Economy | Ed Zhang

Starting at around 7 am the other day, I took a trip on a box truck with a small group of movers in Beijing. They are piano specialists, claiming to be experienced in helping customers send or relocate pianos.

This time the task appeared to be simple, to move just one upright piano from the south of the city to the north. But it turned out to be tough indeed. In both places they had to manhandle the piano, weighing more than 200 kilograms, down from the second floor and then up to the fourth floor using the narrow staircases of old residential buildings that date to the planned economy era.