Beijing Entertainment
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Houhai Bar Street
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If you took a shovel and dug a really deep hole in Houhai, you¡¯d strike Paleolithic pay dirt and find that Peking Man used the area as a watering hole between 650,000and 200,000years ago. Our Home erectus forebears were attracted to the pools, ponds and seasonal lakes that formed when the Yongding River overflowed-yes, floods were once a common occurrence in the now-arid capital. Farmers began cultivating the northern bank of these waters some 3,000years ago, when Beijing was a garrison town known as Ji. The archeological evidence also shows that buildings went up in the vicinity during the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534SAD). The district assumed a shape recognizable to us today in the late 13th century, when Kubial Khan established the Yuan dynasty¡¯s winter capital, Dadu, in present day Beijing. The name Jishuitan(Pool of Gathered waters)£¬once used for Xihai and still used for the nearby subway stop, refers to an engineering project during the Mongol monarch reign to connect the ponds vastly enlarge them and supply them with water via viaducts from suburban streams. After completion of this project in 1293, the lakes served as the northern terminus of China¡¯s Grand Canal. They became a key component of the imperial economy .as Hangzhou, bringing grain, silk and silver used to finance the Mongol empire. In addition to their commercial role, Qianhai, Houhai and Jishuitan were centers of recreational and religious activity.
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Houhai Lake |
Lotus lane at Houhai |
Already popular lotus viewing spots during the Yuan dynasty, the lakes became fashionable places to hang out at least in the daytime-during the Ming ear (1368-1644). The waterfront was lined with teahouses, street vendors and performers, all of which created a carefree, scenic atmosphere accessible to anyone able to walk or side there. In winter, locals rode sleds on the frozen lakes and, according to Don J.Cohn and Zhang Jingqing in Beijing Walks, Qing emperors came here to ¡°review Manchu army skating battalions playing war games on the ice.¡± The lakes were dead at night because of their popularity as venues for suicide by drowning. One Chinese belief was that the spirit of a suicide victim could only be freed if someone else took its place, and so the superstitious avoided the lakeshore after dark for fear that ghosts would incite them to take the plunge. To propitiate these tormented souls, Buddhist monks held annual exorcism rituals by Jishuitan. The lakes¡¯ proximity to the Forbidden City also made them prime real estate for official residences(with attached gardens). Offering waterfront property and a shout commute, they were popular with the politically powerful, especially eunuchs of the Ming and princes of the subsequent Qing empires. This tradition still exists. The name Shichahai, ¡°Ten temples of the Sea,¡± refers to nine noted nunneries and a temple in the area. But this understates the area¡¯s religious importance: over the last 700years, records show, there were 19 Buddhist and Taoist monasteries and nunneries near the lakes, including temples dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy and the Gods of War, Fire and Medicine. Most of these temples, but not all were converted or destroyed to make way for residences, keep an eye peeled for the odd chunk of carved marble incongruous with other building materials as you wander around this area used by humanity since our evolution from Peking Man.
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people chatting at bar street |
Houhai Bars |
Exploring Houhai
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| While the banks of Houhai are now lined with al fresco bars and caf¨¦s, the area¡¯s back alleys remain ripe for exploration, Hutong Tours (Rmb180/person)offers 2.5hour pedicab excursions with stops at several points of interest mentioned.Houhai (Chinese: ºóº££©and adjoining lakes Xihai and Qianhai¡ª collectively known as the Back Lakes were dug out in the Yuan Dynasty (14th century) to berth barges from the Grand Canal, bringing goods from around China and beyond to the Emperor in his nearby Forbidden City. The proximity to the palace explains much of Houhai¡¯s still-evident charm ¨C the arched stone bridges, intricate animal sculptures on canal walls.
However, the distance from the palace was just as important in shaping life around the lakes. These Back Lakes rapidly became a retreat, for courtiers, poets, painters. And a favorite of the masses.
Houhai Bar Street was a very elegant contrast to the seedy Sanlitun Bar district. There were many different bars and restaurants that lined the shores of the man made lake.
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Houhai Map(Click to get a bigger Map)
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Recommend Bars in Houhai
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Bars No Name (86-10/6402-1663) has no address either, although it¡¯s easy to find Houhai¡¯s original Cathedral of Cool: just look for the vine-covered wooden hut south of the charmingly arched Yinding Bridge. Bai Feng conceived the place as a kind of backyard clubhouse, and three years on, its wicker chairs, funky decor, and a wide range of teas and drinks, from juices to margaritas, still draw in Beijing¡¯s A-list.
The Left Bank (11 Qianhai Beiyan; 86-10/6612-9300) There evolved two styles of Houhai bar: the ramshackle student sprawl of No Name and Buddha, or the cool chilling centers, complete with couches. The Left Bank (for its location, on the west, or left side of the lake, and its model, Paris¡¯ Left Bank) goes for the latter, with the look and comfort of a large den. A nice place to plot, or merely cuddle.
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Sex and da City (15 Tianhefang; 8610--6612-5046) draws crowds on Lotus Lane with its stylish design, particularly upstairs, where a trio of curtained areas offer suite-like seating with stunning lake views. The downstairs bar is lined with lilies, which inexplicably works, unlike the two-story tall mural of Marilyn Monroe. Lotus (29 Yandai Xiejie; 86-10/6407-7807) Not to be confused with Lotus Lane, this bar with separate restaurant in the winding alley leading to the Drum Tower (Gu Lou) remains one of the area¡¯s original zen centers, with tranquil design by Wang Hui. The two-story tower bar has a good collection of crafts on display downstairs, pillow and couch seating upstairs with a nice atrium. Smells of incense and one of the best drinks menus on the lake (try a shot of cr¨¨me de mint in a cup of hot coconut milk).
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