Giraffe at Large
3 min readIn Beishan, if you look up into the sky, you’ll find a giraffe cocking its head to make eye contact with you. And a winking giraffe at large sure beats one in some sad enclosure.
Today’s Beishan neighborhood is the perfect place to marvel at the latest and trendiest Zhuhai street fashion. It is here that the city’s playful chameleon character and its heart of a child is brought into full play.
The bustling streets and the village environs are also home to many of the city’s hottest venues, serving as the HQ of the animated bakery brand-Xiaomi Bakery, a popular modern music school specializing in the education and promotion of jazz culture, the Beishan Estate that hosts a refined”guqin” studio, and a chic Beijing-based vegetarian eatery where one can enjoy the high art of Chinese vegetarianism and rethink what to eat and why-if not from an ethical perspective, then a healthy one.
Xiaomi Bakery moved its HQ from the city’s Oxford Street to Beishan a couple of years ago, and Sebastien Durand is seen there every day absorbed in the act of blending his fascination with Bruce Lee’s Wing Chun and the principles of Daoism into truly organic and genuinely French baguettes(with Chinese philosophical connection). Another absolute must-try in your Beishan promenade is”Buddhist Punk”Vegetarian Bistro, also a creation by Sebastien.
Sebastien Durand, a Frenchman in Zhuhai Rumor has it that the bakery site was originally a pig pen, giving an air of mystery as to how the place evolved into what it is today For Sebastien, this story only adds depth and irony to his Beishan (and Zhuhai) experience.
If your preference is to return to authentic Chinese culture, the ideal place to visit is Beishan Estate, first built in 1859. The premises now houses a number of outlets selling products that represent Zhuhai’s indigenous spirit, such as the traditional “qipao”(aka”cheongsam”, in Cantonese) and a wide variety of textile crafts. The complex is a treasure box of Chinese art, design and culture that amounts to a celebration of the finer things in life, whether that be good food, refined music or an oldfashioned book that you just can’t put down.
The ethereal sound of “guqin” only adds to the tranquility of this urban sanctuary. The time-honored, elite courtyard house was the source of enlightenment for Zhiling, who quit a fat salary from a listed company and the gaudy nightlife of the big city to settle down in this soothing hideaway, after falling for Tai Ji Quan (aka T’ai Chi) and getting incurably addicted to the angelic sound of the ancient musical instrument. Her Qinyin Tonglu “guqin” studio, now an iconic part of the courtyard estate and serving more than 300 students, has become the city’s “guqin” cultural base. For Zhiling, however, the best contribution of her life in this serene settlement is seen in the studio’s cultural gatherings, in which participants enjoy the cultivation and solace brought by everything that is profoundly Chinese.
Rumor has it that the previous life of the Xiaomi Bakery site was a sweet home of oinking piglets.
In Zhuhai, you don’t need a zoo to find a giraffe. There is one in Beishan, more specifically, looming above a western restaurant.
