in the past, they typically swept the streets early in the morning. But now, it seems they keep an eye on the streets and clean whenever necessary.

There are also various types of vehicles assisting in the cleaning efforts.

According to news reports, in January 2024, Beijings first batch of autonomous driving sanitation vehicles were put into operation in the Economic Development Zone, marking the first time that unmanned sanitation vehicles in Beijing have achieved round-the-clock coverage of services. 昼夜不停歇！北京首批L4级无人驾驶环卫车商业化运营_京报网 (bjd.com.cn)

Probably one day I will come across one of those vehicles and post a picture of it here.
Once I noticed there is a Street and Alley Management Information Board on the wall of a street. The content on the board includes: Name of the Street/Alley, Street Chief, Responsibilities, "Ten Nos" Standards for Street/Alley Management, and Standards for Creating a "Civilized Street." I guess this clear allocation of responsibilities plays an important role in keeping the streets nice and clean too.

Here I extend my heartfelt gratitude and respect to all the sanitation workers and staff who diligently maintain cleanliness in every corner of China. I wish them good health and all the best.

Yours Truly
Angie Guo – Charmission Travel