A Blanket of White

Recently Beijing’s pollution has been extreme and filled the city with thick hazy air. So it was magical to awake the first morning in my new apartment to softly falling snow and a pristine blanket of white- covering the past week’s film of dust. After enjoying a cozy morning on my bright salmon couch with a book and cup of tea, I bundled up and ventured outside- half afraid of the cold flakes falling on my face but also mesmerized by the beautiful calm they lay upon the city. 

Also enjoying the snow was a little girl building a squat twiggy snowman outside my building entrance. She grinned as I took a photo of her clever creation. 

Turning onto my neighborhood’s little ally ways I was intrigued by Chinese characters traced onto the windshields of resting vehicles and little metal rickshaws. Happily I recognized the same snow instincts my friends and I had at home, but this time temporary snow graffiti was in Mandarin! 

I was headed for the perfect wintery date. My friend Wayne and I were going to a new microbrewery nearby called Slow Boat Taproom for a special craft beer and cheese pairing event. 

On the way to the brewery’s hidden hutong location we passed a row of tailors specializing in florescent puffy winter coats in a variety of boastful styles and shades. Seeing small shops like this with lengths of material covering one wall and little sewing machines cramped against the other really reminds me that so many products really are ‘made in China.’ It is a novelty to see these coats materialize and be customized before your eyes, something that rarely happens anymore in the US. 

Passing the tailors we continued down a quiet hutong with gnarled branches swathed in white- creating a picturesque winter corridor. 

Presently we arrived at our destination. The façade of the taproom had a cool concrete brick design that let light filter through to its minimalist interior. The place is so new that Wayne noticed it still smelled like Home Depot. The front of the small room boasted a wall of at least 15 taps, a brightly decorated chalkboard and two American bartenders. For a moment I had to remind myself I wasn’t in Brooklyn. 

We took our flight of dark beers and wood slab of precious paired cheeses back to a modern picnic table. After running into my co-worker from Tang Gallery and chatting a while, Wayne and I had a wonderful afternoon of good conversation, food, and of course-drink. The snow framed such a pleasant day.