Turning one hundred years old is no mean feat, so Bespoke’s hearty congratulations go out to the lovely Great World building near People’s Square that was built in 1917. Now, whilst you’ve no doubt whizzed past this grand old dame countless times (and seen the bright white spire that looms over the elevated highway) you might not know that back in her youth she was a bit of a goer.
Opened as the city’s premier ‘entertainment complex’ and later taken over by corrupt-policeman-turned-mob boss ‘Pockmarked Huang’, the Great World was said to be teeming with life of every kind – contemporary accounts tell of everything from opera performances and tightrope walkers to fortune tellers, pickpockets and pimps!
Forget Gulou– we’re going to go out on a limb and say that Dashilan has the greatest concentration of cool coffee shops per square meter in Beijing. That’s right – from artisanal Soloist Coffee at 39 Yangmeizhu Xiejie (where they brew only the finest and you can recline in old salvaged armchairs) to Berry Beans, an early 20th century brothel that’s been converted into a gorgeous café with a little terrace (No.7 Zhujia Hutong).
Hunan resto The Southern Fish (166 Yangmeizhu Xiejie) flew under the radar for years until they made it onto Travel + Leisure’s hip list. And they’re not the only ones. Inde Japanese chain Suzuki Kitchen (10-14 Yangmeizhu Xiejie) has one of the best spaces on Yangmeizhu – a beautifully zen long room, filled with light and with its own kooky picnic area out front.
