Old Beijing Culture – Super Cute Girl Takes You on a Tour of Huaxia Antique City to Buy Pixiu
Let’s go!!
It’s National Day, and even though we all know that no matter where we go, it’ll be packed, staying at home feels like such a waste, so we have to join in on the holiday hype at least once.
Due to some special reasons and late planning, we could only opt for a domestic trip, with a budget of 7–8k. When I looked at the map of China, I realized that going anywhere from Guangzhou is either too far or too expensive!! After two days of checking flights, high-speed trains, and hotels, we finally decided on the capital – Beijing!! I really wanted to go there too.Beijing City Huaxia Antique CityBuy some things you like, such as Pixiu, etc.
Here's a map of the Summer Palace grounds – it’s really huge!! The Seventeen-Arch Bridge is quite famous, so we headed generally eastward~
As soon as we entered and stepped onto the bridge, we saw rows of spectacular palaces. The Suzhou Street under the bridge requires a separate ticket. We read online that it’s just an ordinary commercial street, so we didn’t go in.
I really love these red walls – even though some parts are faded and peeling, the brick-red color is very beautiful and has a historical feel. I couldn’t help taking lots of photos.
Then we went to “Huajia Yiyuan” on Guijie Street. This was actually the place we planned to have dinner yesterday. It wasn’t very crowded just after 11 pm. This is their courtyard-style flagship branch, and it has a lot of charm. The two of us ordered one Peking duck, one lobster, and one dish of cabbage. We were initially worried it wouldn’t be enough, but we actually didn’t finish it… The Peking duck can be ordered via a group-buying deal on Dianping, which saved us quite a bit. Huajia cuisine is an innovative style of Beijing cuisine. Just this cabbage dish alone completely charmed both of us!! Who would’ve thought that plain old cabbage could taste so good!!! I’ve never had a flavor like it before – sweet, fragrant, and somehow it also had hints of seafood/fish sauce. I felt I could eat an entire bowl of rice with it!! The lobster is also a specialty – they even have a little lobster statue right at the entrance!! Even if you can’t handle spicy food, you must try the Thirteen Spice flavor!! I was bubbling over with joy. The side dishes – lettuce and lotus root – were also super delicious!! Full of flavor, really flavorful. As someone who gets to eat lobster during every festival, I dissected it with expert patience. But!! I accidentally got a drop of sauce on my clothes, and then the moment I put on the apron, I instantly turned into a waiter. Next up, the main event – the Peking duck!!!! The starter was rice crackers topped with duck skin, duck meat, and sweet-and-sour sauce. Haha, these crackers are something I absolutely loved as a kid – people used to bring machines to the countryside and fry them up to sell~ I hadn’t eaten them in ages.
Then came the sliced duck meat and skin. The highlight was the dipping sauces and side ingredients. Instead of the traditional scallions, white sugar, and sweet bean sauce, they innovatively used mustard sweet bean sauce, berry jam, sweet-and-sour sauce, along with fresh ingredients like pineapple, cantaloupe, and hawthorn cake. Though you might not really taste them while eating, at least it doesn’t get greasy~ As for the mustard flavor in the sauce, I wasn’t used to it, but my boyfriend really enjoyed it. There was way too much duck meat!! It cooled down quickly, and the flavor diminished, so we didn’t finish it – such a pity.
Full and satisfied, the afternoon had only just begun, so we strolled over to Ditan Park. I heard it’s the park with the highest green coverage in Beijing, and it’s also pretty close to Wudaoying Hutong and Beiluoguxiang, so today we just wandered around the hutongs.
Beep – annual pass!!
As soon as we entered, we realized there were two traitors among us → when we first walked in, all we saw were trees everywhere??, and we thought there wasn’t much to see, so we were about to leave quickly~ But then we found these little cuties!!! The square was full of pigeons, kids running around feeding them, adults chatting and watching nearby – it was so peaceful and serene. With a bit more patience, you could probably take photos that look like you’re in a world-famous pigeon square haha. Ditan Park also has a famous ginkgo avenue, but it’s not yet autumn, so the leaves are still green. It’ll look amazing once they turn yellow and cover the ground. I felt like I was one meter eight tall today!!
There’s a leisure area in the park where elderly folks exercise, play cards, and chess – it’s so relaxing and cozy.