We just got back from an 8-day trip to Beijing, or as it played in my mind before we went, The Motherland. Beijing is THE place to start with if you're thinking about discovering China. I am have been far too wired to concentrate on work this week, so I focused on writing this little piece instead.
Of course we visited the requisite Great Wall, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven and Tiananmen Square, and they were all great. We also had great fun just walking around these places that should definitely be part of your itinerary should you pay this city a visit:-
Nanluoguoxiang
….i.e. Hutong Central. As per my previous post we roomed at this quaint but elegant little place for 4 days before switching up to the Traders Hotel in the CBD area, and while it had its little faults (no space/hooks for hanging our stuff, no kettle for hot water), its location more than made up for it. It is smack right in the middle of a historical alley (or hutong) converted into totally unique little shops. We tried all kinds of street food - traditional barbecued lamb and chicken skewers, barbecued squid, egg white pancakes, Beijing-style yogurt (so creamy and gooood) and steamed milk, breakfast pancakes made with egg, spring onions, stuffed with a deep fried cruller and three types of sauces (fermented bean, chilli oil and something else – hoisin, maybe?), deep fried tofu in a sweet chilli sauce, Taiwanese deepfried chicken tenders (puts McDonald’s nuggets to shame), drank neat “mojitos” and milk tea, and dropped by the local Starbucks for much-needed, super hard-to-find, expensive coffee.
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| AK and his steamed milk |
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| Yogurt in clay jars |
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| Starbucks in the Hutong
We also oohed and aahed at the creative means the Chinese use to decorate their interiors – the use of traditional tea display racks to showcase Brazilian coffee, how they maintain their Chinese identity in design of bot the interiors and facades. And oh, and the stuff they were selling – from household items (French countryside inspired décor, traditional and modern takes on Chinese teas and teasets, Mao prints on everything from enamel mugs to coasters), to clothes and accessories (super-arty origami-inspired local designs, ming pottery made into jewelry, cheap shoes, handmade leather bags) and Chinese-y souvenirs. I bought French-country inspired enamelware (for planting herbs in) and sleek teaspoons at the adorable Kodo.
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| The glasswares section of Kodo |
It was great fun walking here, taking in the cacophony of sights, ducking every now and then into aforementioned shops. I highly recommend spending some lots of time in this area (half a day is ideal) and really loved the fact that the hutongs were literally at our doorstep. Every shop was unique in its own right, and there was some repetition, but overall minimal. I do feel that Malaysian retailers pale in comparison in terms of creativity and uniqueness, and will never be satisfied walking in Malacca’s Jonker Street/Penang’s Batu Feringghi markets again.
Pangjiayuen Antiques Market
We went faux-antiquing twice at this huge market, once on a weekday and on a Saturday morning. I much prefer going on a weekday. There aren’t that many stalls (but still number at the hundreds), it’s less crowded thus it’s easier to navigate/get shopkeepers’/stall owners’ attention, and most importantly, less foot traffic means more relenting sellers. No doubt, the variety is definitely larger on the weekend, and someone who relishes the challenge of the bargain would prefer to go on a weekend, so do what suits you. AK went a little crazy over these cute wooden stands/bases that are designed for holding teasets and I bought some really pretty celadon bowls. What else were they selling? Chinese locksets, vintage suitcases/ice buckets/gramophones, reproduction furniture, stone sculptures, faux-bronze vessels and figurines, beads of amber/turquoise/tiger’ eye/jade/amethyst and who knows what other stone, pottery (I bought celadon ones), artwork, silverware (from huge cauldrons to traditional headdresses), and who knows what else.
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| Tribal embroidery |
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| Bargain bargain bargain! |
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| Tribal neck and headpieces - real statement, these things |
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| Antique locks and curtain hooks |
We skipped the Malls at the Orient Plaza, but managed to locate Hai Di Lao in the Intime Lotte mall. All the stories of the courteous staff are true. We ate our way through more than ten plates of mushrooms, two types of beef balls, minced beef with egg (highly recommended), slices of lamb, squid and vegetables cooked in “heaven and hell” broths (bone stock and fiery sezhuan), accompanied by a plethora of dipping sauces (minced beef, mustard, XO, satay, minced garlic, vinegar, you name it). On the way back to the train we stopped by the warren of stalls/shops at the back of street. AK picked out two pairs of shoes that he would normally never consider – but they were fun and so unbelievably priced that he scooped them up. I couldn’t help checking out the three-storey Forever 21 behemoth on Wangfujing. Everything there is Made in China anyway so it makes sense that they’re super cheap. In fact I returned twice to Wangfujing just for the store alone. What I got - comfy shorts for lounging around the house, lots of cute earrings, a funky belt and a striped tee.
Oh, and not China-related but I have to say something anyway. Our house is slowly but surely coming together; the tiles are up in the two upstairs bathrooms and we are going to pick out the flooring for the upstairs rooms as well as decide on kitchen cabinets and built-in wardrobes. We are so close! AK has already picked out the menu for our first home-cooked dinner (lor bak, lotus root soup).
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