I have been living in China for 12 years. (albeit not in Beijing).
Moving here gave a huge boost to my career (from mid-pack white collar to executive in the space of few years) and now my salary is several times higher than any comparable position back home...
I do not even mention the mental openness given by living overseas, etc, etc
About running ? honestly speaking, I totally gave up for my first year, because I was overwhelmed by the work and I thought it was crazy to even think to run in such a mess...
Eventually I realized that:
- early in the morning streets are empty and there are many quiet places to run
- running was anyway my lifestyle, rather than hanging out in pubs and bars like many other expat
I resumed running and then almost never missed a day. Some days it might be blistering hot and I basically crawl around, but I keep going.
Some days is very polluted, so I run indoor (eventually I bought my own treadmill), even a 20 Miler.
Bottom line: I run a marathon in 2h30' despite my limited talent.
Warning: races are not that frequent like in US or Europe, but now there are quite a good number. Also it gives the opportunity to run in Japan which is the nirvana for runners.