I recently returned from a wonderful family vacation in Beijing, China. This was our first trip to China with the kids. We spent the majority of our time in the neighborhood close to Joanne's parent's apartment and away from the busy center of the city. Therefore we had time to enjoy the many different pleasures of daily life in China. The following are some pictures and notes on some of the things that we enjoyed during our visit, including food, street style, dogs, cars and bikes, bird watching, glasses and fake iPhones.
1. Food
When we started planning our trip to Beijing a few months ago I began doing some research on where to find the best food in Beijing. I read about some fantastic home style restaurants hidden in back alleys and other great culinary delights, however I ended up procrastinating too much and never had a chance to write down any of the places that I wanted to visit. In the absence of any information on the specific restaurants that I had read about, we followed the recommendations of relatives and friends and did some exploring on our own. We had many great meals and also enjoyed shopping in the farmer's market and super market. The wide range and freshness of foods, especially fruits, vegetables and meats available in average neighborhood in Beijing is on average far better than what can be found in all but the best markets in the Tri-State area.
Breakfast
Almost every morning we walked out to buy a fresh hot breakfast. The short walk in the brisk morning air was the perfect way to work up a healthy appetite. Some of the things we regularly ate included various salty and sweet buns, fried dough (油条 - youtiao) and an egg and flour pancake wrap that is made to order on a circular hot skittle.
Breakfast images: Left to Right/Top to Bottom, (1) fried dough (油条 - youtiao) vendor, (2) breakfast shop with rotating skewer of marinated turkey slices, (3) buying sweet and salty buns and (4) a selection of buns for sale.
Zha Jiang Mian 炸酱面 (fried sauce noodles)
Zha Jiang Mian is a traditional Beijing dish and is the perfect way to stay warm in the chilly March weather in the city. There is a very good authentic Beijing style restaurant right across the street from Joanne's parent's apartment that serves Zha Jiang Mian. The noodles are served with the fried bean/pork paste and various ingredients on the side. Before eating, the sauce and ingredients are all mixed in with the noodles. This was one of my absolute favorite dishes during our trip.
Zha Jiang Mian images: Left to right, (1) The noodles and separate ingredients, (2) The ingredients mixed in with the noodles - ready to eat!
Shanxi (山西 Shānxī) Noodles
One of the staples of the cuisine of the North Western Chinese provence Shānxī is a homemade style of thick noodles that is served with a unique type of vinegar that is used with almost all Shānxī food. The noodles have a delicious taste and robust texture that makes them very filling. Coincidentally, there is a Shānxī restaurant right next to the Zha Jiang Mian restaurant across the street from Joanne's parent's apartment - extremely convenient and tasty!
Shānxī noodle images: Left to Right/Top to Bottom, (1) Joanne enjoying a fresh bowl of Shānxī noodles, (2) close up of noodles on chopsticks, (3) corn bread buns.
Not to be confused with Shānxī, Shaanxi (Shǎnxī) is another North Western provence of China with notable and unique cuisine. We ate lunch at a very authentic and very crowded Shānxī style restaurant in the down town area of Beijing. The restaurant had an open kitchen where the sound of flour being vigorously kneaded for making fresh buns could be heard from the dining room. Moreover, all the waitresses in the restaurant had the same traditional Northern-Chinese haircut. In addition to enjoying many dishes from the fabulous menu, we drank Choujiu, a sweet milky rice wine with lunch - a quick way to warm up on a cold day.
Shǎnxī cuisine images: Left to Right/Top to Bottom, (1) Liang Feng (cold bean curd noodles), (2) Pork mutton burgers, (3) A waitress with the restaurant's distinctive haircut, (4) The open restaurant kitchen.
Farm Fresh Cuisine
After making a quick trip to the Great Wall to take some pictures, we stopped for lunch at restaurant that uses only ingredients from the restaurant's own farm. While there are many of these "farm-style" restaurants near the Great Wall and Ming Tombs, we were guided by a friend who knew one that was actually authentic (apparently there are many "pretend" farm-style restaurants that cater to bus loads of tourists). The restaurant that we ate at was exactly the type of homestyle Chinese cooking that I was hoping to have during our trip to Beijing. Our lunch was fantastic and the low key, rustic country side atmosphere of the restaurant was very relaxing. In terms of food, this meal was probably the best of our whole trip.
