I was welcomed back to Beijing with a murky sea of smog and the whistling calls of my parents at the arrival gate. It had been 8 months since I had seen them during my 72 hour visa-free transit. Our first stop before home was to a Sichuan restaurant, Yuxin, where my favorite cold chicken dish, 口水鸡, which literally translates to “saliva chicken,” tasted just as good as Iremember. Belly full of spices and smog, I finally stepped into my parents’ new apartment rental in the flashy center of town, Sanlitun, the Soho of Beijing.
The view the next morning, and every morning thereafter, was of the multistoried H&M and surrounding glass buildings, and on a crystal clear day, a tiny heap of mountains behind the Apple store.
First thing’s first–I called my closest friends and met up for dinner at Four Corners, a Vietnamese restaurant and bar we used to frequent for drinking and dancing. It’s on a backstreet in Gulou, our favorite part of town for its hutongs (ancient alleyways) and laid-back, “old China” vibe, aka the Brooklyn of Beijing. It’s the area where hip foreigners and locals graffiti demolished walls, sip top-shelf whisky in smoky, hidden bars, collaborate on creative projects in cafes decorated with local artwork, and where the government is reclaiming public land to be “preserved,” which normally means to be converted into a glamorized and profitable “historical landmark.”
On another day, I took the subway to Wudaokou to meet a friend for lunch at The Bridge Cafe, where my graduate school friends and I watched Obama get re-elected (oh, the good ol’ days), stayed through the night doing homework, and gossiped over the huge breakfast deals with my girlfriends after a long night bar-hopping. Wudaokou is the college hub of Beijing, packed with students, Korean restaurants, Korean bakeries, Korean cafes, and the scariest intersection in Beijing.
Aside from these two meals with friends, I haven’t ventured out of Sanlitun much. It’s funny that when my parents and I lived in another corner of the city, our “venturing out” was taking the hour long subway ride to Sanlitun. Now that we live here, I want to venture out to other places, away from the lights and glass buildings, but my parents are content. At least on the 17th floor, I can’t hear all the cars outside!
Besides, we’ll be heading to other cities soon: Sanya, Kunming, Urumqi, and Chongqing! Stay tuned 🙂
My Attempt at Coherently Expressing my Thoughts on the Election