Man About Town: Writer and Translator Eric Abrahamsen on his Beijing Wanderings

thebeijinger — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:00:28 +0800

On Wednesday Eric Abrahamsen, the principal contributor to Beijing by Foot (recently described as being "quite possibly the most illuminating guide to the Chinese capital this year.”), will be speaking at the China Culture Center about the history of the South Dongsi area. Below we've included an interview with Abrahamsen that appears in the current edition of agenda. Editors Alice Woodhouse and Iain Shaw began by asking Eric a bit about the Beijing by Foot project and his favorite Peking paths.

Eric Abrahamsen tells us that he began exploring Beijing’s various neighborhoods “almost as an afterthought”. According to the translator and writer, “there were several years where I walked around without really knowing what I was seeing. I liked the feel of Beijing’s older areas, but it wasn't until later that I began to seriously research the history and culture that lie behind the alleyways and buildings, and discovered that my little strolls were far, far more enjoyable when I knew the background.” Therein lay the genesis of Beijing by Foot, Abrahamsen’s recently published collection of 40 walks around Beijing neighborhoods, each mapped and annotated on its own individual card.

agenda: Beijing by Foot guides users through forty different walks in the capital, but for visitors on a tight schedule, which routes would you recommend exploring first?

I suppose if you’re here for a limited time, you’d better see the hutongs.

Openings: Qianmen and Gong Wangfu

thebeijinger — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:25:24 +0800

Qianmen Dajie

After extensive renovation Qianmen Dajie has arisen from the construction dust as a Qing Dynasty Disney with only a few laozihao shops and restaurants to keep it going. At the northern end two trams provide the first photo stop, with posing and cries of “qiezi” also culminating from outside the Quanjude further south of the Dang Dang Che. As over ninety percent of the shop fronts currently lie vacant, the street only really offers one very long photo opportunity, if you’re after some shopping turn right onto Dazhalan (Beijingers say da shi lan'r), however, card-carrying philatelists should continue down to number 84 for the China Post Philately Hall. Unfortunately, we found that the few restaurants on the strip had already been booked out for lunch by 11.30am on a Tuesday, so it’s best to eat elsewhere. Although tea and jade stores seek to be the main draw, we preferred the scattered old black and white photographs, birdcage streetlights and door stone trashcans.

The Beijinger Blog - Alice Woodhouse

Man About Town: Writer and Translator Eric Abrahamsen on his Beijing Wanderings

Openings: Qianmen and Gong Wangfu