In which I team up with a friend and do all the classic things in Beijing

So, one of the upsides to moving to the capital city is that it’s more likely for my friends in other places to come visit me coincidentally.  Sure enough, a few weeks ago I got a message from Sylvia, a Chinese friend I met back at Qingdao University, that she would be spending a few days in Beijing to do visa stuff.

Although she’s Chinese, Sylvia had never been to Beijing before.  She and I both had Saturday free, so we planned to spend the day doing all the famous things!  Most of the sites I already saw back when I first arrived in China with study abroad, but that was several months ago at this point.  I definitely soaked it in a little better this time.

Despite the slight rain, we found a cozy place to take pictures on a rainy afternoon at 798 Art District, the Friday before our full day adventure.

Part 1: 南锣鼓巷 / Nanluoguxiang Hutong

The main tourist thoroughfare branches off to quieter side streets at regular intervals.

Back in the olden days, people in the northern cities (most famously Beijing) lived in square houses called 四合院 (siheyuan).  The spaces between these properties form wide streets as well as long narrow alleyways, known as 胡同 (hutong).  Both the architecture and style are iconic of Northern Chinese cities like Beijing.

These days most people live in apartment buildings instead of these one-story square homes, but many hutong networks have been preserved, restored, or re-purposed as tourist shopping districts.  Most notably, Nanluoguxiang is a huge network of streets in the inner city that from both beaten path roads full of novelty shops and narrow residential alleys that you’ll probably not notice until your GPS walking directions insist that you’ve reached your turn.  What, you mean that tiny gap between two buildings?  Don’t get lost.

Exploring the Hutong with Sylvia. The doorways to the left and right lead into the private courtyards of people’s homes.

Doggy!

Just getting some fresh air~

Spotted by the lake.  Definitely a hobbit door.

For lunch we found a restaurant called 云南味道 (Flavor of Yunan Province).  I feel that I’ve somehow neglected to talk about Chinese food in much detail on my blog, but better late than never!  An important distinction in thinking about types of food:  In the U.S. you categorize restaurants based on national origin (“Hey, let’s go for Italian/Mexican/Chinese/Thai/etc. food tonight!”)  In China, most people prefer to go for Chinese food rather than foreign food.  “Eating Chinese every day,” you might say, “doesn’t that get boring really fast?”  Although most restaurants offer exclusively Chinese food, the distinction is among Chinese regions (rather than countries), usually denoted by city or province.  Every city, big and small, is proud of its specialty dishes.

Yunnan is a province in the South of China near Thailand.  The flavor is totally different than anything Northern Chinese would cook.

Vegetables wrapped in banana leaves

Savory cooked mushrooms and sweet pineapple rice. So delicious! Not too elaborate of a spread by Chinese standards, but we were saving room to snack later.  Also we couldn’t go into a food coma after lunch. We must do all the things!

Part 2: 天安门广场 / Tian’anmen Square

After lunch we took a public bus to Tian’anmen Square, near the center of the city.  It’s free to enter.

Tian’anmen Square is a pretty popular tourist destination for Chinese and foreigners alike, but perhaps for different reasons.  For Sylvia and many other Chinese citizens, the place is an important symbol of China since it was in Tian’anmen Square that Chairman Mao announced the founding of New China in 1949.  She was excited to send the photos to her mother since her parents’ generation had the dream of going to Beijing and Tian’anmen Square.

The fountain streams dance with the music.

The square itself really is huge!  I want roller skates…

Taking pictures to prove we were here.

Part 3: 故宫 / The Forbidden City

This is the point where you either go to Wikipedia to look up the actual historical details, or are overcome with the urge to stop everything and re-watch season 2 of Avatar: The Last Airbender.  Welcome to Ba Sing Se, the capital city of the Earth Kingdom.  If you want to take the middle road and do both options at once, I found an essay (here) that presents an interesting side-by-side comparison of the TV show and its historical inspiration.

The Forbidden City itself is the geographical center (the first ring) of the city of Beijing.  Long story short, it was the Chinese imperial palace for several dynasties, home of the emperor.  Interestingly, the main gate is immediately accessible from Tiananmen Square, right under the giant portrait of Mao.

Since it got re-purposed as a museum and tourist destination, the Forbidden City is not as forbidden as it once was (especially on a Saturday).  However, Sylvia and I decided to look at the second-coolest parts of the palace and avoid 90% of the crowd.  It was a good decision I think.

