Mandarin Immersion (Part 38)

This entry is part 38 of 40 in the series Mandarin Immersion

June 21, 2023

Mandarin Immersion (Part 38)

By Simon J. Lau

I arrived in Beijing in the evening, and it was blistering hot, nearly 100°F (36°C). When I left the metro, I worried that I’d melt away. 🫠 Fortunately, I got it together and visited Ghost Street for what would be my last dinner in China (at least for now).

During the Qing dynasty, many merchants and vendors would set up their stalls here around midnight and wrap up before sunrise. It was said that the dim lights from their oil lamps would look ghostly at night. That’s where the original name, 鬼街 (literally, “Ghost Street”), was derived. Beginning in the late 1980s, when China began to modernize, many new storefronts and restaurants opened here. It became a small but widely known food Mecca in Beijing

At the same time, Chinese people are very superstitious. To move away from the ghost reference, the city adopted a new name, 簋街 (which has the same pronunciation as the original name). A 簋 is a bronze vessel used to hold food offerings. There’s even a giant bronze vessel at the street’s main entrance. Despite the official name change, the original name remains. 👻👻👻

Since arriving in China, I’ve (surprisingly) really gotten into eating Muslim food. In this case, I ate at a Uyghur restaurant. I appreciated the ultra-large beer bottles (620 ml vs 500) and their lamb and rice dish. The yogurt, which I took to go, was also pretty good.

Next time, I’d love to explore the more sparsely populated western regions of China, including Xinjiang (where many Uyghurs live). I’ve had a number of Chinese people tell me how amazing that area is and how worthwhile it is to visit. I’d love to see it for myself someday!

Finally, I still have one morning left in China before I leave for home. I guess I’ll need to really relish that final breakfast and coffee. 😅 In the meantime, here’s a selfie of me in front of Beijing’s much-loved Liangma River.