THE SOUL OF BEIJING
China’s capital is a mix of rigid tradition and fresh modernity. Kate Ford visits Beijing and enjoys the craft beer and art of the notoriously serious city.
The Beijing rain was tumbling down in heavy, fat bullets the night we found heaven. Well, actually, we found Heaven Supermarket. But to some people perhaps they might be one and the same.
This self-service bar is located in Sanlitun, an upmarket Beijing suburb that houses foreign embassies, the biggest Adidas store in the world, malls, and a buffet of bars and restaurants.
You walk into Heaven Supermarket and, just like a grocery store, select alcohol from the wellstocked fridges running down one side of the bar. There’s Belgian beer, craft IPAs, New Zealand wines, lolly-water vodka mixes — pick your poison; chances are it will be here and it will be cheap.
But Heaven Supermarket feels out of place. We are quenching our hedonistic thirst in a country where Google and Facebook may as well be the devil digitised. Less than 10km away lies the Communist Party of China headquarters where Big Brother is always watching.
But the hops don’t stop there.
The past few years have seen a huge rise in China’s craft beer consumption and boutique breweries are pouring their wares all over Beijing.
Boutique beer fans can enjoy pints at Great Leap Brewing (greatleapbrewing.com) and Slow Boat Brewpub (slowboatbrewery.com), two fellow residents of Sanlitun.
Great Leap Brewing, which opened seven years ago, was the first Beijing microbrewery to specialise in Chinese ingredients, so you will find beer like the Honey Ma Gold with Sichuan peppercorns, or the Little General IPA featuring Qindao flower hops from Xinjiang province.
Similarly, Slow Boat Brewpub offers plenty of ales along with heavy hitters such as the imperial vanilla stout and the Belgian wit.
Both spots are ideal for sitting with a cold one and a burger after a day exploring in the hazy Beijing heat.
Summer in Beijing can reach temperatures well into the 30s. It is characterised by a mix of fast and furious monsoons and blistering sun. Generally, the smog levels aren’t too unbearable (they pack the biggest punch in winter) however the warmer months do bring out the older men parading around in a “Bei-kini” — an outfit where they roll their shirts up to expose their bellies in an attempt to stay cool. Beijing is an exciting clash of old and new. Tradition and strict government rules still dictate society but fresh new ideas from younger generations are gathering pace.
Venture 20km out of the heart of the city and you will find an intriguing example.
The 798 Art District — also known as Dashanzi — is a cultural hub of contemporary art galleries, street sculptures, restaurants and cafes. You could spend a whole day exploring the maze of streets here.
Originally a vast complex of state-owned factories, Dashanzi was part of the Socialist Unification Plan between the Soviet Union and Mao’s China in the 1950s. A new trade agreement saw China turn to East Germany for aesthetic assistance on the project and the Europeans came to the party with the architectural plans, so Dashanzi has a distinct Bauhaus style.
Work here was booming during the Cultural Revolution until reforms in the 1980s put pressure on the factories and many ceased operations by the early 1990s.
The phoenix rose from the ashes in the form of the avant-garde art community, starting with Beijing’s Academy of Fine Arts, which led to numerous local and international artists and designers moving in and transforming the space in the 2000s to the art community it is today.
A culturally diverse district, you can wander the art-laden streets, enjoy bowls of spicy noodles, have a coffee at Cafe Flatwhite (run by New Zealanders), and stop by Mansudae Art Studio, which displays work from North Korean artists.
Open-air sculptures are dotted around the footpaths. Spot the stack of caged dinosaurs and the giant sculpture of a crumpled chewing gum wrapper.
To get even deeper into Beijing’s past-meetspresent urban sprawl, you need only amble through the city’s famed hutongs.
Established during the Yuan Dynasty of the 13th century, Beijing’s hutongs are a jumble of alleys that stretch from the city’s main roads. They are narrow — it’s an ambitious driver who tries to venture down one — they are dusty and they are beautiful.
Some of the larger hutongs have pedestrian numbers limited at weekends due to the sheer number of people who wander down the narrow streets. These are mainly the hutongs with souvenir shops, cafes, bars and restaurants (the best place to eat in Beijing, in my opinion, is Dali Courtyard).
The buildings are ancient but the inhabitants are modern and walking down these hutongs you will find yourself caught up in the soul of Beijing.