Recovery in China - Beijing and Shanghai

The Serenity Prayer in Mandarin Chinese - AA Clubhouse, Beijing:

Wherever you go in the world, you will find people - both locals and foreigners - who get together to support each other in a program of recovery. China is no different, and if you do your homework, you can find AA meetings in Beijing, Shanghai and beyond.

Every culture approaches the affliction of Alcoholism differently - some are more progressive than others. China has only officially recognized the issue recently - here is an article from the official English news site in 2002:

http://app1.chinadaily.com.cn/star/2002/0919/bz9-2.html

As you can see, it appears the "intemperance" is on the rise...

As a foreign traveller in recovery, you might be suprised to learn that although the recovery community exists, and there is an English & Chinese speaking meeting every day of the week in Beijing and Shanghai, the broader community is comparatively tiny. I spoke to a man at a Sunday night meeting while I was in Beijing, and he told me that the first AA meeting in Beijing took place as recently as 2000. There were three people present - the man I spoke to and two others (and no doubt, a pot of tea and a resentment or two...)

Here are the 12 steps in Mandarin on the wall of the Beijing AA Clubhouse:

For political and cultural reasons, AA was a tough sell in China (for example, on more than one occasion I was told that if you don't drink in China no one will trust you in business dealings...), and seven years after its founding, I was told that the program has only 10-15 Foreign members in Beijing and 25-30 Chinese members. The numbers in Shanghai are smaller, but comparable. That means that in a country of 1.3 billion, more than a few of which suffer from the disease, there are less than 100 AAs... Let that sink in for a minute...

If you are in Beijing - visit the local AA website. It has resources, a meeting schedule, and very specific directions on how to find the small clubhouse (a studio apartment in a large building on Dong Zhong Jie.)

http://www.aabeijing.com/

If you are in Shanghai, vist this site with similar information - FYI, there are a few English speaking meetings each week at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in a very posh conference room... Not necessary conditions, but nice...

http://members.cox.net/mppowers1/index.html

What are you waiting for? There is a direct flight from Washington's Dulles Airport to Beijing... 13 1/2 hours and you could be in Beijing!