I know that the smog and sandstorms in Beijing are enough to take a breath; I know that I can’t get used to Beijing’s bean juice and braised stew. I know that Beijing’s autumn is actually not as beautiful as Hangzhou’s Beishan Road; I know that Beijing is actually nothing Okay, but I still want to go, I really want to live in a courtyard hotel.
Accommodation: Unnamed Courtyard Hotel
Comments: Experience the feeling of living in a courtyard. The location given by the front desk was not particularly easy to find. After wandering around in the alleys around, the lady at the front desk of the hotel came out to pick us up. The hotel is located at the deep end of the Hutong. Walk northward to Gulou Street, and walk southward until you reach Nanluoguxiang. The gate and the courtyard are very royal style, haha. It feels very novel. The breakfast is very good, you can choose what you want within a limited range, and you can add unlimited amounts.
Itinerary Day 1: Nanluoguxiang → Jingshan Park → Temple of Heaven → Dashilan → National Grand Theater → Tiananmen
Day 2: Beiluoguxiang → Red Brick Art Museum → 798 Art District → Guijie Street
Day 3: Jingshan Park→Forbidden City D1: Nanluogu→Jingshan→Temple of Heaven→Dashilan→Tiananmen On the first day in Beijing, I first went to the hotel (Home Inn Beijing Shichahai Drum Tower Jiaodaokou) to drop off my luggage and take a short rest. Then we set off to Nanluoguxiang (it is only a few hundred meters from the hotel to Nanluoguxiang, just a distance from the intersection). In fact, it is not surprising that there are many tourists and many shops here, which are not in touch with the imagined old Beijing folk customs. Hutongs may still be there, but there is no solidified history, and the past, folk customs, traditions, and styles it carried have been completely destroyed by people, and the bones are ashes (of course, it is recommended to come here, and the experience is also good).
So with a trace of unspeakable melancholy, we just passed the famous Nanluoguxiang in a hurry.
Wenyu Cheese Shop (Nanluoguxiang)
Nanluoguxiang There are many cheese shops worth trying in Beijing, and Wenyu Cheese in Nanluoguxiang is one of them.
Nanluoguxiang
Wenyu Cheese Shop (Nanluoguxiang Branch) turns into a door at random, and there are many snacks inside. The glutinous rice and candied haws are delicious!
Nanluoguxiang This is a steamed bun shop outside Nanluoguxiang, with a queue like a long queue. Later, a friend in Beijing saw complaints on Weibo. I don’t know what the inexplicable attraction is. Every day, there are countless grandpas and aunts queuing up to buy steamed buns (the queue is really long, so we didn’t join in the fun).
As if a cry came from the depths of the alley, the charm of the old Beijing faintly returned. However, with the rapid development of commercialization, large courtyards, public toilets, and crowded alleys are gradually disappearing. The memory of the tight life gradually fades away, and the appearance of the future life vaguely emerges on the distant horizon. All kinds of people in the courtyard begin to face different opportunities and choices from the past, and the peaceful life in the alley gradually becomes turbulent.
Nanluoguxiang, Beiluoguxiang From Nanluoguxiang, it is not far from the most popular sugar-fried chestnut "Autumn Lixiang" in the north, so we planned to go to buy a bag to try (there are really many people, all queuing to buy chestnuts; If you want to buy other products, you don’t need to queue up, just go to the window to find other staff).
Autumn Lixiang (Di'anmen Store)
Qiu Lixiang (Di'anmen) took the chestnuts, and we went into the alley to Jingshan Park. Tired from walking, I just sat in front of the red door to take a rest, and gnawed some chestnuts with relish
The opening chapter of "Memory of Beijing" said, "Thirty years ago, there were two best places to climb up and overlook the whole city of Beijing. One was the Wanchun Pavilion in Jingshan, and the other was the White Pagoda of Yong'an Temple in Beihai."
The journey was in a hurry, and we regretted not going to Chengbai Pagoda Temple, so we went up to Jingshan Mountain to take a look at the Forbidden City, a city that is so big that it makes people feel at a loss. The smoggy weather on the first day made the Forbidden City look unreal, but it also had a different flavor. (About the Forbidden City, there are more things to say later, we will talk about it on the third day, hehe)
(A map of Jingshan Park is attached below↓↓↓)
Jingshan Park stands in the middle of the tallest pavilion in Jingshan Park, on the same line as Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and Di'anmen Square, which is the central axis of Beijing.