Farm cuisine images: Left to right/Top to Bottom (1) A stewed whole chicken, literally everything but the feathers, (2) Corn meal soup, (3, 4) A fresh fish and a picture of the nearby reservoir where the fish was caught, (5) Fresh vegetables, (6) Minimal rustic decor, (7) The entrance to the restaurant.
Fast food in Beijing
The kids suffered a lot from the time change and resulting jet-lag and therefore they were not always eating as well as they normally would. To help make them more comfortable we made a few visits to McDonald's and KFC in Beijing. While KFC has made significant changes to adapt their menu to the local Chinese market, including serving congee for breakfast, McDonald's has resisted any assimilation and remains remarkably consistent in their menu and the taste of their food. One notable difference between Chinese McDonald's restaurants and their US counterparts is the presence of attendants who clean the tables after people are done eating, relieving patrons of the tremendous burden of carrying their trays five feet to the trash bin. The McDonald's uniform for female attendant's is a very cute pink neru collared blouse, pleated skirt and knee-high socks.
In addition to McDonald's and KFC, we also visited a Yoshinoya restaurant in a nearby mall for a more asian-style fast-food experience.
Fast food images: Left to Right/Top to Bottom, (1) A McDonald's branch in Beijing, (2) Sitting down at Yoshinoya, (3, 4, 5) A female McDonald's attendant dressed in their standard cute uniform.
Farmer's market and supermarket
Farmer's markets and large super-markets are abundant in Beijing. So much so that buying fresh groceries on a daily basis is a very practical way of cooking and eating. In my opinion, the singular most impressive sight in Chinese super-markets is the butcher's counter. The quantity and variety of meats available is extraordinary, especially in terms of pork.
Market images: Left to Right/Top to Bottom, (1) Fresh herbs and vegetables, (2) Slicing winter melon, (3) Nuts and beans, (4) Mushrooms, (5) Roasting seeds, (6) Tea eggs, (7) The butcher's counter at a local super-market, (8) Fresh fruits.
Restaurants in Beijing
There are so many restaurants in Beijing, large and small, fancy and simple that there is a great deal of variety available within close proximity to almost anywhere. It would be very easy, and not too expensive to eat every single meal out and never cook at all.
Restaurant images: Left to Right/Top to Bottom, (1) Shānxī restaurant with staff outside for the customary morning meeting, (2) Xīnjiāng restaurant at night, (3, 4) Casual lunch spots.
2. Street Style
Street style pictures are always a big challenge for me since I lack the courage to ask strangers if I can take their picture. I found this challenge to be even more formidable in China where my limited Chinese language skills presented yet another obstacle to confronting people on the street. To keep things simple, the only lens that I brought on this trip was my 50mm Zeiss macro planar. Without a long lens to shoot people from a distance I shot mostly from the hip. Shooting without looking through the viewfinder with a manual focus lens is very much a hit and miss approach and I missed a lot. Consequently, I did not get nearly as many street style pics as I had hoped, but I did get a few that show the general trends on the street in Beijing.
The styles seen on the street in Beijing are very eclectic, with a lot of Japanese influences seen on younger men and women as well as a mix of European and Asian influences in business and casual day wear and evening wear. Amongst the wide range of styles there are some consistencies dictated by the urban Beijing environment (dry and windy) as well as the by the fact that most people in Beijing do significantly more walking or bike riding than the average New Yorker. For example, there are no bare legs to be seen anywhere, even in 65 degree weather. There are almost no high heels aside from kitten heels or boots and there is an overwhelming preference amongst women for pants or tights with shorts - skirts below the knee are almost never seen. Furthermore, scarfs and shawls are in abundance, although sometimes concealed, to be used to wrap the head in the even of an impromptu dust or sand storm.
Street style images: Left to Right, (1) Young girl with leather shorts, leather jacket. Love the zippers on the jacket, (2) Girls in business attire.
