There’s an abundance of things to do in snowy Beijing over winter, writes Sophie Loras.
Beijing and Shanghai are a bit like Melbourne and Sydney, one is the cultural capital and the other famous for its glitz and glamour.
In Shanghai, what you see is what you get. In Beijing, what you don’t see on the surface is what gives the city its charm and character – from the nooks and crannies of the city’s hutongs, its hip and cosmopolitan laneway and rooftop bars (that are most-often-than- not discovered word-of-mouth) to Beijing’s long cultural, creative and historic importance as the nation’s capital.
But it’s during winter, when temperatures drop below zero, that tourists and locals alike discover the huge abundance of activities available in this very international and sophisticated city – from warming up over a glass of wine with friends at one of the city’s many hip yet cosy wine bars, to 10-course dinner parties in a hutong, or learning how to make Chinese New Year dumplings, to the outdoor pastimes of skiing at the many resorts scattered around the city, skating – in all its
colourful forms – on Houhai Lake, and winter homestays at the Great Wall. And that’s before the fireworks even kick off, bombarding the city like a war zone for the two weeks over Chinese New Year!
*Pictured: Jiaozi classes at The Hutong.
Victorian Stacey Shine, who first found her way to Beijing as a tour leader with Intrepid in 2000, has celebrated three Chinese New Years in the capital and says the best way to experience this time of the year in China, is in a Beijing hutong – a typical lane or cobble- stoned street specific to the city and whose origins date back to the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty (1271 – 1368).
Stacey is today the Co-Founder and Creative Director of The Hutong, Beijing (with fellow Australian Mark Thirlwell), which has become a hub for cultural exchange in the heart of the city and offers a range of cultural activities and events from tea appreciation classes, corporate cocktail parties to exotic Asian cooking classes and noodle pulling and dumpling making.
Stacey says making jiaozi in her Hutong is a very traditional and memorable way to see in the new Chinese New Year in Beijing.
“The fireworks are literally out the door, going off in tiny laneways. Making dumplings and watching from our rooftop is kind of scary but amazing,” says Stacey.
Chinese New Year, which this year falls on February 4, is the biggest event on the Chinese calendar and a time when locals travel vast distances across the country to return home to family. While jiaozi are eaten year round in China, they take on a different significance during the Spring Festival as families sit around chatting together and catching up with each other’s news as they make the dumplings for a Chinese New Year’s Eve banquet.
The fireworks last for 15 days and while the Chinese New Year period is not the most ideal time to be travelling around China due to the huge numbers of migrant workers and other local Chinese returning home to their families, fireworks aside, it’s a very quiet time to be based in Beijing. There is less traffic on the roads and a lot less people on the streets.
The China Culture Center offers fantastic temple tours over the Chinese New Year period. Traditionally, temple fairs attracted visitors coming to make their new year prayers, today, they are a spectacular mix of the traditional, the spiritual and the cultural. Around the temples, visitors are treated to rural folk performances, including lion dancers, dragon dancers, acrobats and stilt walkers as well as all the new year ‘xioa chi’ (snacks). Temple fairs are held in and around many of the city’s temples and parks but the China Culture Center includes transport and a warm lunch.
Another must do for visitors in Beijing over winter, is “skating” in all its weird and wonderful forms on Houhai Lake. There’s ice-skating, bike skating, ‘chair skating’ (pictured left, courtesy Kelly Olver) and just about any other form of skating that can be conceived.
And of course the Great Wall blanketed in snow is a sight to be seen.
For a true China experience, a visit to the Great Wall in winter can include a home-stay with local farming families. In winter, these families sleep on ‘huo kang’ beds – a platform above the main fire where everyone sleeps together to stay warm.
“The fire heats concrete under the beds and there can be 10 of you all at once and at the start everyone wants to be close to the fire end and by the end of the night, when you feel like a piece of bacon, everyone is fighting for space at the other end!” Says Stacey.
Other notable things to do in and around Beijing over the winter months are skiing trips to the outlaying resorts – some as close as an hour’s drive from Beijing, Hot Pot on Ghost Street with all its beautiful red lanterns, drinking lots and lots of tea and making jiaozi and noodles – and of course the endless list of cosy, intimate bars in Beijing to meet up with friends for a wine or two and take the chill off the sub-zero temperatures. ■
The Hutong offers a wide variety of cooking and cultural classes as well as intimate dinner parties and corporate events. Stacey and Mark can also help arrange tours in and around Beijing including home-stays with a local farming family in more remote sections of the Great Wall. For more information visit: www.thehutong.com / E: info@thehutong.com / T: 86 159 0104 6127
For more information about tours offered by the China Culture Center in and around Beijing, visit: www.chinaculturecenter.org
EDITOR’S PICK: BEIJING’S BEST WINTER BARS
SCARLETT BAR AT HOTEL G
This intimate bar, located in the very hip Hotel G opposite the West Gate of the Worker’s Stadium boasts more than 80 international wines combined with cheese selections and tapas. The velvet glow of Scarlett’s interior provides an instant relief from Beijing’s blistering cold. This is the ideal wine bar to meet and greet friends. www.hotel-g.com
*Warming up with a wine at Scarlett Bar at Hotel G.
D.LOUNGE
Hard to find, an unassuming entrance and an interior so gobsmackingly unexpected, newcomers to this chic Beijing bar would be excused for thinking they were back in one of Melbourne’s secret laneway lounges. Despite the high vaulted ceiling and industrial-style walls, d.lounge is surprisingly intimate with its velvety banquettes and high-backed chairs. Adorned with some of the wackiest installation art the city has to offer, and a clientele to match, d.lounge is the perfect spot to sip on cocktails and mingle with Beijing’s bold and beautiful.
T: 86 10 6593-7710
MESH AT OPPOSITE HOUSE
They may not be the cheapest drinks in town, but Mesh is the place to head for a drink after dinner in Sanlitun. This mellow, contemporary bar is the perfect place to chill and forms part of Swire Group’s boutique hotel Opposite House complex. The entrance and lobby in itself is worth a look, representing Beijing boutique at its very best. www.theoppositehouse.com
BLACK SESAME KITCHEN, SALUD & NED’S IN NANLUOGUXIANG
Strictly speaking, Black Sesame is not a bar – but a tiny two-roomed house with open kitchen tucked in a crooked narrow courtyard behind Beijing’s best-known hutong street, Nanluoguxiang. This is a wonderful way to spend an evening with friends, drinking wine together as a local chef whips up a delicious10-course Chinese home-style meal in front of you (bookings essential). A post dinner drinkie at nearby Salud (66 Nanluoguxiang) is highly recommended as is Ned’s (84 Nanluoguxiang), possibly the city’s tiniest bar, and its most Australian. Look for the Ned Kelly helmut nailed to the door. www.blacksesamekitchen.com
Q BAR
Famous for its addictive and highly potent frozen lychee daiquiris, this rooftop bar on the corner of South Sanlitun and Gongtinan Lu, has a cool and mellow bar inside, and a rooftop recently renovated into intimate boxed enclosures outside. The terrace is usually closed in winter but can open on special occasions during the Chinese New Year period for 360-degree views of the fireworks. www.qbarbeijing.com
FACE BAR
All the usual warm Asian influences we have come to expect from this high-end bar – with its warm yellow walls, Asian décor, Buddhist art and antique Chinese furniture and marriage beds. Happy hour from 5pm until 8pm includes two-for-one on certain beverages and is a great spot for a pre-dinner drink. www.facebars.com
