Livin' la Vida Local

The end of this week marks the halfway mark of my 8-week tour this time in China.  With my work getting more exciting, time flew by really quickly and I still feel like I need to get more accomplished before I return to the US.  In addition to making some progress at my work here in China, another personal goal of mine is to explore the Beijing area more.

The first time I had a visitor from the US, I felt like I didn't even know where to go.  Sure, I've been to the Forbidden City and at least three different parts of the Great Wall, but there is so much more that Beijing can offer.  My initial reaction to Beijing was relatively negative due to the poor air quality and congestion.  As I live more like a local, I am starting to accept certain things and learn to enjoy other parts of it that I didn't see.  One of my climbing buddies Hema has been showing me parts of Beijing that I would not have seen.  He too, was an outsider from the south many years ago.  Today he tries to live like a Beijinger and embrace their ways.  I have in some ways tried to avoid living like an American expat - mainly because I want to experience what it's like to live like a Beijinger.

So here it is, a list of must-dos in Beijing.  I can't claim that I've been to everywhere and done everything, but at least this gives you an idea.

1.  Visit the Forbidden City.  You just have to see the magnificent architecture here.  Beijing had painstakingly took every major piece of terra cotta roof and cleaned them to recreate the original glazing color.  They repainted a lot of the building ceilings for the Olympics back in 2008 as well.  The closest comparison I have to the Western world is like going to Rome.  Totally worth seeing, and it will take you at least half a day to almost a day.

2.  Get Lost in the Old Hutongs.  The first time Glen and I tried to look for old Beijing communities, or Hutongs, we didn't really find that many of them.  A lot of old Chinese buildings were poorly maintained and the government tore them down and turned them into modern apartment complexes.  Very little urban planning was done to modernize these areas, and the sense of community disappeared.  There were some hutongs near the Old Drum Tower, but we really didn't know where to go.

After a little bit of research, I found Time Out magazine's recommended list.  It's too bad that the rest of the city is building towards the sky.  The Hutongs are usually at most 2-stories and contains several alleys where different families live, almost like a cul-de-sac.  Near the living areas, there are usually shopping areas, bakery, coffee shops, and great hole-in-the wall eateries.  There is a good mix of the old Beijing shops with the new ones.  The good part about this is that cars don't normally pass through the area due to the narrow streets, and one would spot a stranger real quickly.  The bad part is that all your neighbors are so close to you that you don't have much privacy.

3.  Eat Beijing Xiaoci.  Xiaoci (shiao tse) are savory cheap eats.  For the big business meals, Beijingers would go to a really fancy place where they serve plates after plates of wasted food.  I am not a big fan of big restaurants for that reason.  Xiaoci restaurants are cozy places, where they generally only specialize in a few different types of food.

Hema took me to try some of the Beijing Xiaoci.  Food is typically served with a light beer like Tsingtao or Yanjing.  The first dish we tried is called baodu, which is the black-colored thing on the right.  Did you figure out what it is yet?  Take a guess.

It's one of the stomachs of a cow.  Tastes chewy and a bit crunchy like pork tripe.  The color to me is a turn off, but otherwise it's pretty light.  A sesame-peanut sauce is used to make it go down smoother.

The bowl of soup above the baodu is called douzi.  Douzi is a sister drink to soy milk, call soy juice.  It's been fermented and has a sour taste to it.  It has a similar flavor to stinky tofu, but even more pungent.

Hema and the soy juice

A fellow Taiwanese tourist sat near our table and took a sip of the soy juice - and I saw his facial expression.  I took a small sip of the juice and gave the rest to Hema, who gulped it down. 

I forgot what the fried rings that you put into the soy juice are called, but they don't taste anything like onion rings.  They are super hard and somewhat chewy.  Hema joked that if you put the ring in the middle of the road and had a car run over it, that it will not crush the ring.  Instead, the road will be dented.

There are a few other doughy food that came with the douzi and baodu, although I am not sure what they are.  They are deep fried and required heavy seasoning.  

Probably the most featured xiaoci of all is the meat on skewers.  These skewers traditionally came from the Muslim minority, but now it's commonplace for non-Muslims to sell them.  However, following the tradition, they do not serve pork skewers. The grilling stand is usually outdoors in the front of the restaurant, and the guests would sit outside, often times on really tiny stools and tables.  It is the best place to be on a hot summer night.

Each skewer costs as little as 1 RMB, and can be anything from lamb legs to chicken wings.  They also have more exotic types such as meat with cartilage, chicken fat, and lamb intestines.

Along with the skewers, another highlight of the grilling stand is the spicy tienluo, or snails.  They are not as big as escargot, but has similar texture.  They are stir-fried instead of baked with red chili peppers and soy sauce.  Pretty addictive to eat since they are really salty.

4.  Try the Street Food.  Now here is a gamble - but it is definitely worth it.  One of the things I have tried include Chinese stinky tofu, which in my opinion is stinkier than the Taiwanese version.  Another one I have seen is the deep fried hotdog, which I think I will pass.  A good breakfast that I see everyone have is the jianbing.    It is basically a crepe with an egg and a deep fried layer of crispy dough and some spicy seasoning. 

5.  Get Some Culture at 798.  When you get tired of all the historic sites and crowds, head over to the art district called 798.  There you will find espressos that actually taste good, and art galleries after more art galleries.  It's a whole city of art galleries that will make the South End look like a joke.  There are a lot of cool sculpture around and artsy people wearing BCGs.  I'm not kidding - they are becoming trendy all over Beijing.

6.  Spoil Yourself with a Massage.  Labor is still cheap, so enjoy it while you can.  I've tried the Chinese style called guasha, which uses a tool to put pressure on your knots and areas of fluid build-up.  They make it sound very ying and yang on the website (and also at the massage place), but once you get used to the initial scraping on your back, then it's pretty much similar to a massage when they put a lot of pressure on certain points.  Another good thing to experience is the foot wash/rub.  It's like going for a pedicure except they also give you a foot massage, and sometimes even your back.

7.  Walk around Houhai.  There are a few ponds in the city, and this is one of them.  Many locals hang out along the pond.  I can't remember which one but at night they are all lined up on the edge of the pond fishing.  In one section, there are also several bars and coffee shops.  The pond is somewhat lit up by these bars, bringing in a different kind of energy to this part of the city.  The thing is, you will forget that you are in Beijing when you are here.  The traffic jams are gone and it's relatively quiet.  For a sec you might even think the air is cleaner over here. 

8.  Try the Dumplings.  The north is known for the noodles and dumplings.  They have way more variety than the typical pork and cabbage ones.  Yesterday I actually saw dumplings served as a street food, but they are probably better in a restaurant.  Dumplings up north are typically boiled in water rather than steamed, and the dumpling skin is a lot thicker than the Hong Kong style dumplings.  Along with the dumplings, the dumpling water (used to boil the dumplings) is served to the guests instead of hot tea.  Not my favorite, but that's how they do it up here!

9.  Take the #1 Subway Line.  To get the full Beijing experience, one must take the #1 train, preferably during rush hour.  You will appreciate your personal space even more after this experience, trust me.