Jingshan Park
Jingshan Park
Jingshan Park
Jingshan Park
Jingshan Park The Wansui Gate (South Gate) of Jingshan Park is directly facing the Shenwu Gate (tourist exit) of the Forbidden City.
Forbidden City
Considering the excitement of the Forbidden City in just one day, we did not arrange to enter the Forbidden City after we got off Jingshan, but turned around and took the bus to go for a walk outside the Temple of Heaven (because the nature is not big, so we didn’t go in, just stood glanced from a distance on the flyover).
The Temple of Heaven is located on the east side of Yongdingmennei Street in Dongcheng District. It was the place where emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties worshiped the heaven and prayed for a good harvest (the Hall of Prayer for Harvests is in the distance in the picture).
After wandering around the Temple of Heaven for a long time, my stomach began to growl unsatisfactorily——for the first dinner in Beijing, we had already decided to try Beijing Roast Duck. I checked the official account of Delicious No Waiting, and the Qianmen store of Siji Minfu in Dashilan was a little less crowded (although the truth...it will be tears if I don’t say it), so we continued to take the bus to Dashilan ( Sigh: If you play for a long time, the bus card is really convenient).
After waiting for about an hour and a half, it was finally our turn (we were so hungry that we couldn’t wait to enter the door. Of course, in the queue at the door, you can still eat and drink to relieve your hunger)!
By the way, here is one more thing, there are many roast duck restaurants in Beijing, such as the old brand Quanjude, and some new Siji Minfu.
Dashilan is located in the center of Beijing in ancient times. "Ma Juyuan on the head, Neiliansheng on the feet, wearing Badaxiang, and four constants around the waist" all refer to the status and prosperity of Dashilan in the early years. There is a catchphrase in old Beijing that goes "Go to the overpass to see things, and go to Dashilan to buy things." Dashilan is a prosperous commercial street outside Qianmen.
Dashilan The gate of Dashilan is facing Zhengyangmen, which is the front gate. It is the main south gate of the inner city of Beijing in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is a representative work of the old Beijing city wall architecture (one of the "Nine Gates of the Capital"). Now only the city tower and the arrow tower remain, and it is the only relatively complete city gate in Beijing. . There is also the Beijing Folklore Exhibition Hall on the tower.
Zhengyangmen walked eastward from the west city, and this was the plan to go to Tiananmen. On the way, I also passed the Great Hall of the People and the National Grand Theater (these two are the same distance from each other), so I watched it while walking.
It is worth mentioning that the days we went coincided with the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China...
Great Hall of the People
The National Grand Theater of China "Go to Tiananmen to see Chairman Mao", this sentence was once the long-cherished wish of many parents and grandparents who came to Beijing. The night of Tiananmen Square is different from the daytime, and there is a little more quiet beauty in the solemnity. Perhaps the cool weather in late autumn and the bleak cold wind disturbed the interest of some tourists. When we came, there were few people in front of the square, but the soldiers on guard still stood upright with solemn faces.
It was getting late at night in Tiananmen Square, and the weather was getting colder and colder. We took the subway back to the hotel slowly, ending our first day of travel...
Speaking of subway stations, among the ones we passed by, Lama Temple Station was the most impressive (all the columns in the station are made of positive red, and the guardrails are all made of carved white marble. The carved guardrails are lined up between the staggered floors, and the patterns include Traditional Chinese patterns such as dragons and peonies), ordinary stairs have been transformed into carved stone bridges here, adding a touch of Chinese flavor. (Unfortunately did not shoot hahaha)
(Below is the platform of Line 1 of Beijing Tiananmen Subway Station)
D2: Beiluoguxiang → Red Brick Art Museum → 798 → Guijie Xiaoyan Pancake is a pancake stand at the entrance of the hotel. Every time we passed by it the day before, we saw a long queue at it, so we hand-picked it for today’s breakfast!
The pancake stand is very popular, and the taste is naturally not bad. It can be called the Chinese version of Subway (hahaha, personal opinion, personal opinion), and the price is still affordable~
Eating the pancakes at hand, the next day’s trip to Beijing officially started from Beiluoguxiang, which is just across the street from Nanluoguxiang. Beiluoguxiang is under the jurisdiction of Andingmen Sub-district Office. Relatively symmetrical (many east-west directions, including Xiejia Hutong, Pure Land Hutong, etc.). It's just not as neat as Nanluo. Because it is close to the root of the city wall, the people who live there are basically ordinary people.
