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It has been quite the year for Beijing! In our 2024 Year-in-Review, we're taking a look back at the happenings in the capital from this year that was.
As 2024 draws to a close, it's time for a look back at the stories and posts that garnered the most views out of all our published work throughout the year...
Save Time and Money With These Sleeper
Trains From Beijing: Kicking off the year was a story all about travel
just ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday. Detailing a number of
sleeper train – aka “slow train” – routes from Beijing to far off
tourist cities like Xi’an, Shanghai, and beyond, the article was so
popular it earned itself a 2nd list.
Beijing-Based Italian Chef in Critical
Care & Needs Help: Daniele Ferrari, Italian expat and respected chef
at the Bulgari Hotel, found himself fighting for his life after a
motorcycle accident on the night of Jan 13. Thanks to unparalleled
support from Beijing’s tight-knit expat community, nearly RMB 60,000 was
raised to help the chef, leading to his eventual recovery.
Nali Patio to Become “Dirty Bar Street
Experience”: In the lead up to the demolishing of Nali Patio, it was
revealed by local media that the Sanlitun dining and nightlife complex
had been purchased by investors keen on recreating the ambiance of
“Dirty Bar Street” within, overpriced boozes, scams, and shady elements
included. The Apr 1 news brought a bit of shock, a bit of excitement,
and a bit of anticipation for the venture, be it good or bad.
Side Street Claims 2024 Juicy Burger Cup
Victory: In a repeat of their surprise 2020 victory over defending
champions Slowboat, burger restaurant Side Street once again emerged
with top honors in our 2024 Juicy Burger Cup contest. This year also
marked a change in voting, with the result decided by a panel of 26 hand-picked Beijing burger experts, in order to level the field.
The Opposite House Closes With a Bang: In what
was the first of many shocking closure announcements this year,
Sanlitun hotel The Opposite House’s closure came to pass in July, with
one last massive party taking place inside the hotel’s main hall before
the doors shut for good.
A Slew of More Restaurant and Bar
Closures: The Opposite House was joined by many other closures this year,
with all these stories garnering a lot of views upon publishing. We bade
farewell to the likes of Din Tai Fung, Larry the Bird, Sherpa’s and
many more, all of which you can read about via the linked article.
New WeChat Translation Tool Makes Meituan a
Breeze: WeChat made the lives of expats and those who can’t read
Chinese a little easier this October with the rolling out of a new
function which can translate all the app’s mini-programs with the touch
of a button. This new function showed up as a little pop-up translation
icon in the top right corner, allowing for a full translation of pages
like those on delivery app Meituan when clicked.
China Adds Two More Public Holidays for
the 2025 Calendar: Before each year ends, one of the biggest anticipated
pieces of news is the release of China’s holiday calendar for the
upcoming year. The one for 2025 came with some added excitement in the
form of two extra public holidays, with extra days added to both the
Spring Festival and May Day holidays.
Images: Uni You, Unsplash, courtesy of the venues
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