Beijing Primer Part I: First Stop - Wang Fu Jin

There are many good reasons to visit China and learn all there is to know about the country. 1) Beijing Olympics next year. 2) “Made in China” now means more than it ever did. 3)Communism is out. Free enterprise is in. 4) Real Chinese food comes from China. Not Chinatown.

Lucky me – I’ve been to China many, many times in the past few years. Made it my primary shopping venue, buying everything from thick, luscious oversized cashmere scarves (“seven dallah only”); imitation Juicy Couture everything for the budding teenagers that invade my home (“twenty dallah”); Dior, Hermes, Prada handbags (of the leather kind for “thirty dallah). I mastered the art of haggling, after learning that “you my best friend I give you best friend price” meant “Honey, my margins are 1000 percent, so even if you haggle, I’m still up”. At the markets, everyone was my best friend. They say to me “you American you haggle good”, I look at them in bewilderment and my outside voice tells them “I’m not American”. My inside voice says “In my not so distant heritage is Chinese blood. I’m one of you!!! So don’t think you can fool me, best friend! ”

I think Shanghai is beautiful and wild. The city's evolving skyline makes me think that the architects must be on drugs. But it’s on the verge of becoming almost too westernized.
Beijing, however, offers a multi-dimensional experience of tradition, culture and capitalism, old and new—and everything in between. Elsewhere on the web, you’ll learn about the usual must-see venues like the Great Wall, Tianamen Square, the Summer Palace, the Golden Temple, etc. But, hidden beneath all those well-worn tourist spots are little gems of entertainment --restaurants, streets, and other venues that are less often captured.

First stop: Wang Fu Jin – a cute pedestrian-only-at night part of town where you’ll find the popular and historic Beijing Hotel and other high end hotels; designer boutiques, Peking Duck restaurants and a KFC right in front, for those that aren’t quite as adventurous. There’s even a restaurant whose name is “Even the Dog Won’t Eat It” (see photo of sign and photos of why). For those that want to take the adventure all the way, turn right on that side street that is lined with food vendors. See the delicacies for yourselves in the pictures I’ve captured. It’s good to know that while Starbucks, KFCs and McDonalds have taken over the Forbidden City, here at Wang Fu Jin, traditional, local cuisine lives on. So, should you find yourself stretched out on United Airlines Flight No. 889 nonstop SFO - PEK, remember that Beijing is where East REALLY meets West. In more ways than one. (PS - Photos are a true testament to "Real Chinese Food Comes from China". )