After five long years we were finally able to get back to Beijing for a visit. Remembering back to before the 2008 Olympics and after it seemed at the time that Beijing was becoming overrun with foreigners. Maybe that was good (for those foreigners, and for the economy) but it seemed to make the place less fun from my perspective. When I lived there I always wanted to get away from the tourist scene. Now it seems it’s been going in the opposite direction, probably due to economic factors, as well as the collapse of travel agencies from Covid and political factors. While there are now foreign visitors to be found, it is still markedly less than I remember.
Many old streets are either improved or unrecognizable, but we did stumble into quite a number of Hutongs (antique alleyway residential areas) and much of the old Beijing, culturally is still going strong. I thought attitudes would modernize and change but from my perspective at this point that is barely blip on the radar. I won’t say it has not changed, of course it has, but the city and culture I remember has definitely not been overwhelmed.
I had the great pleasure of two rather dedicated students from this Asian side of the globe making the effort to travel to Beijing to train in the mornings and pal around in the afternoons which may have been even more fun for me than it was for them. Selfishly I am not sorry. They were also a helpful influence on my teenage son, who is finally able to start to actually see China as the last time he was here he was 8 years old.
These Hutong used to be very messy, often with dirt roads and plenty of trash. At least in the area we were in the roads were paved, but some areas of course are still dirty, preserving the proper character. We also did get to have some local Hutong food from little window takeout shops just like the old days; this was my staple breakfasts when training with Feng Zhiqiang in the late 1990’s. This time it was not at all disappointing, and actually quite hot, clean and delicious. Beijing, historically favoring ‘liangshi’ or pastas and breads, essentially wheat or specifically buckwheat based diet more than rice this aspect of the local food is excellent and hearty fuel for gongfu practice. (more…)
