1800What? Beijing Windows

Beijing Oriental Plaza on Google Map

Photo Beijing Oriental Plaza
Website: www.orientalplaza.com

National Centre for the Performing Arts on Google Map

Photo of National Centre for the Performing Arts Beijing
Website: http://www.chncpa.org

Beijing Works’ Sports Complex on Google Map

Photo of Workers’ Stadium

Official Website: http://www.gongti.com.cn
English Website: http://en.beijing2008.cn/venues/wst

Beihai Park on Google Map

Photo of Beihai Park Beijing
Website: http://www.beihaipark.com.cn

Olympic Green ( The Water Cube & Bird’s Nest) on Google Map

The Bird’s Nest

Website: http://en.beijing2008.cn/venues

The Olympic Green - Forest Park on Google Map

Photo of the Olympic Green - Forest Park

Website: http://en.beijing2008.cn/venues

Beijing Railway Station on Google Map

Beijing Railway Station

Website: http://www.bjrailwaystation.com.cn

The Temple of Heaven on Google Map

Tiantan Park Beijing
Website: http://www.tiantanpark.com

Beijing Capital Airport Terminal 3 on Google Map

Beijing Capital Airport Terminal 3

Website: http://www.bcia.com.cn

There is a very famous “Night Market” or “Snack Street” in Wangfujing commercial area. If you want to try the most exotic snacks, you cannot miss this place. Almost every item is sold at RMB10 or RMB5. Most of stalls sell barbecue “everything”. Yes, you can find starfish, centipede, scorpion, and silkworm chrysalis etc here. Certainly, they also sell regular lamb, pork, fish and chicken.

Do not make a mistake of thinking these are the routine food we eat in China. Even for most of Chinese people these foods are quite wired and they reluctant to try it themselves. Actually, this is one of the most important reasons that makes this “snake street” famous. People come to here not only to eat, but also to see the most strange foods they can imagine. It takes a lot of courage to really put the wired but maybe delicious snack into your mouth.

There are many detailed and formal introduction about the Forbidden City or Palace Museum already. Therefore we won’t waste you time to bore you with all the subtle details about this attraction.  Let’s have a general view about the Forbidden City from a slight different angle.

History

Beijing was a very important city of China since two thousand years ago. However, it was not the capital city until the Mongol established Yuan Dynasty in 1271. Since then Beijing became the real political center of China. The site of the Forbidden City was part of the Imperial City during the Yuan Dynasty.

The Forbidden City was actually built in the Ming Dynasty. The first emperor of Ming settled his capital in Nanjing which is located in south part of China. But his son was based in Beijing when he still was a prince. After the prince inheritaged the crown, he decided to move the capital from Nanjing to Beijing and construct a grand new palace there in 1406. The massive construction lasted fifteen years, and required more than a million labors. Precious materials. such as the Phoebe zhennan wood, large blocks of marble and specially baked paving bricks were transported to the new capital for the Forbidden City project.

After the Ming Dynasty was defeated by rebel forces led by Li Zicheng and Manchu army which was a minority tribe from northeast part of China, Qing Dynasty was established in Beijing by the Manchus.
The Forbidden City became the imperial city of the new power.

After being the home of 24 emperors—fourteen of the Ming Dynasty and ten of the Qing Dynasty—the Forbidden City ceased being the political center of China in 1912 with the abdication of Puyi, the last Emperor of China. Puyi sold many treasures to finance his expensive lifestyle, while others were stolen by palace eunuchs. Under an agreement with the new Republic of China government, Puyi remained in the Inner Court, while the Outer Court was given over to public use, until he was evicted after a coup in 1924. The Palace Museum was then established in the Forbidden City. In 1933, the Japanese invasion of China forced the evacuation of the national treasures in the Forbidden City. Part of the collection was returned at the end of World War II, but the other part was evacuated to Taiwan in 1947 under orders by Chiang Kai-shek, whose Kuomintang was losing the Chinese Civil War. This relatively small but high quality collection was kept in storage for many years since the KMT still hoped to return to the mainland. Finally, in 1965, they again became public, at the core of the National Palace Museum in Taipei.

The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987 by UNESCO as the “Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties”.

Layout

The Forbidden City is the world’s largest surviving palace complex and covers 72 ha. It is a rectangle 961 metres from north to south and 753 metres from east to west. It consists of 980 surviving buildings with 8,707 bays of rooms. The Forbidden City was designed to be the centre of the ancient, walled city of Beijing. It is enclosed in a larger, walled area called the Imperial City. The Imperial City is, in turn, enclosed by the Inner City; to its south lies the Outer City.

