The Joy of Six: Dongdaqiao

This month, we’ve checked out all the stops on Line 6 to tell you about the gems that you shouldn’t wait to discover in our station-by-station Going Underground special.

SELLING POINT
Dongdaqiao occupies an enviable position between the Second and Third Ring
Roads, with Gongti to the north and the Silk Market to the south. It’s also where
the mighty Chaoyangmenwai Dajie forks into two tributaries: Chaoyang Lu and
Chaoyang Beilu (heading east, the Line 6 route mirrors the latter for the next
14km). It’s a traffic delta with a 5-point traffic intersection – and like any river
delta, the confluence signals a rich and vibrant ecosystem. In other words, you’ll
find excellent dining and shopping here.

GAWK
Parkview Green is known as many things: a building that holds itself to stringent
LEED Platinum eco-standards, the home to high-end luxury brands, and “that glassy
pseudo-pyramid.” The massive space is also an art gallery in its own right, with lots
of provocative works by Salvador Dali and contemporary Chinese artists. There
ain’t nothing like seeing a larger-than-life sculpture of Bernie Madoff pinned to
the wall by a bull propelled by its own voluminous fart to make you think twice
about your own love of commerce.

BROWSE
If you like the serendipitous possibilities of bargain bins, stop by the CNPIEC
Bookstore on the second floor of the China National Publications Import and
Export Corporation building (300m north of the intersection). Their foreignlanguage
offerings include foreign fashion magazines, art & design books, kids’
books and scattered fiction.

GOBBLE
With its cartoony murals, the upscale Cantonese diner Biaomei is a stylishly playful
place to enjoy an afternoon snack of “silk stocking” milk tea and “ice-fire pineapple
bun.” They’ll bring you a fresh-from-the-oven sweet bun and a pat of butter cradled
in crushed ice. “Open wide,” you tell the bun. Then you slip in the butter and let it
drool all over itself. Mmmm.

This article originally appeared on page 14 in the February issue of the Beijinger.

Photo: Lova