Beijing Boyce

For each of the 88 days until the 2008 Olympics, I will [try to] strip-mine my brain to unearth a thought related to Beijing and The Games. That’s one thought per brain cell. It’s called teamwork, people!

Bloggers, forums, and local media are talking about how China’s new visa policy is affecting business, tourism, and the Olympics. Even the New York Times is on the case. Oddly, while the paper’s article is about visas and tourism, it doesn’t mention how the policy might impact the thousands of foreign visitors who plan to rent apartments in Beijing during The Games. On the other hand, it does inform America that Centro is “hip”, that the nearby Horizon restaurant is home to “power dinners” (who knew?), and that the Kerry Centre Hotel lounge is “plush” (that would be the one that links to the bar, the mall, and the toilets).

In any case, while security concerns are cited as driving the visa policy, those with friends who are freelance teachers, consultants, writers, and so on in Beijing have probably figured out the hidden agenda: China is trying to break the Guinness Book of World Records for most going-away parties in a month. Mission accomplished! So, how about returning things to normal? (Please? Pretty please with red bean paste on top?)

My own going-away party, assuming the nature of my departure allowed one, would follow a simple plan: 1) gather the piles of mao and fen lying about my apartment; 2) invite people I like; 3) have fun. I would hope the itinerary included these three stops:

- A tasting of Chinese wines at Sequoia Café: This should be no problem as owner Frank Siegel is a huge fan of the local vino. We would drink wine from Grace, Yunnan Red, Sino-French and Taillan, all while watching locally based wine maker Alain Leroux evaluate them with his 100-point shrugging system.

- A visit to Sanlitun: I have a love-hate relationship with this place, but would at least stop at Cheers for a shot of Wild Turkey and live Xinjiang music. Other options: The Tree for pizza and Belgian beer, Kokomo because they’d probably play Let’s Get It Started by The Black-Eyed Peas (incidentally, this ranks among the top housecleaning songs of all time), and The Saddle Cantina, where I would order an ice-cold Stella and then carry it over to sibling establishment The Rickshaw and have some medium wings.

- A visit to Q Bar: My Beijing bar days started with First Café, where Q co-owners George and Echo once worked. At some point in the night, I would like to have a dry martini as George spins blues music (and a Morrissey tune or two, for old time’s sake).

Add in a few other stops – perhaps a late-afternoon wine tasting at Palette Vino, happy hour at Aria or The Den, a final stroll down Nanluoguxiang – and, well, this might be a going-away party that requires more than one night.

Previously
Thought 1: If they build it, we may come
Thought 2: “Whether or not” in Sanlitun
Thought 3: Living the lowlife on Lotus Lane
Thought 4: The F&B scene takes a pre-Olympics breather?
Thought 5: Flaming Fuwa
Thought 6: Continental drink
Thought 7: The Parallel Bars?
Thought 8: No kangaroos, and other guidelines
Thought 9: A few good men
Thought 10: Someone call programming