Fortunately, our trip to Beijing coincided with gold merchants, and the falling yellow on the ground is really fascinating. Autumn is a feeling, feeling the earth, feeling you—
Beiluoguxiang
Beiluoguxiang
Beiluoguxiang
Beiluoguxiang
Beiluoguxiang
Beiluoguxiang
Beiluoguxiang
Beiluoguxiang
Beiluoguxiang is still full of autumn brewing in Beiluoguxiang, we spent a whole morning here unknowingly. Although I was reluctant to leave, I still took the subway to the next theme of today, "Art Beijing" (I plan to visit several art galleries near the 798 Park, and then visit the artist shops in the park).
The first thing we came to was the Red Brick Art Museum, which has a very eye-catching appearance. At that time, the group exhibition "Germany 8 - German Art in China" was staged in Beijing. Naturally, Red Brick also had a branch exhibition (there were also some other exhibitions on display) exhibition of Chinese artists). The material properties of the red brick itself and its craftsmanship can form and even emphasize the narrative of the space. As the saying goes, every piece of red brick should have life. It just so happened that I was very interested in Aalto at the time, so I couldn’t help but have a comparison in my mind—the Red Brick Art Museum has many vertical windows, but they are more formal, and there are fewer conflicts between light sources that are truly ingenious (on the contrary, Aalto More rigorous design for each fenestration). Furthermore, perhaps it is too full of spatial sketches, which makes this work less of a charm of succession and transformation. But in general, it is still a very distinctive art museum, and the back garden in the museum is also suitable for playing.
After meeting for the first time and visiting briefly, I still agree with the following evaluation: Red Brick Art Museum is very suitable for Wen Qing to find the local space that he expects to see. It is a building that emphasizes technique but less narrative.
Beijing Red Brick Art Museum
Beijing Red Brick Art Museum
Beijing Red Brick Art Museum
Beijing Red Brick Art Museum
Beijing Red Brick Art Museum
Beijing Red Brick Art Museum
Beijing Red Brick Art Museum
Beijing Red Brick Art Museum
Beijing Red Brick Art Museum
Beijing Red Brick Art Museum Beijing Minsheng Art Museum is our second stop. The purpose of coming here is even clearer: "The Language of Photography - Düsseldorf Academy" (one of the 8 group exhibition projects in Germany). Thomas Ruff's "Certificate Photos" series and the works of artists such as Gursky and the Bechers all touched me deeply. details).
798 Art District Go out from the Minsheng Art Museum, and after a few more steps, you will arrive at an art utopia - 789 Art District.
The 798 from 2002 to 2006 has a status similar to "Utopia". At that time, there was no one on the whole road of 798. In the beginning there were only scattered artists, but most of them were workers. At that time, the workers were wearing overalls and were still producing.
Around 2005 was the peak period for galleries to enter 798. Continuing Gallery, Beijing Commune, and Tang Contemporary Art Center successively moved in. Since then, bars, restaurants, and fashion institutions have begun to target 798.
After 2007 and 2008, as Chinese contemporary art ushered in a "bubble period", "798 also rapidly became a bubble". The rapid entry of the capital market, the sharp rise in rents, galleries and shops quickly changed the avant-garde and rebellious blood of 798, and the artistic atmosphere of 798 gradually weakened.
The commercialization of 798 has its "reasonable" development. After all, many art districts in the world have similar experiences. But if you look at it from an artistic point of view, 798 may be slowly losing its aura.
798 Art District
798 Art District
798 Art District
798 Art District
798 Art District
798 Art District
798 Art Zone798 Art Zone
798 Art District
798 Art District
798 Art Zone 798 Art Zone played in 798 until it was dark, and we set off back to the hotel.
Gui Street next to the hotel is naturally the best choice for dinner (in fact, it should be considered a late-night snack haha), so we decided to go out for food after a short rest in the hotel. The gourmets on Guijie Street mainly serve spicy crayfish, some grilled fish, spicy bullfrog, and shabu-shabu hot pot.
Gui Street was actually called "Ghost Street" before. As for the reason, here is a portal (you can take a look at it if you are interested):
http://mini.eastday.com/mobile/170108053455935.html
Hu Da Restaurant on Guijie Street is quite popular, and the spicy crayfish is their signature. Rao, we came here at 9:30 at night, and saw a long line of diners waiting to be served, and even foreign visitors with suitcases (Huda has many branches in Guijie, and we went to several They all got numbers, and the queues are all 99+, and several big stores are all lined up to numbers 400-500).