The Forbidden City remains important in the civic scheme of Beijing. The central north-south axis remains the central axis of Beijing. This axis extends to the south through Tiananmen gate to Tiananmen Square, the ceremonial centre of the People’s Republic of China. To the north, it extends through the Bell and Drum Towers to Yongdingmen. Interestingly, this axis is not exactly aligned north-south, but is tilted by slightly more than two degrees. Researchers now believe that the axis was designed in the Yuan Dynasty to be aligned with Xanadu, the other capital of the empire.

Treasures and Collections

The collections of the Palace Museum are based on the Qing imperial collection. In 1912, with the abdication of Puyi, the last Emperor of China, the Forbidden City was no longer a imperial palace. Puyi sold many treasures to finance his expensive lifestyle, while others were stolen by palace eunuchs. Even though, according to the results of a 1925 audit, some 1.17 million items were still stored in the Forbidden City. In addition, the imperial libraries housed one of the country’s largest collections of ancient books and various documents, including government documents of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

From 1933, the threat of Japanese invasion forced the evacuation of the most important parts of the Museum’s collection. After the end of World War II, this collection was returned to Nanjing. However, with the Communists’ victory imminent in the Chinese Civil War, the Nationalist government decided to ship the pick of this collection to Taiwan. Of the 13,427 boxes of evacuated artifacts , 2,972 boxes are now housed in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Almost ten thousand boxes were returned to Beijing, but 2,221 boxes remain today in storage under the charge of the Nanjing Museum.

After 1949, the Museum conducted a new audit as well as a thorough search of the Forbidden City, uncovering a number of important items. In addition, the government moved items from other museums around the country to replenish the Palace Museum’s collection. It also purchased and received donations from the public.

Travel Information

Ticket Price:
April - October: RMB60 pp
November - March: RMB40 Pp

Hours:
October 16 ～April 15, 8:30～16:30，Stop selling ticket at 15:30
April 16 ～October 15，8:30～17:00，Stop selling ticket at 16:00

Transportation:
Address：No.4 Jingshanqianjie St. Dongcheng District, Beijing
(This is the North Gate, tourists usually take the South Gate at Tiananmen Square.)
Bus: Np.1、2、4、5、10、20、22、52、54、57、120、802、T1 at Zhongshan Park Station or Tiananmen Station
Bus: No. 9、17、44、48、53、59、66、110、307、803、808、819、922、T4、T7 at Qianmen Station；
Bus: No. 101、103、103Fast、109、812、814 at Gugong Station
Subway line 1: at Tiananmen West Station or Tiananmen East Station

Websites：

Official Website of the Fobidden City

A Informative Forbidden City Website

The Taipei Palace Museum Website

The “Purple Wall” of Forbidden City

A Middle Class White Collar’s Real Life

Mr. Li Ping is from another province of China. He was admitted by a quite good university in Beijing and came to the capital city for the first time. After he graduated from university and received a degree in Computer Science in year 2000, he found his first job at a middle sized domestic company as a entry level engineer. His monthly salary was RMB 2,000 (about USD230), not too bad for a new graduate in China. He shared a small two bedroom apartment in suburban Beijing with a colleague, ate at company canteen or cooked at home, took the bus and subway, bought no-brand clothing from open air market. The apartment price was RMB4,000 ( USD600) per square meter. Li Ping could not afford it unless his parents could provide a major financial support.

In 2008, after eight years of hard working and struggling, 30 years old Li Ping is a Senior IT Manager at a leading IT company of China. He is monthly income has been increased to RMB12,000 (about USD1700). He bought a small (80 square meters) apartment in suburban Beijing in 2006 and got married with Ma Li who is a local Beijinger. Ma Li works in a state owned press as a reporter, her monthly salary is RMB4,000 (USD600).

The real estate market of Beijing was extremely hot during the past 8 years, the average price per square meter is sky-high now, about RMB12,000 (USD1,700) . Li Ping borrowed RMB 400,000 ( USD60,000) from his parents for the down payment and his parents never expect Li Ping to pay back. He also got a 20 year mortgage from the Construction Bank of China. Every month this typical middle class young couple need to pay the bank RMB6,000. He takes the subway and taxi for daily commute, eats at restaurants around home or company, and buys clothing at department store, especially during the seasonal sale promotion. During weekends and holidays, Li Ping usually go shopping with his wife or go to Karaoke or bar to socialize with friends and colleagues. Li Ping and Ma Li have been to some Southeast Asia counties, such as Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. Every year they take at least one annual leave to travel to some domestic destinations.

