There were a load of images sitting on my camera for the last month that I had not realised were still there, so it was a nice excuse to follow up the Beijing post with a few extra words and pictures.
LiQun Roast Duck restaurant – heart-stoppingly good
The first that is certainly worth talking about was LiQun roast duck. Quietly hiding down one of the ‘HuTong’ back streets facing imminent destruction, this unassuming place has hosted a flotilla of presidents, diplomats and statesmen in its chaotic surroundings. The number that have had severe heart problems after leaving is probably relatively high – never has such crispy, perfectly oily duck passed these lips … and almost certainly never in this quantity.
Jade and I accompanied Pearl – a designer at Nokia in Beijing, who had been in the capital a few weeks. It was really an amazing insight to quiz her on the design scene here – fascinating.
Chefs up front, delicious ducky destruction behind
No Shit – No Shit!
LiQun is probably a fair reflection on the general type of food available in Beijing – immediately very tasty, dry, oily and in many cases spicy, it’s delicious, but after a few days it does become rather too much and the incredible salt content ends up destroying your palette. Delicious, yes – but in moderation please, if only for the sake of my poor heart.
The second of the major extra locations I wanted to document for a moment was 798 – the art district that has semi-taken over an industrial zone, and substituted manufacturing units for art galleries and concept shops. It was really quite charming to see real steam emanating from the pipes around the installations, and the hipsters reflected off the windows of galleries hosting student exhibitions. The only thing, as ever here, was the background thrum of pollution resonating in the air – sadly even the books in the arts shop were all covered in a fine layer of dusty residue – a sad detail.
Making way for a new development
Cruising the streets
Hole in the wall
I am convinced I see Lenin imprinted in fabric of the wall
Pipe dreams – I kind of wonder if an artist was let loose on this
Nike + Industrial Art = Concept Shop
Mao’s Jacket – amazing how iconic it has become
Stringing it together
Later in the day we were passing the Audi dealership, and obviously in a drive to increase the profile of the brand in China, they had imported the one-off ‘Avus’ concept from the 1990s, along with the new R8, S5 and a range of other tasty morsels. But the ‘Avus’ – I really think I saw this as a child at the Birmingham motor show. Certainly – very dramatic… but I would not like be the one to keep it looking shiny.
Web Gallery here:
