The Urban Edit
If new beer emporium C2H60 has an identity problem, we’ve decided we’re ok with it.
It may be stocked to the wooden rafters with imported bottled beers (literally – there are 700 different brews here) but to those who enter, C2H60 looks for all the world like Beijing’s swankiest cocktail bar.
We’ve come to realize a great irony of modern travel. And it’s this: the people who recoil most at the notion of seeing a city with a tour guide are often the very people who would actually benefit (and enjoy having one) the most.
The reason for this inverse snobbery? Tour guides have an image problem.
Those of you who know Bespoke know that when it comes to Beijing, we’re all about the hidden gems, the hutong hideaways, the independent boutiques and eateries with bags of character.
But sometimes this kind of inverse snobbery doesn’t pay. Sometimes the best restaurants can be found inside big glossy car showrooms right in the center of town. No, we’re not kidding.
If someone decided to shrink 798 and drop it behind the National Art Museum of China, you’d end up with C&C Park. This achingly hip former print factory isn’t just home to Meridian Space (with its fixie bikes, urban courtyard and café perfect for morning coffees) – but a huge surprise in the form of Chinese fashion designer Ma Ke’s showroom.
Ninja cat, surfboarding dog, Donald Trump memes… They all went viral. And now, ladies and gentlemen, we believe we might have created the first ever viral tour.
FOMO alert! If you’re so used to posting updates on social media that it’s become as much a habit as brushing your teeth, you may have a minor panic attack after touching down in China.
Why? Because despite Mark Zuckerberg practically naming his first child after Xi Jinping, Facebook and Instagram are both blocked. Oh, and Google too; Google maps, Google calendar, Gmail, all of it. Along with a whole host of other international websites you’re used to interacting with on a daily basis.
