If anything, I was less enthusiastic about returning to Beijing than I had been about going back to Dalian. I had enjoyed the city during my initial visit in 2008 as a solo traveler when it felt lively and spontaneous, leading to all kinds of unique experiences. However, my trip in 2019 told a different tale. China had launched a modernization initiative, and street markets had vanished, replaced by tightly regulated restaurant districts that seemed artificial and sterile. With little expectation of encountering anything surprising while walking the streets, I came to realize just how limited Beijing’s offerings were when compared to its status as the capital of the world’s most populous country. I had already visited the Forbidden City and the Badaling Great Wall in 2008 and found them disappointing; the former felt like a vast, dusty museum and the latter seemed over-restored and overcrowded with tourists. I probably favored the Summer Palace the most, but I had no desire to revisit it. Nonetheless, Cleo's summer camp included a five-day stay in Beijing, leaving me no choice but to go back for a third time. Mei Ling, on the other hand, was excited about the trip—she had lived in Beijing for years before we met and wanted to reconnect with several friends.
Mei Ling managed to find us a small hotel located in a hutong in central Beijing. These networks of alleys, which exist between courtyard houses known as siheyuan, have formed a fundamental part of Beijing's urban landscape for at least seven centuries. Many were destroyed during various phases of aggressive urban development, but recent government policies have aimed to preserve them. Some hutongs have been rebuilt, making it challenging to determine which are historic and which are not. Ours had a charming atmosphere, featuring narrow, winding alleys and staircases leading directly from the street to upper levels. Somehow, Mei Ling navigated to the right spot, where the proprietor was ready to greet us. The common area was lovely, showcasing curved brick walls and archways, adorned with numerous leafy plants. Our room, however, was quite cramped with a small loft above, making it tough to move past each other on the lower level. By the time we got settled, it was time to head out for dinner. The food streets seemed unchanged since our last visit to Beijing, so we took a cab to Guijie, also known as Ghost Street. Upon arrival, our first amusement came from a couple of life-sized frog statues standing outside a restaurant.
The restaurants on Guijie are famous for their spicy seafood, especially crawfish, with many gaining popularity on social media. They all appeared similar to me, yet some had long queues while others were empty, clearly indicating some significant differences. The restaurant Mei Ling chose was particularly crowded, and the host informed us that the wait would be at least an hour. Given the abundance of dining options available on the street, that seemed excessive, so we used the Baidu app to find another restaurant with good ratings and no line. The meal we had was perfectly fine, but the menu lacked anything adventurous or unfamiliar.
After dinner, we made our way to the bustling Wangfujing area, where Mei Ling met one of her old friends for tea in the lobby of a luxury hotel. After about ten minutes of lively conversation in Chinese, I realized this reunion wouldn’t be a brief one, prompting me to offer to take the boys for a walk. Spenser was given a phone, so he declined, but Ian joined me on a stroll to Wangfujing Pedestrian Street, which had once been the site of a touristy night market known for its exotic bug skewers. That market was gone now, but the wide walkway was filled with shoppers and strollers. We were surrounded by brightly lit shopping malls, designer stores, and digital billboards. A middle-aged Chinese woman attempted to strike up a conversation, seemingly curious about where we were from and our purpose in China. I provided curt answers, bordering on rudeness, having experienced similar encounters in the past. Sure enough, she shifted to offering to take us to a store selling rare and valuable calligraphy, which I promptly declined. She appeared to anticipate my refusal and was already scouting for her next customer.
Not wanting to return to Mei Ling too early and endure more of her conversation, we explored the pedestrian street in the opposite direction. We soon stumbled upon a large, multi-level bookstore that was perfect for entertaining Ian. Although the selection of English books was rather limited, I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were all literary classics at very reasonable prices. I managed to buy a couple that Ian hadn’t read yet, along with one of the Wimpy Kid series available in both English and Chinese. After making our purchases, we returned to the hotel lobby, where we only needed to lounge on the furniture for another half hour before Mei Ling finally excused herself from her friend.
Our hotel turned out to be within
If anything, I felt less enthusiasm about returning to Beijing than I had for revisiting Dalian. I had enjoyed the city during my first trip in 2008 as a solo traveler, when it felt lively and spontaneous, leading to various unique adventures. However, my experience in 2019 was quite different. China had launched a modernization initiative, and I found no street markets; instead, there were strictly regulated restaurant streets that felt artificial and sterile. With little expectation of encountering anything surprising while walking around, I came to realize how limited Beijing seemed, especially considering it was the capital of the most populous nation in the world. I had already visited the Forbidden City and the Badaling Great Wall in 2008 and had been disappointed; the former struck me as a vast, dusty museum, while the latter was an overly restored and crowded tourist destination. I had likely enjoyed the Summer Palace the most, yet I had no desire to return. However, Cleo's summer camp included five days in Beijing, leaving me with no choice but to make my third visit. Mei Ling, on the other hand, didn't share my hesitance—she had lived in Beijing for many years before we met and had several friends she was eager to reconnect with.