Li Ping’s income and life style make his friends in his hometown - a small city - jealous, because the average salary is only RMB2,000( USD300) in most cities. And his parents are quite proud about their capable son who can make a living in the capital city. But what they do not know is Li Ping works more than 12 hours a day, and work during weekend is almost a routine. He dreams to go to America for a Master Degree or start his own business to achieve financial freedom. But he dares not to risk the stability of his family life and financial pressures. He has to obey the rude and nonsense orders from his boss sometimes, because he definitely needs this income to pay mortgage.

Just like most of Chinese, Li Ping believes in Saving for a Rainy Day. Especially in contemporary China, social welfare system is still far from perfect. But due to the heave burden of mortgage, he really does not have much cash in his saving account. It will be a big problem when his child grows up and needs to borrow money from him for the down payment of a house.

This young couple is planning to buy a Buick which costs about RMB120,000 (USD17,000) . But they just found out that Ma Li was “accidentally” pregnant. Therefore, they are kind of indecisive about the purchasing a car idea.

Actually, Li Ping  in this article is NOT a real person, he is a symbolic middle class salaryman in Beijing. His life style and stories represent a typical living status of millions young people in this city.

Thai food is very yummy! Among all the foreign cuisines you can find in Beijing, Thai food is one of the most popular dinning options. If you are having the infatuation to try your favorite Thai delicacies but don’t know where to go in Beijing? Then you should try out the restaurants listed below. The best thing about Thai restaurants in Beijing is that they all have well translated English menu and they all accept credit cards.

Banana Leaf
Chinese name: 蕉叶（jiāo yè）
Cost: $$
Website: http://www.bananaleaf.com
Banana Leaf (Gongti Branch)
Location: inside the compound of No.4, Gongti Bei Lu, Chaoyang District
Banana Leaf (Zhongguancun Branch) 中关村蕉叶
Location: Zhongguancun Shopping Center, Section C, No.15, Zhongguancun Dajie, Haidian District

Banana Leaf has two more branches in Sanyuanqiao area and the Joy City Mall Xidan, and it is still expanding fastly. Personally, I think the Zhongguancun branch is the best one. Other breaches just provide average food and services. Be prepared to watch a very vivid Southeast Asia style dancing show between 19:00 and 20:00. Performers “aggressively” invite guests to dance together with them. If you want to host a formal business dinner here, we recoommend you booking a private room in advance, because the main hall will be very noisy during the show time. Anyway, Banana Leaf is one of the most popular and successful in Beijing and China. Claiming the best Thai food in China, Banana Leaf offers a huge menu with pictures and English captions. You should not miss it if you want to try Thai food in Beijing.

Very Siam
Chinese name: 非常泰（fēi cháng tài）
Cost: CNY$$
Hours: 09:30 - 23:00
Address: A10 Xinyuan Xili Dongjie,Sanlitun. northwest of Yuyang Hotel
新源西里东街甲10号, 渔阳饭店正门西北角

With its peaceful ambiance and exceptional dishes, Very Siam has built up an enthusiastic clientele. Three Thai chefs and imported artwork provide an authentic Thai taste and feel in a casual dining atmosphere. Try their spicy pork with coconut sauce and golden corn shrimp cakes.

Phrik Thai
Chinese name: 泰辣椒（tài là jiāo）
Cost: $$
Website: http://www.phrik-thai.com
Hours: 11:30 - 14:30, 17:30 - 22:30
Lido Branch
Address: 2/F, Unit B, Binfenlang, Holiday Inn Lido Hotel, Jiangtai Lu, Chaoyang District
Changfeng Branch
Address: 1/F, Holiday Inn Chang An West Beijing, No.66, Yongding Lu, Haidian District
Yabaolu Branch
Address: 1/F, Kaiwei Building, No.10, Yabao Lu, Chaoyang District

Widely considered one of Beijing’s best Thai restaurants, this eatery’s solid fare includes well-presented and very spicy soups along with tender green curry chicken. Daily song and dance performances make it a real experience. It is usually busy with returnees so book ahead. In summer months there is outdoor seating. Perfect for al fresco Thai dining.

