The air is thick with humidity and the soupy smog from the million cars that clog the arteries of downtown Beijing. Without warning, 24 peasant soldiers in pea-green uniforms turn a corner and come marching down the narrow sidewalk, human automatons with no intention of changing path. A collision with the People's Liberation Army is imminent.
As always, I opt to hop out of the way. That precipitates an explosion of bicycle bells and commands. Brrring, Trriiing. Rrrring. Get out of the way, friend. I've forgotten it's 4 p.m., the start of bicycle rush hour, still a fact of life in a city where most of the 15 million can't afford a car. With my toes still intact, I jump back onto the sidewalk, just as the last PLA soldier passes by, his cotton slippers slapping on the white-hot concrete.
A generation ago, life in Beijing used to be about romantic bicycle rides under the weeping willows and languorous encounters with Chinese life. After two decades of runaway growth, though, China's ancient capital is often an exhausting maelstrom of urban pressures. The sublime is getting harder and harder to find. Yes, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace are all still much as they were. But you'll have to fight traffic and crowds to see them.
 |
| Summer Palace |
My tip for brushes with the real China is simple. Ply the capital's back streets and forgotten lanes -- because that is where you can still find the fragments of the old Beijing: The bicycle repairmen who pump up your tires for free; the white-haired pensioners in bright blue Mao suits; even a near-collision with the boy-soldiers of the PLA on guard duty.
Flustered and hot after nearly becoming bicycle road kill, with my clothes clammy in the 40-degree weather and summer's near 95-per-cent humidity, I spot a patio under the willows. It is felicitously named the Cheers Bar. I sit down. The waitress looks up from her English dictionary and ambles over.
Beijing Jia pi, ma? she asks, which she happily translates in her broken English. Beijing drafty beer? Xie, xie, I say, using the Mandarin for thanks.
Twenty seconds later, she slams down an iced mug on the plastic table (waitresses in Beijing all seem to slam down dishes). She returns to her English studies and leaves me to watch the world go by.
It's then that the three birdmen arrive, a trio with white tufts of hair and the sort of steel dental work popular in the days of Mao. They come marching down the sidewalk, each holding two birdcages at their sides, which they swing back and forth in pendulous arcs as they walk. It's to keep the birds exercised, one man says, catching me looking. They must use their leg and wing muscles to keep from falling.
The old men stop in front of the Cheers patio, each picking a tree to hang their bamboo cages. The birds, finally at rest, burst into song and the men squat on the sidewalk, lighting up 555 cigarettes and taking out a game of Chinese checkers. One climbs onto the patio, orders three beers out to the sidewalk and then waves for me to join him under the shade.
I do. It turns out to be the best lesson in Chinese checkers I've ever had. And every time I pass him, he gives me his steel-coated smile and asks how my game is -- giving me a connection with this sprawling metropolis that I love.
 |
| Palace Museum |
Best time to visit
September and October are best to see Beijing. The temperatures are cooler, compared with the relentless furnace of full summer; the afternoon light also turns things the sort of gold you see only in Hollywood movies. Autumn winds also blow away the shroud of smog, returning the sky to a remarkable blue.
May is second best. The temperatures are in the 20s; the city's grey mood is given a lift by the budding trees and rose bushes. But there's also the chance of dust storms from the Gobi Desert, a remarkable sight but one that will make walking the street a gritty experience.
A great 24 hours
Get up with the sun and go to Ritan Park, in the city's downtown, near the heart of the old embassy district. Mist will hang over the Chinese garden, ponds and pagodas. Beijing's seniors will be under the trees doing qi gong, or perhaps holding onto a tree or rock in quiet Taoist meditation. Look for the men walking backward, to prolong their life. Listen for the warble of the Chinese opera aficionados, who are usually under one of the pagodas. Then walk to any of the park's gates, where you should buy a few steamed buns and some jasmine tea, to appreciate the tranquillity.
Then grab a taxi (take the red, 1.60-renminbi ones) and ask for Tiananmen. They will know what you mean. Once there, go Chinese. Buy a 20-rmb ($4 Canadian) dragon kite and throw it to the wind. If you don't know how, don't worry, a Beijinger will soon be helping you for free.
Then walk North toward the giant Portrait of Mao, which hangs over the Forbidden City's main gate. Enter and wander for an hour yourself, getting lost in the immense labyrinth of imperial courtyards. Eventually, you'll find an exit, with more taxis waiting. Ask the driver to take you the hour's drive to Badaling, the renovated part of the Great Wall. (It should be about 300 rmb return). Climb the wall, find one of the noodle restaurants and sit on the wall for the spectacular sight of the wall stretching over the craggy mountains. Then walk it for a few hours.