(Same shot as above, but looking slightly to the right.)  The Forbidden City is a popular place, but also a big place. The beaten path of hundreds of tour groups pours through the center, but if you turn your attention to the edges the city still appears to maintain a little of its forbidden-ness.

The lower vantage point actually makes you realize how big the structures are.

The most impressive thing might be the size, but don’t forget to look up close.

Flower dragon!

I’ve actually been to the Forbidden City 3 times now, but a clear day makes the colors and detail stand out.

Part 4: 烤鸭 / Peking Roast Duck

We tried to hit the Temple of Heaven after the Forbidden City, but it was nearly closing time when we got there.  Oh well, guess we’ve walked enough for one day anyway.  Time for dinner.

Remember how I said that China delegates food to regional cuisines?  One of the things that Beijing is most famous for (food-wise) is roast duck.  Perfect way to end our jam-packed day in Beijing.

Sylvia directed us to one of the most famous roast duck restaurants in Beijing. Ducks everywhere!  They slice it right beside the table, steaming hot.

We also ordered these cold vegetable rolls and a seafood soup.  They also gave us a giant bowl of duck broth for free.

Unless your just grabbing a bowl of noodles on your lunch break, Chinese dishes are generally shared. Half a duck for two hungry people? Seems reasonable.

Some assembly required:  take one of those tortilla-looking pancakes from the upper left, place some duck meat, sauce, onions and cucumber inside, wrap it up, and enjoy!

All together the dinner cost us 200元，or 100元(that’s $15)/person.

So, that concludes our Beijing tour.  I’d seen most of it before, but doing it on a clear nice day without having to worry or deal with keeping up with a large tour group, culture shock, jet lag, or being tied to a strict schedule made the whole experience pretty fun and relaxing.  Most of all I enjoyed catching up with my friend and taking advantage of the clear, overcast weather to take some nice photos.  If Beijing were a postcard set, this is what you’d see pictured on it.

In which I find in Beijing what I could not in Hangzhou: a cat cafe that fulfills all my hopes and dreams~

With my new work schedule I get Saturday afternoon/evening and all of Sunday off.  This doesn’t match up with the schedules of the other Au Pairs in Beijing (and there are lots), but it does allow me to make and hang out with Chinese and Expat friends outside of Lopair.

One thing I was looking forward to in Beijing was finally meeting my other Chinese penpal, Kate.  She goes to college in Beijing and we Skyped several times before I came to China.  My first week in Beijing I met Kate and some of her friends downtown to go to a language exchange meeting, and the second weekend the two of us decided to go to a cat cafe together!

The cafe that Kate recommended is in 南锣鼓巷, a very Asheville-esque shopping district with numerous winding streets lined with crafty souvenir and clothes shops, tons of food stands, cafes, and restaurants.  Really I just wanted to spend all my money right then, but I limited myself to a postcard, an envelope, a lot of window shopping, and “exploding chicken” (fried chicken filled with cheese!) for lunch.

One of the busier streets

A pig made out of blown sugar. I don’t think I could eat something so pretty!

A simple notebook printed as an old-style Chinese math book. One of the many things I resisted buying.

After lunch we headed to the cat cafe which was located down one of the emptier side streets.  Such a cute place!  There were tons of cats, but most of them were napping.  They didn’t mind being petted though.

喵Lady cat cafe. The cat out front has definitely been hired to lure in customers.

Cat cafe success!

Our over-priced drinks that do at least come with cats included.

Such a cool seating area upstairs! Bar-style cat access.

Kate and her favorite cat.

Cat in the corner by the stairwell. Is that a comfortable place to sleep…?

This cat sat with its back to us, unmoving, except when it occasionally turned around and gave us this dirty look. haha

After petting every cat in the cat cafe and starting to feel sleep around so many sleepy cats, we went out again, this time to 后海, a nice lake nearby lined with music bars.

Such a wonderful day to be at the lake!

They literally had a drum circle. Didn’t I say it felt like Asheville?

After a walk around the lake it was time for Kate to head back to school and me to head home.  I’m so glad I got to not just find a cat cafe, but also spend the day with Kate and see a new and awesome part of the city.

As we were leaving we spotted another cat cafe and that can only mean one thing: we have to go back!