A highlight of the trip came during the weekend we spent in Beijing. Lucky for us, someone Dana worked with at Converse in Shanghai told us to visit 798 Space because my dumb travel book made no mention of it. Located in the Dashanzi area, to the northeast of central Beijing (a 30 minute cab ride if coming from the Olympic village) it's the site of state-owned factories that were built jointly in the 50's by East Germany and China, including Factory 798, to produce electronics.
This factory complex started being converted into artist space in 1995 when the Central Academy of Fine Arts, looking for cheap space, set up a workshop in one of the buildings. There's a nice, succinct history of the community on Wikipedia and it's very interesting as you can imagine that avant-garde art of the variety this community serves up isn't widely embraced in China, particularly in Beijing and was probably less so 15 years ago.
Factory 798
Anyway... Factory 798 is the main gallery space and it's very cool. You can still see all the old Maoist slogans painted on the walls and they attract all kinds of cool exhibits, installations, fashion shows, what have you. It's an amazingly large and cavernous space that holds over 1,000 people easily.
798 Art District
So the big gallery is the main outpost but there are hundreds of other galleries, stores and work spaces within the district. You could walk around for hours... and we did.
There's a lot of old machinery that was left in tact and you'll see it on the side of the streets or in the buildings, and there's a lot of public art out on the streets and on the walls.
There is also a functioning railroad yard and it looked like some of the building might still be used for government purposes.
What About That Burger?
So the big gallery is the main outpost but there are hundreds of other galleries, stores and work spaces within the district. You could walk around for hours... and we did.
There's a lot of old machinery that was left in tact and you'll see it on the side of the streets or in the buildings, and there's a lot of public art out on the streets and on the walls.
There is also a functioning railroad yard and it looked like some of the building might still be used for government purposes.
So, my experiences with food in China were less that scintillating. I had trouble finding things that were appetizing. I mean, the standards are just different. Aside from my love affair with dumplings and a mean breakfast at the Portman I only had a few meals that were truly memorable so finding a decent burger and fries felt like a serious victory. Eating in Shanghai was a little easier. It's a big, somewhat westernized, very metropolitan city and where I was staying was swarming with ex-pats. There was this GREAT place right outside the hotel called Element Fresh that was amazing. I frequented the Nan Jing Xi Lu location... a lot. It's a chain in Shanghai with one location in Beijing but as far as finding good things to eat in China, this place rocked. Not to get off topic but they had this pumpkin soup that was bomb.
More Good Stuff at Element Fresh
the california hippie herbed farmer’s cheese spread on whole grain bread with avocado, fresh lettuce, tomato, cucumber, carrots, and lemon vinaigrette.
laffa bread salad grilled chicken breast with goat cheese over mixed lettuce, chopped tomatoes and cucumbers dressed with lemon juice and olive oil, topped with onion and sliced green olives. served with miso-yogurt dressing on laffa bread.
vietnamese spring rolls with beef filled with lemon-grass beef, assorted fresh vegetables and coriander. served with peanut sauce.
There's photos of all those dishes on their site. This is a casual dining spot but they turn it into a semi swanky establishment at night by dimming the lights and lighting some candles. The prices are super reasonable, everything is clean and tidy and the service is attentive which is rare in China. Love Element Fresh!!!
Back to the Burger
So I don't remember what the place was called but it was across the street from the entrance to the 798 gallery. I didn't take any photos of the burger and Dana will be mad because he's in this one but this is the scene at this lovely little cafe. They had turkey and beef burgers. Dana had the turkey. They serve it in the Asian style with a fried egg on top, pickles, lots of condiments and a nice brioche. For all that stuff - it wasn't greasy or overloaded and the chips were really good. Good size steak fries, nice and crispy.We had some Tsingtaos and shared a pot of oonlong and it was a nice little meal really. One of two decent meals we had over a three day period in Beijing. I'm sure there are great places to eat, but you have to know where to look and we didn't. I'll post about the good Indian meal we had in Nanluogu alley soon.
China Ain't Kansas... or Thailand for that Matter
My advice to anyone travelling to China, Beijing specifically - don't wing it. Research where you want to go, have maps and get it written down in Chinese!!!! It's not the type of place where you can easily just figure it out. It's harder to get around than you might anticipate if you're not with a native Chinese speaker and a lot of the guide books aren't that helpful so do your homework in advance and for each night you will be there, have at least one (maybe two) options for dinner. Go to concierge (or even better - to your Chinese friend before you leave for your trip) and get that business written out for you so you can show the cab driver!
Unless you are staying at a 4 or 5 star hotel, concierge may or may not be that helpful and if you're not prepared, you'll probably end up eating KFC. Even compared to a place like Bangkok which I thought would be tricky to navigate without knowing the language, Beijing blows it away. We were there in winter which is low tourist season, but still... we ate KFC one day. It wasn't pretty but at least we could tell what we were eating, sort of.
No comments:
Post a Comment