The very first thing I sense, strolling into the cavernous underground bar, is the odor. It is musky and damp, one thing my lungs will get used to ultimately down beneath the earth, even when it is for a quick time.
I’ve entered into Reminiscence, a labyrinthine cocktail bar within the basement degree of a way of life district in Tuanjiehu opened by the house owners of one other Beijing cocktail bar referred to as Church, which takes inspiration, and claims to be however a small part of, the fabled Underground Metropolis.
Cut up between two bar areas, seats conceal beneath vaulted brick ceilings, with a VIP space and, behind a large concrete blast door, an extended hallway was a mock “capturing gallery” of kinds with toy weapons and balloons to shoot down. It’s a step again into historical past, even the drinks invoke a way of China’s previous – with solely the gangster rap playlist bringing one again to the current.
Development started on what would change into the Beijing Underground Metropolis, 北京地下城 Běijīng Dìxiàchéng in Chinese language, in 1969. The endeavor was meant as a way to shelter the folks in Beijing in case of air raids or nuclear assault. The Underground Metropolis was constructed by folks from all walks of life within the capital, with an amazing many bricks from Beijing’s metropolis partitions used to assemble the community.
Recognized on the time because the “Underground Nice Wall”, it grew to span 1.2 million sq. meters in all, with passageways beneath Beijing connecting bomb shelters, dwelling quarters, faculties, hospitals, and even a cinema. All of this as a way to accomodate over 300,000 residents as they rode out the worst.
The Metropolis was additionally in-built tandem with Subway Line 1, which was meant on the time as one other protection mechanism; a way of evacuating metropolis residents to Western Beijing in time of battle. Western sections of the Underground Metropolis have been additionally used extra by the army, with some sections giant sufficient to ship vehicles, tanks, and extra beneath the floor.
The Underground Metropolis remained dormant, ready to be used in a time of battle or assault, till China opened up within the Eighties. Immediately, there’s not a lot that is still of the labyrinth. Apart from Reminiscence, the one different monument to the town’s existence is the Underground Metropolis Museum not removed from Dashilar.
This museum used to behave as one of many entrances to the town for vacationers, the place they might discover and even purchase trinkets beneath the earth. When looking for info on the Underground Metropolis on-line it is simple to come back throughout previous images from previous excursions, which promised journey and odd finds beneath Beijing’s floor.
Because the 2000s, any entry to the Metropolis appears to have change into nonexistent, barring sections and shelters repurposed for gray area residential use. And generally, you’d be proper to not wish to discover down there an excessive amount of. Many of the tunnels and rooms have both flooded or change into stuffed with rubbish and mould, or are else closed off completely for nationwide safety functions.
This doesn’t imply there aren’t methods of exploring the Underground Metropolis, considered one of these methods being by way of wine tastings. Organized by Jacquelin of Ruchè Falanghina Wine Consulting, the tastings happen in part of the Metropolis that was transformed right into a wine cellar and tasting area round 5 years in the past.
“The temperature and humidity in these tunnels is ideal for wine to age and mellow,” says Jacquelin of the hidden cellar. “It is attention-grabbing as a result of directly its part of Beijing’s historical past, however its additionally one thing that is by chance change into the proper place for wine.”
That being stated, whereas sections of the cellar are open to the general public, one cannot merely go wandering off to discover, with Jacquelin mentioning a door on the finish of the tunnel related to the bunker they use for tastings that’s utterly sealed.
Nonetheless if you would like to expertise no less than part of the Underground Metropolis, the occasions are by appointment solely, however their future is unsure, so you possibly can contact Jacquelin for particulars (WeChat ID: JacquelinWinePimp). Apart from the tastings, the one different areas are the museum – the place the doorway to the Metropolis is saved beneath a glass door – and Reminiscence.
Again inside Reminiscence, after we’ve wandered round a bit to take all of it in, we sit on the bar. The menu is stuffed with signatures that take a web page from the militaristic nature of the area and China’s previous. There’s the March Ahead Courageously, A Hail of Bullets, and the Spectacular, My Nation!
Directly it’s a spot paying homage to one thing constructed out of necessity, a previous actually underneath our ft as we sip our drinks. In the meantime, Coolio’s “Gangsters’ Paradise” performs within the background.
Reminiscence 北京记忆
Floor Flooring of Sunken Plaza, Tuanjiehu Xinli, 10 Tuanjiehu Dongli
朝阳区团结湖东里10号团结湖新里下沉广场1层（货梯西侧）
Hours: Day by day, 6pm-2am
Contact: 185 1594 6991
Underground Metropolis Museum 北京地下城博物馆
110 Xixinglong Jie, Dongcheng District
东城区西兴隆110号
Hours: Day by day, 10am-noon; 1-5pm
Contact: 189 0455 5265
READ: Go to Right here: The Beijing Planning Exhibition Corridor
Pictures: Vincent R. Vinci, Wikimedia Commons, Ruchè Falanghina Wine Consulting