Other Thai Restaurants you might want to try.

Siam Lotus Thai Restaurant
Chinese name: 荷花泰（hé huā tài）
Average Cost per Person: $$

Oriental Plaza Branch (Wangfujing Area)
Address: B1, Eastern New World, No.1, Dong Changan Jie, Dongcheng District
Dongzhimen Branch
Address: C, Eastern Ginza Building, No.21, Xinzhong Jie, Dongzhimenwai, Dongcheng District
Guomao Branch
Address: NB201, B2 Guomao Building, No.1, Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District
Twin Towers Branch
Address: 5/F, Twin Towers Shopping Center, Yongan Li, Chaoyang District

Lemon Leaf
Chinese name: 柠檬叶子（níng méng yè zi）
Cost: $$
Hours: 11:00 - 04:00
Address: No.15, Xiaoyun Lu, Chaoyang District

Simplely decorated in black, quite, large inside. A fine place for Thai style hot pot, favored by many celebrities. Actually this restaurant is owned by a quite famous Taiwanese Actor - Wu Qilong.

Serve the People
Chinese name: 为人民服务（wèi rén mín fú wù）
Cost: $$
Address: No.1, San Litun Xi Wu Jie, Chaoyang District

In the heart of Sanlitun’s diplomatic quarter “Serve the People” attracts many newcomers with its warm atmosphere and appetizing dishes. No complain about its food, but its service quality could be better.

Tai Courtyard
Chinese name: 泰合院（tài hé yuàn）
Cost: $$
Hours: 10:00 - 23:00
Location: Jiexin Huayuan, Wanquanhe Lu, Haidian District

Pink Loft
Chinese name: 粉酷（fěn kù）
Cost: $$$
Address: No.6, San Litun Nan Lu, Chaoyang District

My Recipe Thai Restaurant
Chinese name: 美滋滋泰式私房菜（měi zī zī tài shì sī fáng cài）
Cost: $$$
Location: Class-13-S, Guolingli Mansion, No.6, Guangze Lu, Wangjing Xinxing Industry Zone, Chaoyang District

Purple Haze
Chinese name: 紫苏庭（zǐ sū tíng）
Cost:$$
Address: A-55, Xingfu Yi Cun, Chaoyang District

Red Basil
Chinese name: 紫天椒（zǐ tiān jiāo）
Average Cost per Person: $$$
Address: A-8/F, Nan Xiaojie, Xinyuan Li, Chaoyang District

Sukhothai
Chinese name: 粟库泰泰式餐吧（lì kù tài tài shì cān bā）
Average Cost per Person: $$
Address: No.29, Haoyun Jie, Chaoyang District

You have just one day in Beijing and you want to know how to get the most of Beijing in the least amount of time and cost? Hope this is the itinerary you have been searching for a long time. This itinerary includes some of the most famous attractions, shopping streets and you still have a chance to try local delicacies of Beijing. To achieve this goal, you need to have the following equipments, a pair of comfortable walking shoes, a refundable Beijing Bus Pass, and a map of Beijing in English.

8:00 Get up and have a flourishing buffet breakfast at your hotel while getting ready for a great day in Beijing.

8:30 Take a taxi or use your bus pass to take subway line 2 to the newly opened Qianmen Street. Qianmen Street is an about 1,000 meter long pedestrian shopping street that all store fronts are decorated in traditional Chinese style.

9:30 Walk north from Qianmen Street to the Forbidden City. You will walk through the Tiananmen Square on the way to the Forbidden City.

10:00 Visit the Forbidden City. This is a huge palace museum. You can spend days to explore it. But you only have a few hours to have a highlight tour.
Tips: Admit ticket price of the Forbidden City: RMB60

12:30 Exit the Forbidden City from its north gate and have lunch at a small local restaurant. Please do not expect an excellent meal at this area. Most of restaurants here are for travelers who might never come back again. Therefore sadly quite a few restaurant owners might not really care about the quality of food at their place.

13:00 Visit Jinshan Park which is just north of the Forbidden City. This is a quite small park, and there is a small hill inside it. It is well worth the climb on a clear day for spectacular views of the Forbidden City and Beijing. But if it’s cloudy, you can save your energy for later.

14:00 Leave Jingshan Park and walk west along the Jingshanqianjie Street for about 5 minutes to Beihai Park. Beihai park is another MUST SEE attraction in Beijing. It is one of the oldest and most authentically preserved imperial gardens in China. Beihai Park has an area of more than 700,000 square meters and a beautiful lake covers more than half of the park.

