University of Virginia grad Andy Chairisi moved to Beijingtoo to get ahead and has a head start on getting initiated since his older brother happens to be Ashton Lee, the chief technology officer of Shanghai-based online travel startup Travelzen.
Richards, who went off too fast in Beijing and ended up third, made a more measured start on this occasion and set the fastest time in the world this year.
Yet, visitors to Beijing do not have to go too far off the beaten path to find dingy alleyways lined by what remains of the old courtyard homes that exist in clusters, like islands on the verge of being swallowed by the tidal wave of new China.