Bespoke is bursting with excitement about our latest Limited Edition Public Tour in collaboration with the amazing, fascinating history peeps at Beijing Postcards, which will take place on six evenings only from late April to May. We’ll tell you more in the next Urban Edit but for now, here’s a teaser…
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[dropcap]In[/dropcap] a galaxy not very far away, (actually in Beijing, the very city you live in) just a hundred years ago, a nightly curfew was imposed. When the enormous gates of the city wall closed, the empty streets belonged to The Night Watchmen of the 8 Banners. This group of Qing dynasty soldiers coordinated their nightly patrols to the sound of the Drum Tower’s imposing beat.
But…
In 1901 a new, modern police force emerged rivaling the power of the Night Watchmen. Conflicts were many between these two strangely co-existing forces. And when the last emperor abdicated in 1911, the modern police force gained the upper hand.
In 1919 a common enemy of the two forces emerged: Revolutionaries, outraged by the aftermath of the First World War when German possessions in China were given to the Japanese.
Students from the famous Peking University took to the streets. Unable to quell the trouble themselves, the modern police force turned to their longtime rivals for assistance, because the Night Watchmen had a much deeper, more sophisticated knowledge of the hutong alleyways of the capital.
This is the story of the Night Watchmen…
Stay tuned for more details soon, or send an email to nightwatch@bespoke-beijing.com.