Of course, I also saw some sayings on Zhihu, saying that Hu Da’s queue has a lot of trust, here is a portal:
https://www.zhihu.com/question/30411304
Hu Da Restaurant (Guijie Main Branch)
Hu Da Restaurant (Guijie Main Branch) didn’t want to wait for Hu Da’s long queue, so we went to a well-reputed Qimen Shabufang (it also has two stores on Guijie Street, and we went to the old one). After waiting at the door for a while, we finally got to the table. Steaming hot pot and fresh beef and mutton, together with a bottle of Arctic Ocean, let the night slowly pass here.
Qimen Pork Shabu (Guijie Branch)
Qimen Pork Shabu (Guijie Branch)
Qimen Pork Shabu (Guijie Branch)
Qimen Shabufang (Guijie Branch) D3: There are many breakfast options near Jingshan Park→Forbidden City Hotel. We bumped into this one on the road and went in to solve the breakfast. Entering through the narrow door of the dumpling restaurant, the lively breakfast life in Beijing has just begun. If you are used to eating, wouldn’t it be nice to eat a bowl of fried liver? Just come and pack the family’s breakfast in the crisper).
After breakfast, the day was really good. The smog on the first day made us not satisfied with the trip to Jingshan, so after thinking about it for a while, we decided to go to Jingshan Park early before entering the Forbidden City.
The first day came to Jingshan in the afternoon, so I didn't meet this interesting "Beijing Senior Choir". Listening to their singing, the good mood of the day starts from here~
Jingshan Park is less shrouded in smog, and the Forbidden City is a bit more transparent, giving it a special taste.
In the distance of Jingshan Park is the White Pagoda of Yong’an Temple in Beihai. ).
Jingshan Park
The smog in Jingshan Park dissipated, and the figure of the Forbidden City became clearer. The ancient buildings also need maintenance and repairs under the baptism of years.
Jingshan Park
The Forbidden City came out of Jingshan Park, and finally I was going to the Forbidden City that I was thinking about.
It has been 609 years since the decision to build the Forbidden City in Beijing. The Forbidden City has more than 720,000 square meters and more than 9,000 palace houses. A total of 24 emperors and one Empress Cixi have ruled China here for nearly 500 years. For hundreds of years, the sad and happy lives of successive emperors in the palaces have happened here, and too many unknown secrets have happened here.
The Forbidden City has the most official historical materials and play guides about the Forbidden City. I recommend you to browse the official website of the Forbidden City (which contains ticket information, opening hours, various marked maps and play routes, etc.). The following is the portal:
http://www.dpm.org.cn/Visit.html
At present, tickets for the Forbidden City are purchased online, and admission is divided into morning or afternoon. Tickets for the Clock and Watch Museum and the Treasure Museum need to be purchased separately. Of course, you can also buy it on third-party platforms such as Meituan, Taobao, etc.
The following is the map of the Forbidden City (marked with unopened areas) and the official recommendation of the one-day tour route (the source of the map is the official website of the Forbidden City).
Forbidden City
When the Forbidden City enters the city, whether intentionally or unintentionally, it will leave images that reflect each other with the city and become part of its memory. Today's Forbidden City welcomes and sends tens of thousands of Chinese and foreign tourists every day.
Forbidden City
Forbidden City
The Forbidden City When we went to the Forbidden City, "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" was on display (but because we went too late, the queue was full, which is a pity).
Forbidden City
The largest country in the Forbidden City has its profound historical heritage, ancient and long-standing Chinese culture, and the former Ninth Five-Year Emperor’s Respect and the Royal Garden of Tianjia. Only by gathering in one place can we extract the richest and purest Chinese red—— - "Forbidden City Red".
In the large area of vermilion block is the Chinese people's strongest visual memory of the Forbidden City for hundreds of years. Forbidden City Red, with a kind of royal background and bearing, is expensive but not extravagant, luxurious but solid.
Forbidden City
The red walls and gray tiles of the Forbidden City, under the cover of the blue sky, pass through the smoke and dust of the years, storing every explicit and recessive change.
Forbidden City
Forbidden City
Forbidden City
Forbidden City
Forbidden City
Forbidden City
A documentary (and a movie of the same name) "I am repairing cultural relics in the Forbidden City" made the feelings of the Forbidden City from virtual to real, full of warmth. We didn't get to see the old masters of the Cultural Relics Bureau, but the low-level repair staff that can be seen everywhere in the Forbidden City are also moving.
