After living & travelling nearly a year in Asia, we went to re-visit Beijing, last time we visited was nearly 20 years ago in 2006. Beijing has changed. The city is busy & thriving, but nearly all cars, scooters & trucks are electric & hover around just making the sound of silence.
Beijing Duck
Arrived in our hotel, our stomach made it clear that we needed to go out for dinner. Being a duck freak, there was only one solution. Beijing duck. Just in front of our hotel we found the Jingzun Peking Duck Restaurant, and it was a feast for the senses. Crispy skin, tender meat, and those perfect pancakes – pure heaven. It was the best Peking duck we’ve ever tasted, and we’ve tasted a lot!
Party at Destination Club
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/A5GshfH5diYIt was time for the week-end to begin. We headed to the Destination Club, biggest gay club in China. A fantastic evening. The club has 4 floors, first & second floor are crazy clubbing, with a Western style club music hall, an Asian k-pop hall, different lounge bars. Third & fourth floor there’s a restaurant & rooms for social activities during the week. In front of the building there was a “beer” garden, where lot’s of people were chatting the night away. The crowd was a dazzling mix of locals and expats, all united by the infectious energy. The music pulsed through our bodies as we lost ourselves on the dance floor.
The Forbidden City
The Forbidden City, home for the Chinese emperors in 1924. It used to be the center of power in China for centuries & now it’s a huge museum. The Forbidden City is a breathtaking labyrinth of red walls and golden roofs. If you have only the slightest interest in Chinese history, art & architecture, this is your place to go. We spent 5 hours just wandering around & letting our minds make the imagination, “What would our life be like if this was our home, us being emperor, concubine or maybe the emperors cook or guard.”
Hutong
Modern Beijing is on the one hand modern bling bling skyscrapers. On the other hand luckily many Hutongs have survived. Hutongs are the narrow old streets , with traditional mostly 1 storey buildings. It’s great to wander around, many got maybe a little too restored & give you a theme park feeling. But the main difference is, that these houses are still the homes of many.
Bell Tower & Drum Tower
This two impressive towers used to be very important. Time. What time is it? Which day is it today? Through the sounds of the bell & the drums time was communicated to the city. The bell tower houses a colossal bell, weighing a staggering 63 tons, the heaviest ancient bell in China. The drum tower has 25 drums. Imagine the city waking up to the rhythmic beat of the drums and the echoing toll of the bell.
More pictures of Beijing, click on a picture & scroll:
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