Street style images: Left to Right/Top to Bottom, (1) Example of short skirt and tights, (2) Totoro shirt under jacket, (3) Mish-mash of colors, (4) Another example of tights.
Street style images: Left to Right, (1,2) Examples of more urban style. Unfortunately, it seems that lens-less bold frame glasses are just as popular in Beijing as in New York.
Street style images: Left to Right/Top to Bottom, (1) Quilted faux-leather jacket and tights, (2) More tights, (3) Animal prints, especially dogs are the most common tote theme that I saw, (4) Plaids and prints on knitwear are very common (I wish I had more pics of knit-wear prints).
Street style images: Left to Right, (1) Tights, ruffled skirt and boots, (2) Typical example of Beijing urban wear - practical for walking, bike riding (shoulder strap bag, casual shoes).
3. Transportation
Beijing has many different transportation options, some better suited than others to different purposes. For long trips within the city nothing beats the speed and convenience of the subway. The only downside to the subway is that some lines, particularly the #1 line that goes to popular down town tourist spots are extremely crowded. For medium length trips the buses are ideal and very inexpensive. Both the subway and bus lines use a well designed proximity card reader system, however the buses and subway inexplicably do not use the same card! Short trips or trips to areas where buses and the subway do not go are best served by taxis. There is no shortage of taxis in most areas of Beijing and from what I have experienced over the years, the taxis are fairly priced and very courteous.
When I first visited Beijing over ten years ago, Joanne and I went almost everywhere on bikes and there was plenty of company from other bike riders. While there are still a fair number of bikes on the streets of Beijing, they are becoming increasingly marginalized - replaced by cars, motor scooters and electric bikes. Moreover, traffic congestion and the rules of engagement for traffic intersections (i.e. no rules), make riding a bike a somewhat dangerous proposition.
The rapid increase in the number of cars in Beijing is immediately noticeable as is the prominence of high-end luxury cars. Even SUVs have become common place on the streets of Beijing despite their impracticality for parking and navigating narrow streets. 3-Series BMWs and C-Class Mercedes are replacing the once ubiquitous Peugeot and Citroen sedans as the preferred car of the young urban generation. Sadly, automatic transmissions are now common place and petrol is vastly more popular than diesel (diesel is 3 RMB per liter more expensive than petrol). With government controlled prices for fuel in China there is no need to contend with the nonsensical station to station variations of gas prices in the US.
Bike images: Left to Right/Top to Bottom, (1) Despite being prohibited, it is common practice to have riders on the back of bikes, (2) Folding bikes are very popular now, (3) Traditional Beijing bike, inexpensive and practical, (4) Bolding riding amidst traffic.
Transportation images: Left to Right, (1) A young couple waiting for the subway, (2) A family making the most of available seating space on their motor scooter.
Car images: Left to Right/Top to Bottom, (1) 5-Series and 7-Series BMWs are everywhere, (2) I really wish this 120i Coupe was available in the US, (3) A young lady driving a Porsche, (4) More like the kind of car that used to common in Beijing 10 years ago, (5) A bold mockery of a police car - I was really surprised to see this on the streets in Beijing.
5. iPhones
One of my objectives during my trip to Beijing was to buy either the parts to replace the glass front/back of my black iPhone 4 with white (as Steve Wozniak famously has done) or to buy a high quality fake white iPhone. Despite having some inside help, I was unable to get the parts that I was looking for, however fake white iPhones were very easy to come by. In China there are several tiers of fake iPhones, ranging from high-end versions that actually run iOS and cost between 5000 - 6500 RMB (about $600) to very low quality fakes that run Android and cost from 700 - 1500 RMB. Because of the high cost of getting a good fake iPhone, I ended up not buying one, but I did enjoy browsing the huge indoor malls in the electronics district.
Electronics images: Left to Right/Top to Bottom, (1, 3) Inside the vast malls in the electronics district - virtually impossible to navigate without a guide who speaks/reads Chinese, (2) Various fake iPhones for sale.