15:30 So far, you have almost traveled half Beijing on your feet. The following tour has two versions.

PLAN A (Summer Plan): It’s time to take a taxi going to the Summer Palace located at the northwest part of Beijing. The taxi ride will take about 50 minutes, and the taxi fare should be around 60 RMB. The Summer Palace closes at 18:00 from April to October, and at 17:00 form November to March. You won’t have sufficient time to visit the Summer Palace in winter in this itinerary.

16:10 Arrive at the Summer Palace. It is the best-kept existing royal garden in Beijing. The Summer Palace is mainly dominated by Longevity Hill (60 meters high) and the Kunming Lake. It covers an expanse of 2.9 square kilometers, three quarters of which is water.

PLAN B (Winter Plan): Actually, if you have fed up with this kind of fast pace tour and want another option, you can go to the Temple of Heaven instead. The Temple of Heaven is located at the south part of Beijing, about a 30 minute taxing riding from Beihai Park. It is a great place to visit as well, although not as worthy as the Summer Palace.

18:00 Leave the Summer Palace or Temple of Heaven. Again there are three options for you to retreat yourself at night for the adventure you have gone through.

PLAN A. Visit the Wangfujing Street. Wangfujing is the most famous commercial area in Beijing. You will see large scale malls, specialty stores and many nice restaurants here. Both the famous Quanjude Beijing Roast Duck and Donglaishun Hotpot Restaurant have branches on this street.

PLAN B. Go to the Houhai area. It is a lake in central Beijing, part of the Shichahai lake area. In recent years it has become famous for nightlife because it is home to many popular restaurants, bars, and cafes. Drinks and foods are quite expensive here.

PLAN C. Visit the Nanluoguxiang Hutong. Located several kilometers north of the Forbidden City and just east of Houhai Lake, Nanluoguxiang has become one of the newest attractions in central Beijing. The area received a face lift in early 2006 - the hutong road was paved with grey bricks, storefronts were renovated, and cafes and shops were opened - and the area has since evolved into a favorite spot for local hipsters, musicians, freelancers, and tourists.

What of Beijing have you missed in this itinerary?

• The Yonghegong Lama Temple
• Beijing Zoo
• The Great Wall (don’t even think about it in one day. It is more than 100 kms away from Beijing)

If you have to skip one place from this itinerary and squeeze out more time for other attractions, that one should be Qianmen Street. You can go to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City directly in the morning.

Quieltly located in the southwest part of Beijing, Pagoda of Heavenly Peace or Tianningsita according to the locals used to be the tallest man-made structure in Beijing. The first temple was built during the Northern Wei Dynasty of China at late 5th century, and a 13 stories stone pagoda was added to the spot during the Liao Dynasty. Since the Ming Dynasty, the temple and pagoda was called Tianningsi.

The 57.8 meters high Tianningsi Pagoda is one of the masterpieces of traditional Chinese architecture. Temple of Heavenly Peace is quite small compared with major temples in Beijing. A 20-minute-tour should be sufficient for most of ordinary tourists. The Tianningsi Pagoda is the most precious treasure in this temple. Due to its small size and kinds of isolated location, Tianningsi is usually very quiet and peaceful, just likes its name “Temple of Heavenly Peace”. The octagonal Tianningsi Pagoda rests on a large square platform, and it is divided into three sections: the base, the body and the 13-story tower. Wonderful relief sculptures adorn the eight sides of the pagoda’s body, above layers of enormous lotus petals. Unfortunately, a large part of the relief sculptures has been destroied either by the elapse of time or by the “Red guards” during the culture revolution period.

Tianningsi is situated on a quiet lane of Beijing.

The entrance of Tianningsi Temple

The front yard of the Tianningsi Temple

Chinese and English Introduction about the Tianningsi Pagoda

The base and body of Tianingsi Pagoda

Look up the Tianningsi Pagoda from the front side

Seriously damaged relief sculptures

Almost totally damaged relief sculptures

Almost totally damaged relief sculptures on the back side which faces the north. I guess the harsh wind from the north during the winter is responsible for the distruction.

Almost totally damaged relief sculptures

The front side of the body is relatively well protected.

A full view of the front side. If you want to circle around the pagoda, you should start here and walk in a clockwise direction around the pagoda to show your respect to the ancient spirit.

