Night Stroll in Beijing's Wangfujing and a Photo with Jet Li
After retiring for many years, I didn't go to Beijing, but when I did go, I wanted to explore it at night, so I walked south from Tiananmen Square and entered the Wangfujing Street in the night.
Wangfujing Street was known as Zhengyangmen Street during the Ming, Qing, and Republic dynasties, and was once the imperial route for emperors to leave the city. Now it is a bustling commercial street.
In the afternoon, I took a rickshaw and explored the nooks and crannies of old Beijing, and I also heard many interesting stories from the capital.
It is said that in the Qing Dynasty, the Wangfujing area was 'full of gold and silver jewelry and food, with wine houses, singing and dancing, and endless evenings'.
During the Republic of China, many restaurants, hat shops, sauce shops, fabric stores, and spice shops lined Wangfujing Street.
Today's Wangfujing Street has been renovated and is dazzling, integrating ancient and modern, East and West, and is a fashionable street where tradition and fashion blend together.
I walked along the street and saw a Jet Li Wax Museum, so I went in with a sense of curiosity to investigate.
The Jet Li Wax Museum headquarters is in Britain, established by the wax sculptor Jet Li, and is said to be one of the highest wax museums in the world.
Many world-famous people's wax figures were made in the museum. Because of the superb craftsmanship, the wax figures are lifelike and often difficult to distinguish between real and fake.
Many branches of the museum are located in many places around the world, and this one is the 16th branch, attracting many visitors to Wangfujing Street every day.
I went in and saw many famous figures inside, including politicians, movie stars, and sports stars. Tourists were busy taking photos with them.
Hey! Jet Li, a Hong Kong martial arts movie star, was also there. I queued up to take a photo with this Jet Li, a familiar figure in the movies.
Although Jet Li is a Hong Kong actor, his hometown is in Anhui Province. It was a coincidence that we were from the same hometown, the same age, and the same surname. Taking a photo with him was a coincidence.
After leaving the Jet Li Wax Museum, from Wangfujing Street to Daixiang Lane, the street was illuminated, and there were many stores of famous old brands.
Fullide, Dongxianshun, Liuju, Bianfuang, and Daxiangcun are all traditional delicacies of Beijing, and their popularity in the Wangfujing area is also very high.
Beijing Tong Renyi Chinese Medicine Shop has a Chinese style and ancient atmosphere. It's a good place to visit when I come to Kyoto.
Ruifengxiang Fabric Store is also a must-visit. This old store was established in the 19th year of the Qing Dynasty Guangxu (1893) and has been making national costumes for both domestic and foreign customers.
There is a song sung in Beijing: 'Wear a Ma Ju Yuan hat, wear a Ruifengxiang coat, and wear Inner Link Sheng shoes.' This vividly depicts old Beijing.
Night exploring Beijing, you can hear the shouts of Beijing accent from afar. Whether they are selling something or not, they usually start with 'Hey…!'
Next, candied hawthorns, lamb skewers, stir-fried liver, crispy intestines, and fermented bean sauce noodles, spoken and sung together, clear and melodious, and full of old-fashioned city flavors.
