The Hutong is a bar that has no name, but it's a place where you can go to get a drink and a drink.
Passenger: Surviving in the Hutongs
Passenger is a traveler's hangout, because it's a travel-themed bar, and it's said to be one of the first of its kind in Beijing. It's located next to the Central Academy of Drama in a hutong called Nanluoguxiang. On a hot summer night, the courtyard of the Passenger is bustling with donkeys who like to roam around on weekdays, getting together to laugh, play, drink and chat, and seeing such a scene reminds me of the outdoor scene, which also represents our state of life.
The owner of the restaurant, Xiao Jianer, is the main character here, and he has created such a cozy space. He wandered among us, drinking wine, answering questions, looking happy and excited. Yes, on a day like this, he deserves to be excited. Looking back to three years ago, "Xiao Jianer" said, "At that time, the customer only had a space of less than 15 square meters, and at that time, I thought that I could last as long as I could, and I never thought that one day I would still be able to make money, and then I went through the blow of demolition, and I almost didn't survive. " Whenever I think back to these, the little discernment of a thousand emotions, after all, these years to get through it is not easy.
"Small discerning" has a deep hutong complex, even in the demolition of the blow, but also resolutely choose to continue to survive in the hutong. For this, the small discernment has his own reasons. He believes that the hutongs are a kind of culture and best represent the mentality of travelers. Accustomed to the freedom of nature, casual travelers have not like the hustle and bustle of the city, and the hutongs are exactly seemingly crowded, noisy, but actually free, relaxed place.
The theme of travel has always been the survival of the "guest", but also the source of the bar's driving force. He has a lot of travel experience and can feel what kind of environment and atmosphere people who love to travel need. He stubbornly believes that travel is an indispensable part of life, and that life without travel experience is not exciting and boring. The reason why I like to come here is because of this atmosphere. Whenever you come here, you can meet your friends who have traveled together, look at the photos they took during their travels, listen to their stories about their travels, and the whole night will be very enjoyable.
There: life is not elsewhere
From the "there" out of the back of the night calm, the car on the road drove very fast, I waved, behind the car almost hit the front of the car, the driver stared at me with his eyes, go around and continue to drive fast. I wanted to buy a pack of cigarettes, but it was late at night and the stores were closed. The driver said to send his pack to me, I did not have the heart to ask, but in the end to, get out of the car, I paid for the cigarettes.
"There" was first opened in the famous cultural hutong next to Peking University, Chengfu Street, and then that hutong was demolished and moved to the present here, located in the cape hutong near Houhai. This hutong is very famous, there are many celebrities' former residences in the hutong, there is the National Theater and so on. This is a photography-themed bar, with a lot of masterpieces on the wall and good photos taken by the owner's friends all over the world, mainly black-and-white art films. Sometimes, they will also organize some special photography exhibition in the bar.
The flyer for "There" with the line "Life is not elsewhere, it is there ......" made me feel good about this bar. People have no choice but to be born in the world, to live, to live bravely, to face the old, the sick, the dead, the happy and the sad, this is the reality. As Yu Hua said in the preface of his novel "Alive": reality is just an environment, a fixed, dead reality, people can not see how they come in, and can not see how to go out.
Where is life? There? I'm a little doubtful. It is better to light a cigarette, from this small bright spot may be able to peep out something? I see only the rising smoke. Graduated more than three years, work and life are intertwined, so I can not distinguish between work is to live, or life is work. The work has not changed, life is also, night and day, two colors.
White Maple: Sliding past our eyes
Some time ago, there was a widely circulated text on the Internet called "Beijing's top five places to go", which one of the places referred to is White Maple. He is located on the side of the road from Di'anmen Street to Yindian Bridge, next to the Houhai Sea, next to the famous old Beijing "barbecue season". A dilapidated-looking house with wooden windows that hide the gaze of pedestrians, it's hard to imagine that this is a bar, and it's easy to slip past.
I was first brought here by a photographer friend. It was a winter afternoon, the sun was warm through the window on the body, a cup of strong coffee, a calm mood, to pass a cozy afternoon.
The ice on the lake has not yet melted, and the crowd skating in the distance is freely performing their dance. An old man moved a small stool sitting on the ice, knocking a small hole in the fishing, an afternoon did not see him hook fish from the water, but he just sat there, I also so far away from him.
The people who come here are quiet people, and there's no noise here, just soft music around the space. It seems more suited to lovers and whispers than most loud bars, so I rarely bring a large group of friends here.
Special mention should be made of the bar's restrooms, which are some of the best smelling I've ever seen. With plants and flowers of all kinds, it's a small space that smells great and doesn't have a bad odor. It's not like a toilet, it's more like a little flower room.
Left Bank: the bar aristocrat in Houhai
Going south on the left side of Yinyandian Bridge, along the lakeside, into a hutong, where the lake fades away, there's a bar, the Left Bank. The name "Left Bank" I like very much, I remember that Liu Ruoying has a song called "Left Bank", and there is a new movie genre in France called "Left Bank School". "The Left Bank was originally called the "Blue Lotus", where movies could be shown, and where all kinds of spiritual aristocrats and cultural figures gathered.
The Left Bank is more aristocratic than other bars in Houhai, with wide bamboo chairs, thick tables, old-fashioned furniture and accessories, and large, comfortable sofas inside, which make you sink deeper and more comfortable when you sit on them.
A bar, no matter what your theme, or no matter whether you have a theme, but the main let a person feel very comfortable sitting, then this kind of bar I love. So, when I am very tired and want to relax my tired body, I usually come here, especially in the afternoon.
Hutong Writes: Watching the traffic on Yindian Bridge
"Hutong Writes" is so small that it's easy to miss. If it weren't for the tables and chairs in front of the entrance, you wouldn't believe that there's a whole world of possibilities inside this tiny storefront. There are many impressionist paintings hanging in the small space, like a painter's small studio. Every time I pass by, I see a lot of foreign faces sitting on the chairs by the lake.
I've only been here twice, once with a girl who paints, and once by myself. The girl came from Shenzhen and asked me to bring her here by name. I don't know where she heard about this bar, or if she had read about it in City Pictorial. The time I came here was an afternoon, a rare moment of leisure, walking around the Houhai hutongs with my camera, and finally settling down in the "hutong writing" to watch the traffic come and go on the Yindian Bridge.
The old Yindian Bridge, she is really too tired, her body has been overwhelmed ......
Houhai Bar: listen to the sound of the piano floating
and other bars similar tone, simple antique furniture, green plants, personalized ornaments, lazy feeling. The bars around Houhai are not big, perhaps the space can avoid too much noise, which is why I like to come to Houhai to soak in the bar.
The first time I came was with a group of foodies, sitting around the lake, blowing the wind and chatting. Every time you come to Houhai, you will go around here without realizing it; every time you come here, you will run into the dinner party eaters who are having a good time. I've heard that you can get a 20% discount for mentioning Ghost's name, but I only know Ghost's ID, and people don't recognize it.
The moon hangs high, the light is ambiguous, a quiet erhu or pipa sound from the lake boat drifting over to the quiet back of the sea to add a petty mood. Whispering lovers, drinking and singing. The melodious sound of the piano reminds people of their hometown rivers and childhood friends, and the scene of catching crickets in the summer night.
Houhai is a place for nostalgia, and every time I come to Houhai, it triggers my nostalgia. Damn, I'm getting old.
Excerpted from: life mood Houhai petty debris /art/2005-01-07/61204.shtml