南锣鼓巷夜景 (Nanluoguxiang)

I had no idea of where to find the Beijing hutongs, so was watching as we rode cabs through the city on the way to the hotel and to meetings. After returning early Sunday from Baotou, my work companion asked the hotel concierge about the best options for getting to the Great Wall and Tian'anmen Square (compare descriptions here and here). We had the rest of the day off so figured we would go to the Wall first, and the area around the Forbidden City after getting back.

As it turned out, the hutongs were in the downtown area near Beihai Park, so after getting back from the Great Wall we had the cab driver we hired for the day drop us off. After walking along the lake in the park for a while, we 
figured out that the stylized tourist map was not to scale, and the Forbidden City - still a long walk away - was closing soon, we exited the East Gate. We wound our way through a series of narrow streets and alleys, quickly viewing life there - grocery stores, carpenters working rough sawed lumber, a chicken coup on the roof of a home, people coming and going. We made our way forward, keeping 

our left side always towards what we thought was the wall around Beihai Park - a bearing point like the North Star. Our likely route was along Jingshan West Street, and then keeping to the left and north through Gongjian Hutong - passing Beijing Xicheng Shenchahai Elementary School. When we got back to De'anmen E Street near entrance to Beihai Park, we crossed the street and walked east by rows of shops and restaurants until we came to the sign for Nanluoguxiang - I remembered the entrance sign to this place from the year before. (1)

As we turned into South Luogu Alley (English for Nanluoguxiang), I tried to quickly re-oriented myself with familiar-remembered places. 

Walking to the right down a side street, we looked for the restaurant I ate at last year. After passing the brightly painted police station on the left, across the street on the right was the non-descriptive restaurant entrance. I asked the waitresses who were standing just inside whether we could look to see the central courtyard - and there it was. I asked how late they were opened, and one replied and asked if we wanted to make a reservation. The restaurant had just opened at 5:00 PM, but it was too early for dinner, so we walked back to the lane. Flying overhead were magpies - a few sparrows were perched on the edge of a roof, who then flew into a tree as we approached.

What was new this time, was that most of the people I noticed walking the street were young Chinese, not foreign tourists. This was even more apparent when we tried to hail a cab at the end of the lane - many young people coming and going - constantly being dropped off while others caught cab rides, off to other places on an early Sunday evening. When Google'ing Nanluoguxiang, it turned out that even the CRI (Chinese Radio International) reports that this street is a trendy area for young people. The shops are chic boutiques - no brand names, just cool. When I came out of one of the shops, a college-aged woman  

asked me to take a picture of her standing in front of one of the store signs with her cell phone - my companion mentioned the photo was probably now on a Facebook page somewhere. Before coming to China this time, the two things I wanted to buy were a framed print of a farm scene done in Chinese peasant art style, and a CD of traditional Chinese music (remember my odd music tastes). The peasant art store I remembered from last time was no longer there, but we did come across a small music shop called Source. (2) The proprietor was a youngish man with long hair who introduced himself as "Stephen." When I asked about "traditional or folk" music, he led me to a part of a shelf with Chinese labels and pulled out several albums. I picked one to listen to, and he offered us a cigarette while we listened. My camera was out of battery charge, so I regret that I don't have a picture of the shop and its proprietor.(3) Stephen called the disc I chose Chinese Indie - how about that? (4)  I took the business card he offered me, and when home looked up the Weblink for Source and found that it is an outlet for a modern arts association - Yan Club Arts Center.

It is an endeavor to try to find out more about a music artist from China when all of the information on the CD jacket is in Chinese. The ISBN and  ISRC numbers didn't help, but I was able to find out that the

record label - Modern Sky Entertainment - is the largest in China. Clicking on that site, and finding the Badhead label, I found the record cover with the artist I was looking for - but wouldn't you know it, all of the information for this album is in Chinese. However, by using the Google Translator Tool, it turns out that the artist is named He Ping 小河 (translated: Brook), and his album is described as: Highly experimental alternative folk singer color, "good pharmacy (5)," lead singer, the experimental concept of his music is: with one another, mutual liberation, and in his music contains a deep feeling of freedom and love. Translation: Chinese Indie, just as Stephen described it when listening to the disc in his shop.

Some thoughts of the artist follow:

—有的人做音乐是在做人，有的人做音乐是在做科学家，有的人做音乐是为了革命，有的人做音乐是在做诗人，有的人做音乐是在做暴徒，有的人做音乐是在做小偷，有的人做音乐是为了卖身……
—我相信音乐不是自私的，我做音乐是为了我们一起幸福……

That translate:

Some people make music in life 
Some scientists are doing is making music
Some people do music is to the revolution 
Some people do music is to be a poet
Some people do music is doing the mob
Some people do music is to the thief
Some people make music to sell their bodies
I believe that music is not selfish
I do music is happy for us   

Just like the young woman on Nanluoguxiang who asked me to take her picture with her cell phone, technology is prevalent throughout China - the My Space page for 小河 and his band can be accessed by clicking here.  
__________________________
(1) A map of the vicinity of Beihai Park and Nanluoguxiang can be accessed by clicking here.
(2) Source, No. 14, Banchang Houtong South. The Website for Yan Club Arts Center also mentions a restaurant called Source. I cannot tell by the map whether it is the same one I had eaten at last year, or not, but the description on the Website mentions a courtyard eating area as well.
(3) For more pictures of activity along Nanluoguxiang, go here and here.
(4) Indie refers to Independent music. A Website specializing in distributing independent music can be found clicking here.
(5) This is the name of the band Glorious Pharmacy.