Editor's Note:

Sanlitun, with its neon-lit sticky-floored bars selling dodgy booze and pricey foreign fashion outlets, is one of the centers of foreign life in Beijing. But in the recent two weeks, some foreigners have been hesitant about going to the hub-of-the-universe neighborhood. Some have complained about the inconvenience brought on by the closed bars and restaurants during the past weekend, due to a rehearsal of the upcoming military parade to commemorate the end of World War II in Beijing. Others say they are suffering because of traffic control. More of them are still highly concerned about the meaning surrounding the horrific, suspected anti-foreigner attack on Aug 13, which led to the death of one person and injured another.

However, while some expats are discovering their love and fear of the neighborhood goes hand in hand and are beginning to reflect on whether they have been taking their safety in Beijing for granted, they still believe the Sanlitun area is an irresistible option for a hang out spot.

Recent events in Sanlitun have led some foreigners to be extra aware of their surroundings. Photo: Cui Meng/GT

We like to think that Beijing is a safe city. But one part of the city now feels a little less safe. The fatal stabbing of a Shandong native in Sanlitun on August 13 has reminded us all that this sense of safety may be less sensible than we think. Gu Wenqing, who was walking with her French husband, was stabbed by a sword-wielding man in broad daylight and later died.

The most disturbing detail for me is the possibility that Gu died because of her husband's race. It has been reported that the murderer asked if her husband was an American prior to the attack.

This attack is not the first suspected anti-foreigner attack in Beijing in the past year. Earlier, there were a spate of attacks in which locals apparently headed to Sanlitun and other areas where foreigners congregate and attacked them with baseball bats.

I talked about the latest attack with an American who has lived in Beijing for many years and is married to a local. He said that he feels like he now has to have an extra level of awareness when he is out with his wife, keeping an eye out for who is looking at them and in what way. But he also told me that he has long avoided going to Sanlitun as he has "always been sketched out by Sanlitun."

In the days after Gu's death, my girlfriend, who is Chinese, urged me to avoid going to Sanlitun. Around a week later, when we went there to watch a film she asked me, only half-jokingly, not to hold her hand as we walked past the spot where Gu had lain bleeding.

However, a week later the area was probably safer, if more boring, than it has ever been. Hundreds of volunteer security guards lined the streets, and Sanlitun's shops, bars and restaurants were all closed for the weekend for the rehearsal of the upcoming military parade. My girlfriend said that it made her feel safe. A friend of mine who lives in Sanlitun said that he felt that the attack there shows that expats have been taking their safety for granted.

The position of an outsider is always precarious. It seems that while many welcome us, there is an undercurrent of discontent about our perceived privileges. These can be things that can lead to violence, such as the notion of "stealing women" (as if they belong to anyone). It can also be more mundane. One Chinese friend still complains, years later, about being made to wait in the cold while foreign students at her university were allowed to board a bus before her.

These kinds of violent attacks are thankfully rare. But anti-foreigner sentiment has popped up occasionally in China, from the Boxer Rebellion to the Cultural Revolution (1966-76). While Beijing is my home now, this attack in the most symbolically "Western" part of the city highlights that not all of my neighbors are happy about that fact.

But I think a lot of Westerners, myself included, will keep going to Sanlitun regardless of this attack. While the area is pretty tacky with overpriced bars and restaurants, and while it can be aggressive on a Friday night, my desire to get a good burger is still greater than my fear of being attacked.