The Urban Edit
When you’ve lived in Beijing for a few winters, you know the folks back home probably won’t squeal with pleasure when unwrapping another tea set / silk scarf / lucky cat / kite this Christmas. (Did we miss any?) So we’ve devised this handy list of Beijing gifts sure to delight their intended recipient or your money back. Figuratively speaking.
With the news of Shanghai’s beloved Dongtai market closing, Bespoke took what might just be a final stroll down Dontgtai Road, the ramshackle street market overflowing with everything from spooky vintage dolls to terrifying looking kung fu weapons and brass horn gramophones. Even for those with no interest in shopping, the area is great fun to explore, as if the contents of an Old Shanghai lane house had been tipped out and left there for the likes of us to rifle through.
Touching down in a sprawling mega city of 20 million souls is enough to make even a seasoned traveller’s head spin. Beijing seems bold, brash and very, very big to new arrivals. But the city is much more manageable than you might think. Which is why we’ve created a unique product – two, in fact – to make our guests feel instantly at home in China’s capital.
Wouldn’t you like to know? OK fine, we’ll tell you. Bespoke Beijing did take her shopping, after all – on our Signature Hidden Hutong Boutiques Tour.
Follow the pungent aroma of stinky tofu along touristy ‘Tobacco Pouch Lane’ (Yandai Xiejie) that connects the Drum Tower with Houhai Lake, and you’ll find Zhongguo Haoli (also known by its Taiwanese moniker ‘The One’) – possibly the best one-stop-souvenir-shop you’ve never heard of.
