Bowling for Soup and Tongrentang
I had seen a few posters in the music stores for Bowling for Soup. In fact, they were the only American band that I ever saw a poster for. They were getting good promotions for their new album. The music stores catagorize pop music a little differently here. First by country (China, Japan, Korea, other, US+Uk) then for each of those it goes bands, songstressess and finally male singers.
Turns out that Bowling for Soup had a show on Sat. I was not sure if I could rock-star my way into it as there was a considerable language barrier, but that whole crowd are best friends with Elijah. I had set out for the day early on…so it turned out there was a ticket arranged for me at will call, but I didnt hear about it until I got home. Nuts.
Still, the best part was seeing a two story high poster of Bowling for Soup. As I walked around the building I was eyed eagerly as a potential member. I could see a lot of puzzled looked as they where discussing if I could be one of the members.
The weekend had some of the best walking. If your ever in Beijing and are looking for some off the beaten path adventures…this is what I did.
First I went to the zoo to see the Pandas. Its a big zoo, but you can cover what you want quickly.
Go to the subway and take line two to Guloudajie. This is the station just north of HouHai and the Bell and Drum Tower. YOu can walk past all the Hutongs till you get to the tower. Its a steep stair climb. From there, go due east on Gulou Dong Dajie. (the names are easier than you thing.) It went on for what seemed a mile and a half of endless stores. Much more interesting as in kitchy. Some live music venues. Tons of places to eat and about 20 music stores.
When you hit Andingenmen, go north to the gate (subway). Again, its a much more interesting stretch of road. Tons of smells, tastes, sights.
Sunday I hit the Dazhalan area. This was even better. I had planned to see the Tongrentang. Its a herbal drugstore that has been in the same address for 300 years. It was several stories and had all the deer heads, $100000 Ginsing roots and jars of whatever that you would expect to see. They had an exchange center and several payment windows too. They were not too keen on the pictures though.
This is the street where you will find your cheapest jade or jade-like materials. Dirt cheap. Is it jade…dunno. Prices were all over the place, but there was a gift for every budget.
The most exciting part was when I headed due west into the Hutongs. Its a whole different world. You have to just pick an alley and get lost. Tiny alleys with small stalls are dotted with random businesses, bakers, snack vendors, internet cafes and people just doing whatever they do. Its not uncommon to be going down a dark alley and peer into a door that houses a modern pharmacy. Plenty of toilets too. It was just neat!