The 2008 Beijing Olympic Closing Ceremony will be held in the Beijing National Stadium (The Bird’s Nest) from 20:00 to 23:00 on August 24, 2008. The opening ceremony was splendid and received glorification from media at home and abroad. We have a good reason to expect a spectacular closing ceremony on 24 August.

Unlike the highly confidential opening ceremony before the real show, press release some details about the closing ceremony.

Famous Chinese soprano Song Zuying and Spanish tenor Placido Domingo will sing the theme song of the closing ceremony together. The Chinese Kungfu show by 199 young Shaolin monks will be an important episode during on Sunday night. The closing ceremony will be another “fireworks feast” for the Beijingers and all the audiences who watch the show on TV.

London, as the successor to Beijing, has prepared an eight-minute performance presented by the Royal Opera House, Zoo Nation Dance Company and the Candoco Dance Company on Sunday night.

Olympic flame will be extinguished and the Olympic Flag will be handed over to London at the closing ceremony on 24 August. Prime Minister of UK Gordon Brown, London Mayor Boris Johnson, singer Leona Lewis, football star David Beckham will represent London at Sunday’s closing ceremony in Beijing.

To celebrate the success of 2008 Beijing Olympic, Royal Mail of UK and China Post will jointly issue A special set of four stamps to mark Olympics handover on August 24.

Night view of the Bird’s Nest

Ms. Song Zuying

The Stamps

How to decipher a Chineese menu is absolutely a challenge for those tourists pay their first visit to China. The good news is that many restaurants in Beijing have English menu available and the Chinese government just implanted a regulation to ensure the English dish names on any menu are standardized and correct. The bad news is that even though foreigners still need to put some efforts to make sure what they really want to order is the same dish served on their table.

Dining at a real Chinese restaurant is still an adventure in eating. The names may be unfamiliar, but here are some of the most common dishes on a Chinese menu.

A Chinese-English Menu

回锅肉 Sautéed Sliced Pork with Pepper and Chili

京酱肉丝 Sautéed Shredded Pork in Sweet Bean Sauce

木须肉 Sautéed Sliced Pork, Eggs and Black Fungus

糖醋排骨 Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs

四喜丸子 Four-Joy Meatballs (Meat Balls Braised with Brown Sauce

宫保鸡丁 Kung Pao Chicken

口水鸡 Steamed Chicken with Chili Sauce

酸菜鱼 Boiled Fish with Pickled Cabbageand Chili

咕咾肉 Sweet and Sour Pork

干烧带鱼 Braised fish with brown sauce

麻婆豆腐 pipa shaped bean curd balls

番茄炒蛋 Stir-fried egg with tomato

酱烧茄子 Eggplants with sweet soybean paste

扬州炒饭Yang Chow Fried Rice

北京烤鸭 Beijing Roast Duck

老北京炸酱面 Beijing Noodles with soybean paste

What’s you most familiar Chinese food? Beijing Roast Duck? Dumpling? Hotpot?

Actually, these dishes above are Beijing flavor foods. You might have heard or eaten “Kungbao Chicken” or “Mar-Boh Tofu” before. They belong to another style of food - Sichuan Cuisine. Sichuan food is getting popular in Beijing during the past two decades. Sometimes we think there are more Sichuan restaurants in Beijing than any other type of restaurants.

If you have tried the real Sichuan food, the first and maybe only impression is HOT HOT HOT. Yes, Sichuan food is famous for its distinct and various flavors. Hot pepper is the most important flavoring in Sichuan Cuisine.

Sichuan province has been known as the land of plenty since two thousand years ago. This place produces abundant domestic animals, poultry, and crayfish and freshwater fish. Sichuan province has high humidity and many rainy or overcast days. Hot pepper helps reduce internal dampness, so people in Sichuan have a reason to eat a lot of hot foods. The hot Sichuan food is very popular in the capital city of China, although Beijing is a thousand miles away from Sichuan and has a totally different climate. I guess the reason is very simple, “It’s too delicious to resist it.”

Recipes (Example about how to make a Sichuan Dish)

鱼香肉丝 ：Yu-Shiang Shredded Pork （Sautéed with Spicy Garlic Sauce）

Materials:
200g lean pork
50g bamboo shoots
50g black fungus
20g pickled chillies
25g scallion
15g garlic
10g ginger

Preparations
1. Shred the pork, bamboo shoots and black fungus.
2. Mix the seasonings, add to soup-stock, bring to the boil and thicken with cornstarch.
3. Saute pork shreds in 6-fold hot oil, add ginger, garlic, and pickled chillies till the fish-flavor comes out.
4. Drop in bamboo slices and black fungus, add the thickened soup.

