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Guide to Beijing: From cricket introductory sessions to dumpling making and hutong walks

Tradition meets modernity in harmonious ways in China’s grand capital city.

Guide to Beijing: From cricket introductory sessions to dumpling making and hutong walks

Beijing is an exciting city with a distinct blend of old meets new. (Photo: iStock)

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From ornate wooden doorways to colourful lanterns and locals bustling by on bicycles, keep your cameras ready when wandering the maze-like hutong alleys near the Yuan Dynasty White Pagoda Temple.

Weekends especially are when people flock to this picturesque hutong in the Xicheng district for photography sessions, a Beijinger accompanying me for the day told me.

Not tourists in rented traditional hanfu costumes, but very fashionable locals togged out in trendy garb worthy of fashion week-style street snaps, she said.

Indeed, the vibes of this neighbourhood, which is dotted with cool cafes and indie shops, are very much of the “if you know you know” sort. Yet, true to the community spirit of the hutongs, long-time residents still go about their routines  grocery shopping, chatting with neighbours or hanging laundry  preserving local charm amid modern reinvention.

White Pagoda Academy is a cafe situated in a traditional-style courtyard house. (Photo: Karen Tee)

Nearby, White Pagoda Academy, a cafe in a traditional-style courtyard house, is perfect for reading under ancient trees.

Around the corner, a newly opened %Arabica cafe in a beautifully restored siheyuan (courtyard house), is where cool kids have converged for a cuppa and Douyin-worthy shots. It is a perfect example of Beijing’s ability to balance old and new in surprising ways.

In fact, just five minutes away by car is the financial district, packed with modern high rise buildings, luxury hotels and shopping malls  a distinct contrast to the quiet charm of this hutong.

I stayed at The Ritz-Carlton Beijing, Financial Street, a swanky outpost of the international brand that mostly serves a well heeled business crowd. Elements of Oriental design, like panels of embroidered wallpaper, carved wood screens, crystal figurines of lucky Chinese animals like the tortoise and bat and evergreen trees in the spacious lobby lounge adds character to the business hotel.

The Ritz-Carlton Beijing, Financial Street is located in the heart of dowtown Beijing. (Photo: The Ritz-Carlton Beijing, Financial Street)
The suites feature modern decor elevated with wood tones. (Photo: The Ritz-Carlton Beijing, Financial Street)

For an elegant comfort meal, swing by contemporary Michelin Guide-listed Chinese restaurant Qi, helmed by chef Roy Niu, who excels at elevated classics such as Cantonese soups and crispy roasts.

Tip: The upscale Seasons Mall that connects directly to the hotel has many shops a traveller would appreciate, including a Lane Crawford department store packed with designer apparel and accessories, Ole gourmet supermarket and a Pop Mart store for souvenir hunters seeking Labubu blind boxes and assorted character merch.

With a free day to explore the city, I enlisted bespoke travel company Scott Dunn to craft an itinerary that showcases the city’s distinct blend of old meets new.

UCCA Centre for Contemporary Art, housed in a Bauhaus-style building. (Photo: Karen Tee)

My guide rolled up with a chauffeur-driven Audi – no need for Didi Chuxing ride hailing  to whisk me off to the 798 Art Zone. Once an industrial complex, this is now Beijing's premier arts district, featuring Bauhaus-style architecture dating back to a 1950s China-Soviet collaboration. With their open, light filled interiors, clean lines and functional forms, these old factories are surprisingly stunning as art galleries.

Yet in a tale as old as time, many of the city’s emerging artists have been priced out of this now-established district and are instead moving to the edges of 798 where rent is lower.

Still, this is a great place to people watch and explore the arts scene. One of the highlights is the UCCA Centre for Contemporary Art, which showcases an ever-changing roster of cutting-edge exhibitions with a modern twist.

