Dong fu, xi gui, nan pin, bei jian  wealthy east, noble west, poor south, cheap north.

So goes a Beijing saying that indicates the basic features of the city's geography as they were commonly perceived many years ago.

Like most clichs, this one doesn't capture the full complexity of its subject today. But it describes in part the division of the capital along the axis that divides east and west.     

Only a few years ago, east Beijing's Chaoyang District government chief Chen Gang was quoted by China Daily as saying: "Our goal is to be a Manhattan-style business centre with international financial services as the driving force."

Home to all the foreign embassies and the majority of overseas businesses, east Beijing is where the bulk of the city's expatriates reside. A foreigner may be a rare beast in most areas of the capital, but in the east they are by no means a minority.

Service companies in the area cater to the foreign population, and through word-of-mouth, more foreigners settle there.

"It's a fairly natural development," said Rob Dean, a property manager in Beijing.
Like the myriad Chinatowns across the Western world, Chaoyang provides familiarity to a cultural minority.

"I think there's a comfort factor in living on the east side," said Dean.  "That's where the work is."

Mark Binnersley, an editor from England, lived in Shijingshan District on the west side when he first arrived but found it difficult to adapt.

"It was my first time in Asia, and I did not know a word of Chinese, so the culture shock was massive," he said. "I really didn't know what I was getting myself into and went straight in at the deep end."

Before long, he relocated to the Guomao area on the east side to be nearer to other young expats. 

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