I hadn’t expected to be scouring the streets of the location I found myself in when I first arrived in China in January 2020. Then, I had booked myself a hotel based on its cost and its proximity to to Beijing Railway station where I was arriving. The streets when were completely alien to me and as often in these circumstances I allowed the taxi driver to take me a circuitous route without any idea of cost or honesty. I remember being dropped outside a Hutong opposite the hotel and its ancient alleys seemed dystopian and magical. But my overall memory, in the midst of the beginnings of Covid, is of feeling lost, unsure of what was happening or going to happen and mystified about where to go or what to do. The pace of life for me, after the last few weeks was definitely slowing and I might even say meandering and this state gave me time to reflect when faced with memories of those uncertain times.

I was not however, in a reflective mood on Monday when I headed out from home to find a cafe to work in whilst Peng’s online meetings dominated the space at home. Fayuan Temple is fast becoming a popular, lifestyle area. not only does the history of the temple date back to 645 and lure visitors to the area, but more and more cafes seem to be opening making the Hutong streets more interesting to explore. A new mall that will be opening virtually opposite can only attract more attention. On a previous tour of the area I seen a large Cafe Bookstore with interesting decorative features and I combined my mission to work with some moderate walking exercise and discovering the delights of the new cafe. The first thing I notices as I approached the cafe was that the landscape windows had a waterfall feature gushing down them. Clearly, with the change in temperature the owners were able to turn on this charm without fear of the water freezing. I whiled away the hours in the library like calm of the establishment. I noted at least three other new cafes to investigate when I would next need to escape the apartment.

On a recent visit to the Chongwenmen area with Stuart and Kaz I had discovered there was now a Moscot Glasses outlet in Beijing. I had lost my beautiful sunglasses in 2020 and had been unable to find anywhere in China to replace them. I eventually did replace them when I was back in the UK as well as treating myself to some frames for long distance sight. I hadn’t had time then for an eye test and happily thought I would get it done back in Beijing. However, I didn’t trust the glass shop at Glasses mall and since that time the frames have sat accusingly, amongst my myriad spectacles, in my draw. Once I saw there was a specialist in the city I could finally get new lenses for these stylish Moscot specs I had made plans to go along. I checked they were open and combined the visit with a Chinese movie, Fire on the Plain at the nearby Soshow Mall.

The owner of Forlok, Yang Le, was incredibly helpful, friendly and flattering and once we had ascertained what I needed he did a ‘free’ eye test. I selected the lenses and he advised I would have the glasses within the week. The shop was 100 yards away from the hotel I had been deposited at in 2020 and once I had ordered the new lenses I walked along the road confident that my memory was perfect. I had remembered a temple which had been closed and as I passed it I could see that not only was it still closed was still closed but that its state of disrepair had intensified over the 5 years that had passed. I found the hotel but it was now derelict and It took me a while to orientate myself. Something seemed wrong but I couldn’t fathom what it was. I jumped on a bike and cycled to Ciqikou subway through the Hutong I first captured on film in 2020.

On Thursday I had arranged to meet friend Stuart in Shichahai on what turned out to be a grey and dismal day. I had a list of homers and temples I wanted to see and as sat and waited at the station I realised that the Taoist temple opposite the station exit, one I had actually visited in 2018 and had been closed to the public since my return in 2020 was now open and I excitedly suggested we go there. We explored the Temple, which seemed smaller than my memory had imagined and then went for a coffee on a terrace overlooking the lake at Tangfang Coffee. Wonderful views of the lake and the drum tower were the background to a long and entertaining conversation. We realised that the time had really flown by and there was not much time to see all the items on my agenda. We went for a walk around Shichahai and enjoyed the sights of costumed ladies, rickshaws, ancient architecture and Paid a visit to another temple which turned out to be closed.

Friday was a day about food. I got breakfast of Jain bing and Tofu pudding from the market across road. Despite this large and truly delicious breakfast we cycled to Tian tan Dongli for lunch which sold a dish from Peng’s childhood. The menu was dominated by meat and I had to make do with some relatively ordinary, though tasty dishes including a small hot and sour soup. Coincidentally, the restaurant was located just South of Moscot glasses shop, making it the 2nd time that week I had made the journey to and from Ciqikou on a bike, though I did make sure for purposes of interest that we took a different route. After lunch we enjoyed a tea in a nearby cafe. We cycled home an alternative route which Peng noted took us us past a restaurant in Caishikou which was noted for its Zha gao, a fried cake with black sesame and red bean fillings.

The slow pace I had anticipated had not happened and to remedy this I made sure on Saturday that I whiled away the day in idleness. One of the home based bits of time wasting was playing a new game for two players on the computer. It was fun, rater silly and I was relatively poor at it. By Sunday we had advanced quite far on SplitFiction and we filled the morning with more of the fantasy adventures. I had a call from Yang le to say my glasses were ready for collection and I agreed to pick them up in the afternoon. As soon as I began cycling to the shop it started to rain so I got a subway instead. As I was not used to disembarking at Ciqikou I came out of the wrong exit at Ciqikou but it was now sunny and as I thought I knew the way through the Hutong I hoped on a bike and went in what I considered to be the right direction. I was wrong and I got lost. Finally consulting a map I actually found myself cycling past then closed hotel again and approaching it from a different angle I realised why I had felt so disorientated when I had been there on Tuesday, not only was the hotel derelict and sealed off from view but, the actual road itself had undergone a transformation with a large triangular island that had been there had been removed to ease the flow of traffic through the street.

I picked up the Moscot glasses from Forlock and tested the lenses which were perfect. Peng had sourced some cakes at Chongwenmen and asked me to get them for him. I cycled there but only one of the products he wanted was available which made it a slightly wasted detour..  It began to get dark and very cold on my way home and the bike ride felt quite oppressive. I paid a visit to the market for some strawberries as I left it started to snow and just after I got in the snow turned into a blizzard, It snowed for some time bur sadly, nothing settled.

All week I had paid visits to places I had been in both 2018 and 2020 and those memories, though full of a sense of excitement and adventure, also reminded me of just how bewildering, slightly bleak and uncertain of the future I was and completely unaware that in those moments I was actually changing the course of my life irredeemably and that those unfamiliar streets would become my home.

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