Beijing: Unforgettable encounters in winter

David Chang, Contributor, Beijing

Last December, our family visited Beijing on our own instead of joining a tour group. Although a group can cover more tourist highlights, we wanted more time and travel flexibility.

It was snowing lightly when we arrived at Beijing's Capital International airport in mid-December. The snow-covered trees and orchard gardens on both sides of the expressway toward Beijing was a drastic transformation from the tropical greenery we had seen at Singapore Changi Airport barely six hours earlier.

Visiting Beijing without trying the famous Peking duck is akin to a holiday in Bali without visiting Kuta. With Harry, our local family friend, we were taken to the legendary Quanjude (antiquated name meaning Repository of All Virtues) restaurant in Qianmen (Front Gate), which serves arguably the best Peking duck in the city.

The uncarved duck presented to us by the chef at our dining table was perhaps slightly larger and fatter than I was accustomed to. The perfectly roasted, golden-brown, crackling- skin duck was deftly carved by a smart, white-uniformed chef at our tableside.

The first serving to us was on a shiny white plate with nothing else except the scrumptious roast duck meat, for us to savor the texture, taste and aroma of this distinctive dish. The meat was chunky, tender and tasty, while the skin was exceptionally crunchy and delicate. Subsequent plates were served to us in classic fashion with scallion and hoisin sauce on paper- thin pancakes.

There are compelling reasons why Quanjude is the best. For a start, the restaurant has been cooking the same dish in Qianmen since 1864, which is a long time to perfect a particular cooking technique, and it still prides itself on using its own unique breed of Beijing white duck.

This restaurant uses virtually the same cooking technique and recipe that originated from the imperial kitchens some 600 years ago, and still dictates how the Peking duck should taste, attested by its popularity among discerning local diners for well over a century.

The duck is roasted in an ancient-looking fire pit oven, which can be viewed by customers from a glass window, using date, peach and pear wood, which purportedly produce less smoke and impart a fruity fragrance. Typically, it takes five years to train a chef and 15 years to master the prerequisite cooking skills of a Peking duck chef, which has attained a special status among China's varied cuisine.

Due to its popularity, Quanjude has opened several branches in various parts of Beijing to cater for both local and foreign customer demand. The largest is at Hepingmen (Gate of Peace), a seven-story restaurant opened in 1979, which can cater for 3,000 diners at one time in 41 dining rooms of various sizes, serving about 1,000 ducks a day.

If you're not too keen on roast duck, you can also choose from the other 30 cold and 50 hot dishes, with duck as the main ingredient, of course.

One of the most interesting shopping experiences we had was in the Silk Market (also known as Xiushui Jie). This is a narrow and crowded street crammed with hundreds of tiny stalls selling cheap, but fairly good quality and popular products such as garments, jackets, leather goods, bags, shoes, hats, watches, handicrafts, souvenirs and other interesting trinkets.

It is a very popular market among both local and foreign shoppers due to its low prices. The catch is that you need to bargain for them. However, the bargaining process and attitude were different from the jovial atmosphere we are accustomed to in Jakarta's street markets.

Initially I witnessed what I thought was a heated argument between a shopper and a seller but soon realized that the same shouting match was occurring elsewhere around us. The typical bargaining process is almost like a hostile confrontation between the buyer and seller, something I needed some time to get used to. This shopping experience is definitely not suitable for the faint-hearted or novice shopper. While most Chinese do not speak English, the sellers in Silk Market know enough English to give you a run for your money.

As China is currently one of the cheapest manufacturers in the world, foreign visitors will inevitably find that Beijing offers great shopping bargains for a wide range of consumer products.

Beijing railway station at Jianguomen is a massive building crowded with people inside and long lines of vehicles outside. We were glad we carried minimal luggage, making it easier for us to thread our way through the throngs of people dashing in all directions inside the train station. Restaurants, a cinema, recreation and reading rooms are available for the 200,000 passengers that pass through the station each day.

The enclosed cabin with four beds and a television was clean, comfortable and warm, while a digital board on the car wall registered an outside temperature of -15 degrees Celsius.

After we had put our bags and thick jackets on the overhead compartment, we made our way to the dining car for dinner. The dining room was neat, hygienic and appealing. An adequate range of Chinese food and beverages, including Chinese beer, wine and liquor were available at reasonable prices and service was fast and efficient.

As the train hissed and rumbled on throughout the night, I looked out of our frosty cabin window occasionally to watch the scenery of high-rise buildings and industrial parks change to snow-covered farmlands, trees, fields and villages.

The 12-hour journey was comfortable and provided us adequate sleep and rest. The conductress promptly woke us up at dawn, about half an hour before we arrived at Harbin, giving us sufficient time, to wash, repack, dress and brace ourselves for the freezing temperature.

Getting out at Harbin station just after 7 in the morning and greeted by sub-zero temperatures, we began to understand why this place is called "Ice City" or "Snow City".

Snow City is the reason that we -- like millions of local and foreign visitors -- flocked to this charming capital of the freezing northeast Heilongjiang province next to the Russian border, which is as far north as one can get in China.

Visitors are attracted to Harbin's famed annual events, such as the International Ice and Snow Festival, which highlight massive and elaborate colorful fluorescent lighted ice sculptures and snow carvings, as well as winter swimming, skiing, skating and other activities on ice.

Because of the freezing temperatures, ice sculptures lined up along the streets, pedestrian paths, as well as decorations on shopping malls and hotels, stayed intact throughout most of the winter months. Due to its proximity and historical trading links with Russia, there are many distinctive symbols of Russian and European influence in Harbin, revealed in the building architecture styles, street lamps and tree-lined cobblestone pedestrian boulevards.

We took a day trip to Yabuli ski resort, about 195 kilometers, or three hours drive, from Harbin, which has good ski facilities amid Heilongjiang's magnificent, wild alpine landscape.

When we returned to Beijing a few days before Christmas, it was still snowing lightly. Tiananmen and the Forbidden City were uncharacteristically deserted and blanketed by thick snow. The serenity and beauty of this enchanting, ancient capital blurred my senses of reality and fantasy, evoking visions of the splendor of a kingdom that was once the heart of a huge empire.