Far and away, a good time to smile

Beijing, for good reason, is celebrated as an international city. The people, cultures, food, music and ambience present a splendid mix of all the best the world has to offer.

But when the holidays arrive, a melancholy attribute of the international city becomes apparent: Most of us who live here - from the Chinese residents to the expats, from the Surinamese student at the University of International Business and Economics to the Tibetan vendor hawking wares on the street - are, in one way or another, migrants.

A good number of us live here out of necessity.