A retrospective exhibition by Belgian artist Luc Tuymans at the UCCA. (Photo: Karen Tee)

Ongoing till Feb 16 is a large-scale retrospective by Belgian artist Luc Tuymans, known for his thought-provoking paintings. I linger over Big Brother, a painting of the dormitory in the reality show that filmed contestants 24 hours a day. The in-house guide tells me this reality show has recently surged in popularity on Douyin, China’s equivalent to TikTok, with many commenting on the banality of being filmed constantly. How ironic, I thought, considering how many of us are now doing the same, willingly, through our own social media posts.

Afterwards, it was back to the hutongs to uncover a hidden side to Beijing culture. I followed my guide Fred closely through a maze of alleyways until suddenly, a red door opened and an ah yi (aunty) smilingly beckoned us into the courtyard of a siheyuan  a classic Beijing welcome.

We had arrived at the home of Liu Yunjiang, better known as Cricket Liu. The 75-year-old has spent his life breeding and training fighting crickets  essentially the local version of a bloodsport that is surprisingly relatively bloodless. (Fred, a Bejing native who grew up in the hutongs, explained that the losing insect will scamper away from its aggressor when they grapple, so they are rarely grievously injured. It is usually released to live out the rest of its life.)

Instead, the appeal of this sport is about the skill that goes into caring for and training the crickets.

Cricket Liu has spent his life breeding and training fighting crickets. (Photo: Karen Tee)

Liu now focuses on cricket introduction sessions for travellers, showcasing specialised equipment like gourds which he keeps close to his body for winter warmth and round ceramic jars for fights and mating. I took an involuntary step backwards when Liu started shaking his prized insects out of their gourds but curiosity compelled me to lean in for a better look at his entire set-up.

There are cute tiny curved porcelain food and water receptacles, a bedroom compartment curved to fit flush against the wall, plus an array of accessories like a tiny feeding spoon, a spade to clean up and a brush made of mouse feelers. The last item is used to spur the crickets into fighting with each other and an insect’s prowess will depend on the trainer’s skill, said Liu. What takes the cake though, are tiny handcrafted wooden coffins to honour champion crickets. With so many intricate elements involved in keeping these delicate creatures alive, no wonder this was once considered a refined hobby for the leisure class and intellectuals.

These days, although some cricket battles still happen in autumn, it has become more of an underground culture that few are aware still exist.

Cricket training apparatus. (Photo: Karen Tee)

The last stop was Black Sesame Kitchen, a cooking school and eatery. Here, local chefs teach a mix of travellers and expats the ins and outs of traditional Chinese cooking, like the dumpling making session I attended.

Afterwards, we were seated at a communal table to enjoy a 10-course dinner of classic Chinese dishes like kung pao chicken and braised pork belly, freshly prepared in the open kitchen before us. I found myself acting as the unofficial translator for an Australian family  no better way to cap a day of cultural immersion.

At Black Sesame Kitchen, Chinese dishes like kung pao chicken and braised pork belly are freshly prepared before guests in the open kitchen. (Photo: Karen Tee)

Of course, one cannot travel to Beijing and not spend some time delving into its 3,000 years of history. It is best to follow the path of Central Axis, which was newly inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site last year. It is the city’s historical spine and features a wide ceremonial avenue oriented in the north-south direction, with centuries of imperial landmarks the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and many more palaces, temples, bridges, lakes and parks dotted along the axis.

For instance, the Drum and Bell Towers in the north were once landmarks to demarcate the centre of ancient China and to keep time respectively. Today, besides their architectural and historical significance, these are also key landmarks where Chinese visitors swarm to snap an iconic “Beijing photograph”.

The Bell and Drum Towers. (Photo: The Ritz-Carlton Beijing, Financial Street)

For a bird’s eye view of the Central Axis, head to Jingshan Park, where Ming and Qing dynasty emperors used to hold ceremonies. Beautifully designed with intricate pavilions, the park’s centrepiece is Coal Hill, created by piling up earth during the construction of the Forbidden City. After a breathless 15 minute ascend to the summit, we were rewarded by panoramic views of the sprawling city  the imposing, Forbidden City laid out right before our eyes and modern skyscrapers further in the distance.

With so much to take in, I only had one thought  that one night in Beijing is certainly not enough.

Source: CNA/st
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