6. Dogs
I was pleasantly surprised to see how many dogs there are in Beijing since dogs have traditionally not been popular as pets in China. Small breeds, especially asian breeds seem to be the most popular, however I did see quite a few Collies and even a few Golden Retrievers. One of the great things about China is that there is generally not a lot of fuss about things that would probably make most people in the US aghast, such as smoking indoors, windows that open on high rises and parking your car on the sidewalk. One of the benefits of this relaxed mentality towards daly life is that you see people taking their dogs with them everywhere, including walking them in the mall, in restaurants, etc.
Dog images: Left to Right/Top to Bottom, (1,2) Dogs on the street in Beijing, (3,4) Dogs in a mall in Beijing.
7. Bird Watching
I went to Beijing unprepared for doing any serious birding watching. I did no prior research on what I could expect to see in Beijing and I did not bring a field guide. Moreover, I did not bring any long lens for my camera and therefore had no hope of taking any decent bird pictures. Despite not being prepared, I did enjoy seeing a good range of bird species in Beijing. I was not able to find a field guide in local book shops until the end of my trip and therefore I did not identify most of what I saw (I am a novice bird watcher and I cannot recognize many species without the aid of a field guide). Without question, the Black-billed Magpie (pica pica) is by far the most common and most visible species in Beijing. The Black-billed Magpie is a relatively large and easy to see bird and its frequent antics make for great bird watching.
Bird images: Left to Right/Top to Bottom, (1,2) Black-billed Magpies in Beijing, (3) Advertising in the subway for a show on bird photography, (4) The field guide that I eventually purchased - even though the text is mostly Chinese, there is English text with all the plates, so it was still usable for me.
8. Eyeglasses
When I last visited Beijing ten years ago, I bought a pair of eyeglasses made from real glass. I was so pleased with the characteristics of the real glass (doesn't scratch easily, has a nice solid feel) that I decided to buy another pair during my most recent visit. I went to the same eyeglasses store that I had gone to ten years ago. Real glass eyeglasses not nearly as popular as they used to and according to the staff at the store, very few people order them any more (too heavy, too dangerous if they break). The store where I got my glasses is run by an eye research institute and as a result the examination is very professional and accurate, however the selection of frames is very limited. Nonetheless, I found a pair of frames that I liked and got my glasses five days later. Joanne also had her prescription checked and got a new pair of glasses, however she wisely she chose plastic lenses.
Eyeglasses images: Left to Right, (1) My new real glass eyeglasses, (2) Joanne having her eye examined.
9. Daily Life
Some miscellaneous images from daily life in Beijing
Images: Left to Right/Top to Bottom, (1) Corner newsstand, (2) Practicing traditional songs in the park for the upcoming Communist Party anniversary, (3) Covering up as dust swirls in the street.
Images: Left to Right/Top to Bottom, (1) Buildings as seen from the park, (2) Winston taking a break inside a local mall, (3) Varying colors and textures of buildings, (4) Joanne's parent's 40+ year-old wok atop a high-output cooktop burner typical of Chinese homes.
What a great travelogue! I really felt as if I was there being guided by you. Besides describing the wonderful array of foods, I nearly fell out of my chair when you talked about taking the kids to MacDonalds and KFC. I think they should waitresses in the MacDonalds here. :)
Of course the fashion descriptions were very enlighttening and the trip to the electronics mall really peaked my interest. Any fake iPads? Android iPhones? How far into the future are we.
Oh, BTW. The photos were great,... especially the street stuff. Did anyone object?
Posted by: Melgreer.wordpress.com | 03/29/2011 at 05:08 PM
Hi Mel,
Thank you for your comment. No one objected to any of the street photos because I never asked permission and mostly shot from the hip or from an angle such that it was not obvious that I was taking the person's picture. If I had been braver and asked permission there are a lot of much better shots that I could've had...oh well.
Yes, in fact there is a fake version of the iPad along with a large number of differently sized and shaped Chinese no-brand Android tablets. I'm not sure I would trust the quality of any of them though. The electronics mall is definitely a fun place to browse, but I am wary of buying anything there.
Posted by: John Painter | 03/30/2011 at 02:55 AM