Beijing: Unforgettable encounters in winter

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.