CK was out and about in the evening in April with a film crew from Beijing Tourism Bureau, preparing new products for 2022! We visited several fascinating sites and met two inheritors of Beijing’s intangible cultural heritage.
Read on to find out where we went and who we met!
We started out in the Dashilan area, meeting two inheritors of traditional arts and crafts in Beijing. The first was Da Yang, the fifth generation inheritor of the craft of making cloth shoes at Neiliansheng, who showed AJ how to sew the soles – it’s more difficult than it looks! One of China’s ‘time honoured brands’, Neiliansheng supplied shoes to court officials for many years after its founding in 1853.
[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”13″ display=”basic_slideshow” order_by=”sortorder”]One of Beijing’s most famous – and only indigenous – folk characters is the Rabbit Lord. According to legend, he saved the people of Beijing from a serious plague (where is he now?!). Mr Zhang’s family have been producing ceramic Rabbit Lords for five generations, and in his tiny shop on Yangmeizhu Byway (near Dashilan) he showed AJ how to make them!
[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”15″ display=”basic_slideshow”]At Caicifang’s beautiful covered courtyard, AJ learnt several techniques used to repair broken antique ceramics including drilling with a handheld drill, sanding and painting. All the ceramics at Caicifang are sourced by the founder of the business who specialises in antiques.
[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”20″ exclusions=”269,270″ display=”basic_slideshow”]We took an evening stroll around the Caochang Ten Alleys neighbourhood east of Qianmen, a peaceful network of hutongs and former guild halls that is still picturesque, if sterile, after redevelopment. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”17″ exclusions=”262,263″ display=”basic_slideshow”]White Dagoba Temple is a Tibetan Buddhist temple, and one of Beijing’s most famous. The dagoba was built in the early years of the Yuan Dynasty (1271 to 1368) by Nepalese architect Araniko. It’s hard to see from inside the temple compound though, and is best viewed from the terrace of one of the nearby coffee shops.
[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”19″ exclusions=”268,267″ display=”basic_slideshow”]The Shichahai area is perfect for boating and strolling on a summer evening – if you don’t mind crowds or loud music blaring from bars! The lakes used to connect to Beihai and Zhongnanhai as part of the huge Taiye Lake, constructed in the Yuan Dynasty as a summer resort for the emperor.
[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”18″ exclusions=”264,265,266″ display=”basic_slideshow”]Beihai Park, one of the largest Chinese gardens in the world, is quiet and atmospheric after dark, and is a great place for an evening stroll to admire the reflections of the lit-up buildings on the water. There is another dagoba here on the central island, built in 1651 to honor the visit of the fifth Dalai Lama. The camera crew filmed AJ doing taichi in a quiet pavilion on the lake shore.
[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”16″ exclusions=”260,261″ display=”basic_slideshow”]While the idea of any tourism in Beijing seems a bit far off right now, we still have to focus on the future, and that’s exactly what exploration and experimentation efforts like these do, give us hope that things are going to get better and that we do have something to look forward to once life returns back to normal here in the Chinese capital!
So stick with us! Hopefully we’ll have news on upcoming events, experiences and opportunities, including all the new places we visited last month, for you very soon!
What do you think of the places we visited and experiences we enjoyed? Have you tried any of them? Do you have any recommendations for other places we should visit or hidden gem experiences we should try? Let us know in the comments below. We always love hearing your thoughts and insights!
Photo Credits
– Cultural Keys
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Cultural Keys helps you access, understand and enjoy life in China through traditional Chinese culture. Click here to read more about Cultural Keys and what we can do for you, your school, company or group to help you get more out of your time in China!