Return to Beijing's Sanlitun nightlife district for a dinner at the Green Teahouse (tel. 6468-5903). In this exquisitely renovated and little-known teahouse, you can eat tea-leaf dumplings and beer flavoured with tea. Head south on Sanlitun to the Bar District for nightcaps. Look for the Jam House, where you can sit on the rooftop and watch the neon-lit nightlife in an old Chinese neighbourhood.
When you're exhausted, take another taxi to the Lu Song Yuan Hotel, where a small but clean room (with private bath about $90 Canadian a night) in an old courtyard house will give you a taste of life in a real hutong.
Tip for the first timer: If you don't speak Mandarin, always have your guidebook and the business card of your hotel.
Best street food
Yangrou (you will smell it from a block away): the aroma of burning coal and lamb on a skewer, cooked on Hibachi-like grills set up on street corners. It's only 2 rmb a skewer (40 cents), but one of the pleasures of Beijing. City planners don't like the migrant workers who sell these delights, so yangrou vendors are getting harder to find. But follow your nose, they are still around. They also usually have a cooler of beer; but only drink from a bottle that was sealed. In winter, check the smaller streets for the big steel oil drums that have been turned into cookers, atop which you will find roasted yams. Ask for a pair of chopsticks, these yams are hot, but cheap at 2 rmb apiece.
Another tip: never eat undercooked food or cold dishes from small restaurants that you don't know. The Chinese have stomachs like cast iron; you don't.
Shopping
If you don't worry about the ethics of intellectual property theft, then the best place to shop is the Silk Market, to which every hotel bellboy can direct you. There are knockoffs of designer wallets, clothes and watches -- all at about a hundredth of the price of the real thing but also at about a thousandth of the quality. They still are, however, great gifts. And there are traditional Chinese silk products, from slippers to scarves, which are worth taking back home.
For a chance at finding old Chinese pottery or Cultural Revolution posters, head to Panjiayuan -- known by ex-pats as the Dirt Market. About 15 minutes from downtown, it's open every Saturday and Sunday morning, when hundreds of peasants from the countryside come to Beijing to unload their wares. You can find great stuff, but a lot of it is also fake.
For furniture, try Curio City (6773-6018), which is a short walk from Panjiayuan. Inside the cavernous building are hundreds of dealers, who will sell you everything from knickknacks to beds fit for an emperor. Wherever you go, though, remember everything is negotiable in China -- so never start with a bid less than 50 per cent off what is being asked.
Absolutely must not miss
Yes, there are too many cars. And the air is usually terrible and you don't know when a lane might end in a rank public toilet. But don't leave Beijing without trying a few hours on a bicycle. Most of the hotels can tell you where to rent one, usually for $5 a half-day. Then get off the main roads and explore Beijing at random. Bicycling is still the most relaxing way of getting around the city and its hutongs, those old neighbourhoods that are being demolished at a stunning rate. Don't worry about getting lost or going too far. Just stop, flag down a cab and tell the driver to put your bike in the trunk. Any resistance will evaporate for a small $2 (Canadian) tip.
Most overrated
The worst way to see China is in a tour group. And the mother of all bad tour groups is the state-run China Travel Service. Yes, they will ensure your buses run on time and that there's a dinner reservation. But the translators, who usually spout out propaganda slogans in bad English, suck out the charm of being in Beijing. They will take you to the predictable spots the government wants tour groups to see, they will give you the same set meals they've been preparing for years. If you want to stop somewhere off the itinerary, they usually won't. Most people use China Travel Service runs because they can't communicate in Chinese and want a protective cocoon. But the truth is, Beijing is one of the safest cities in Asia, aside from the crazy drivers. Bring some walking shoes, buy some bottled water and explore solo. A guide hired through the hotel is also a good option.
A cellphone as guide
Think about renting a mobile phone, usually available from most four- and five-star hotels. In Beijing, mobile calls are cheap and the phone enables you to get around the language barrier when pointing at the map isn't working.
Just dial the number of your destination, hand the phone to the driver, and let the other side figure out how to tell the cabbie where you want to go.
For information, contact the China National Tourist Office, 480 University Ave., Suite 806, Toronto M5G 1V2, phone (416) 599-6636 or toll-free (866) 599-6636.
Great cities: An insider's guide
Each week a Globe correspondent will walk you through the best and worst of their cities.
JUNE 16
Simon Houpt's New York
JUNE 23
Heather Mallick's Paris
LAST SATURDAY
John Doyle's Dublin
JULY 14
Doug Saunders' Los Angeles
JULY 21
Chrissy Iley's London
Advertisement