12 MUST order Sichuan dishes.
(Caution: HOT HOT HOT)

蒜泥白肉 ：Pork with Garlic Sauce
夫妻肺片：Pork Lungs in Chili Sauce
酸辣蕨根粉 ：Hot and Sour Fern Root Noodles
麻婆豆腐：Mar-Boh Tofu
鱼香肉丝 ：Yu-Shiang Shredded Pork （Sautéed with Spicy Garlic Sauce）
宫保鸡球：Kung Pao Chicken
水煮牛肉 ：Poached Sliced Beef in Hot Chili Oil
酸辣汤：Hot & Sour Soup
四川虾球：Szechuan Shrimp
蚂蚁上树 ：Sautéed Vermicelli with Spicy Minced Pork
口水鸡 ：Steamed Chicken with Chili Sauce
水煮鱼：Fish Filets in Hot Chili Oil

酸辣蕨根粉 ：Hot and Sour Fern Root Noodles (Wide)

水煮鱼：Fish Filets in Hot Chili Oil

口水鸡 ：Steamed Chicken with Chili Sauce

Famous Sichuan Restaurants in Beijing

Sichuan food was mainly for common people, it’s neither expensive nor sumptuous. But this has been changing recently that many innovative entrepreneurs added some “side-flavor & services” to Sichuan cuisine. A Sichuan restaurant could be a very deluxe and expensive dining place. And there are more and more seafood which is relatively expensive has been add to the menu.

1. Sichuan Representative Office (Restaurant)
Chinese name: 川办餐厅（chuān bàn cān tīng）
Average Cost per Person: CNY50
Address: No.5, Gongyuantoutiao, Jianguomennei Dajie, Dongcheng District

It is one of the best and most original Sichuan restaurants in Beijing. You can taste the genuine dishes of Sichuan cuisine in hot flavor. All flavorings are “imported from Sichuan province rather than from the local market in Beijing.

2. Spice Spirit
Chinese name: 麻辣诱惑（má là yòu huò）
Recommended Dishes: Boiled Hot Fish
Average Cost per Person: CNY60
Chinese Website:http://www.spicespirit.com

Foods at Spice Spirit is a little bit less original than the food at Sichuan Representative Office (Restaurant). However, we still recommend it. Because it is more business oriented, and that means they provide more professional services to its customers.

This well operated Sichuan restaurant chain has several locations in Beijing:
- Spice Spirit (Juntai Branch)
Address: 7/F, Juntai Department Store, No.133, Xidan Beidajie, Xicheng District
- Spice Spirit (Dongzhimen Branch)
Address: 3/F, Tianheng Mansion, Dongzhimenwai Dajie, Dongcheng District
- Spice Spirit (Guanganmen Branch)
Address: No.81, Guanganmennei Dajie, Xuanwu District
- Spice Spirit (Souxiu Branch)
Address: 7/F, Souxiu Shopping Mall, No.40, Chongwenmenwai Dajie, Chongwen District

3. Fei Teng Yu Xiang
Chinese name: 沸腾鱼乡（fèi téng yú xiāng）
Recommended Dishes: Boiled Hot Fish
Average Cost per Person: CNY70
Address: Yanhua Yuan, Huaqiao Village, No.24, Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District

The most famous dish at Fei Teng Yu Xiang is “Fish Filets in Hot Chili Oil”. Unfortunately, this restaurant does not accept any credit or debit cards so far. By the way, please do not go to this place during the “peak hour”, otherwise you will be patiently waiting in a line for 30 to 60 minutes.

4. South Beauty
Chinese name: 俏江南（qiao jiang nan）
Recommended Dishes: Almost everything on its menu
Average Cost per Person: CNY150
Address: more than ten locations
Website: www.qiaojiangnan.com

South Beauty is an upscale Sichuan restaurant chain served in many locations. Fans love the spicy, numbing food and the gorgeous environment. Voted “Best Sichuan” in our 2008 Reader Restaurant Awards. It is also one of the most expensive Sichuan restaurants in Beijing. One tip, please do not order what recommended by the waiter/waitress, especially seafood. Because they just want you to order the most expensive foods to fulfill their monthly sales quota.