Peking Under the Covers

Beijing is a big step away from both the western-influenced Hong Kong and the laid-back atmosphere of Chengdu. In fact, the atmosphere is virtually toxic. But aside from the chemicals in the air the city’s got a great chemistry. As the political capital of the People’s Republic people are generally more wary of and less impressed by foreigners, but overall the people are very friendly and there are loads of fun stuff to do. Before flying to Beijing the Chengdu airport gave me two choices: Chinese restaurant this way or Western-style restaurant that way. As they say, “when in Rome do as the Romans do,” so I went to Pizza Hut. After all, my friends and I were craving a taste of the motherland, and we had a bottle of baijiu we thought might go nicely with some greasy cheese. A couple of things to note here about China –

1. Baijiu is a popular grain alcohol that’s usually over 100-proof. Little known fact: despite many Asian people being literally allergic to alcohol (see “alcohol flush reaction” aka “Asian glow”), the Chinese go hard. My first meal in Beijing - Exhibit A of going hard. It came not with water but with complimentary radioactive waste. Restaurants don’t always have water, but you’ll always find either Coke, Sprite, tea, or beer.My friend Rosalie after waltzing over to a nearby table of strangers and yelling gan bei! (basically Chinese for “bottoms up”) Then they gave us cigarettes because that's what people often do in China as a token of courtesy.
2. Cheese is a very rare commodity.
3. Since I’m on the topic of dairy, milk also tastes super different. It’s less creamy because it’s not as mixed with other types of milk or standardized or necessarily pasteurized.
4. Yogurt is more of a liquid and you drink it with a straw.
5. Enough about dairy. Pizza Huts are actually high-end bistro-style restaurants in China, which I find hilarious. Also hilarious is that China never seems to hire actual English speakers. "Beware of slip when you take the vehicle. Rather more curves, to insure your safety, please hold the armrest and not close to the door”. These amazing translations are very common and never get old.
6. KFCs are ubiquitous, and while other western chains might have a Chinese spin to their overseas products, KFC tastes exactly like KFC. Another little known fact: watermelon is also ubiquitous, adding to the stereotype that everybody loves fried chicken and watermelon.

First thing I see in the Beijing airport. My clandestine photograph doesn't show the completely necessary machine gun that guy #2 is wielding.

There’s a great nightlife scene in Beijing, complete with two popular student districts called Sanlitun and Wudaokou, as well as networks of alleyways called hutongs that house niche shops, niche music spots, cool bars, and hipsters who weren’t quite hip enough for the west.

Sanlitun bar called Smugglers that sports graffiti on the walls, really cheap alcohol, and even Princeton students

Club aptly named “Mix”. Massive, packed, and an army of tattooed Chinese dudes behind the DJ booth yelling into the mic about being from Cali and throwing up Westside and Cripps gang signs. The guy on stage in the mask was absolutely killing it

Another must-see district stems from the street called the 798. This is a popular artsy area loaded with galleries, public art displays, and unique restaurants, bars, coffee shops and merchandise.

I comfortably walked into this place of business and watched people paint, even though nothing was for sale and nobody else was there…I guess I don’t look like one of the riff-raff.

This street art obviously evokes the shadow of capitalism lurking beneath the glory of the Communist Party. Totally.

I believe this street sign serves no purpose other than to make my day.

One portrait from the 798 that really encapsulates Beijing.

I was able to hit most of the major tourist sights. Let me tell you, everything but the Great Wall is overrated due to throngs of Chinese tourists and commercialization. Here you can see several other main attractions, not including the Mao Mausoleum which literally houses the Chairman’s corpse, several other main attractions, and not a single blue sky to be found.

The glorious harbinger of a new dawn of civilization is harder to picture when smothered by a grey monolith of pollution.

In Tiananmen Square, across the street from the Forbidden City, where absolutely nothing happened in 1989.

The not-so-Forbidden City.

Highway to Heaven, Temple of.

I came, I saw, I pretended that I conquered.

All pictures courtesy of Jeremy Bell.