Forbidden City
Forbidden City
Forbidden City
Forbidden City
Forbidden City
Forbidden City
Forbidden City
Forbidden City
Forbidden City What kind of experience is it to suck cats in the Forbidden City? Red walls and yellow tiles, palaces and towers, sometimes cute animals come out; if you are going to the Forbidden City, don't miss this opportunity to play with the "royal cats".
The Forbidden City took in many stray cats (it is said that there are as many as 181) and officially included them. Shan Jixiang, the "Guardian of the Forbidden City" (President of the Palace Museum), helped them to name them, such as "Ping An", which means "Peaceful Forbidden City", as well as "little boy", "Jin Bao", "Er Mao" and so on.
Among these cats, there are a few bold cats who like to wander around places where tourists haunt, and even become Internet celebrities in the Forbidden City. They are free and unrestrained on weekdays, and enjoy the thousands of favors (wei) love (shi) of the Forbidden City staff, but they also contribute their own strength to the Forbidden City - as "cat security guards" for the protection of cultural relics: Whenever the Forbidden City Museum is closed As night fell, they tiptoed silently to patrol, and also took on the task of eradicating rats in the backyard of the deep palace.
Here is a recommended cat-hunting route: After entering the Meridian Gate, go straight to the west → pass through the ice cellar → go to the Garden of Compassion → cross the central axis to Jingren Palace → finally go to the Treasure Hall (be careful to avoid the lunch break time of the masters)
And key places to find cats: Treasure Hall, Imperial Garden, Jingren Palace, Jianting Square~
Forbidden City
Forbidden City
In addition to the Internet celebrity cats that have become popular in the Forbidden City in recent years, there are also many birds in the Forbidden City, especially the old raven (crow). Whenever the sun sets and dusk falls, thousands of crows often fly over the Forbidden City, which is about to be closed, or hover in formations, or perch on the temples, leisurely.
Forbidden City
Forbidden City
Forbidden City
Forbidden City Today, the era of emperors has long since come to an end, the throne is empty, the imperial palace is dead, but fortunately, Beijing is still there. When we walk into the Palace Museum, we can feel the splendor and charm left by history, which is solemn, peaceful, open, and restrained.
There are too many things to say about the Forbidden City. Recommend a short documentary program "Forbidden City 100" with 100 episodes of 6 minutes each (the commentary is really beautiful, it is your first choice to quickly catch up on the knowledge of the Forbidden City~)
I hope you can also fall in love with this city...
Forbidden City
We stayed in the Forbidden City until the last moment when the Forbidden City was closed, before we were driven out by the security guards. Then I rushed back to the hotel to pick up my luggage and have dinner.
Dinner is at the entrance of our hotel (really at the entrance, a few steps away) in the Chaoyang town, grilled skewers and cold noodles. This last dinner in Beijing tastes really good.
The city of Beijing is really big, with imperial palaces, royal gardens, streets and alleys, temples and Taoist temples, former residences of celebrities, common people's houses... Every scene has a fascinating story hidden, even if you are in the corner Wandering around in corners, but never getting tired of shaking.
The trip of just three days is not satisfying, and I believe we will come back many, many times......
Beijing, see you next time! Here's another list of Beijing delicacies! 【Houhai/Nanluoguxiang/Drum Tower】
Huguo Temple Snacks (Pea Yellow/Donkey Roll/Aiwowo)
Autumn chestnut fragrance (sugar fried chestnuts 20 yuan/catties)
Master Bao (seaweed and meat floss)
Yaoji Fried Liver Restaurant
【Forbidden City/Jingshan】
Four Seasons Minfu (Roast Duck/Zhajiang Noodles)
Qingfeng Baozi Shop
【Niujie】
Lao Bao Du Man (Steamed beef with venetian leaves/seed cake with meat/bean soup)
Halal Supermarket (Baiji New Year Cake (Donkey Roll)/Zhen Cake)
Jubaoyuan (cooked meat in copper pot)
Cheese Wei
BBQ Liu
【Gui Street】
Hu Da Restaurant
Qimen Pork Shabu
Let's hang out in Chaoyang town
Xiaoyan Pancakes
【other】
Small pear soup
Lord Bai
Sanyuan Plum Garden
Centennial Yili (Yanrong cake/pastry, etc.)
Arctic Ocean (soda/popsicle...)
老 北京 的美食自然是数不胜数，欢迎大家来补充推荐
