We walk on and off the plane as if we are going on a car ride to a summer cabin or to visit grandmother who lives a long, but endurable distance. Even at 11.5 hours, for us, getting on a plane to go to Beijing is easy. In no small part due to the shorter, direct route between our US home in Seattle and our home in Beijing. We have known longer flights with layovers and missed connections, so a direct flight is a luxury that makes our global hop something we do not take for granted. We know when heading to Beijing, an hour after landing, it is a bankable bet we will be sitting in a corner restaurant enjoying freshly made wontons or spicy beef soup with shaved noodles.
The time between trips seems to stretch longer as our busy family commitments grow, but never more than a year. It is also a stretch financially at $1000 per ticket cost. Yet, who can resist the $10 handmade noodles and hot pot dinner awaiting us. Even better is my maternal bliss seeing the happy faces of my children talking about where to go for dinner on any given evening. First up, a family favorite - the Korean barbeque restaurant in our old neighborhood around the corner from Beida. It was here they discovered the joy of family style grilling thin sliced meats and vegetables. Even in the knee-weakening August heat, this restaurant with steady AC called us in to come grill sending us out with complimentary iced milk popsicles.
Yes, food was and is what draws us back. Freshly made steamed buns, imported French cream baked treats, authentic Thai, north Chinese lamb sandwiches…so many choices. Unquestionably, the culinary family highlight is always a trip to Hai-Di Lao. The meal is as much an experience as nourishment and my children don’t mind the typical one-hour wait for a table. This restaurant is ready for the queue free snacks, drinks, playing cards and in some locations, nail painting. Personally, nail polish is not the appetizing aroma I would choose, but then again, this is Beijing. Once inside, meals often take close to 2 hours as we sit around a circle table and share in the cooking and eating of our meal.
Yes, for us food calls us back but it is the life, the people, the sense of belonging that makes the trips go easy. When going to one of the many city parks, there is an ease about strolling with friends and family. Most evenings, a stroll after dinner to unwind and ease the digestion is common. The adults keep a conversational pace while young kids run ahead to a potential ice cream truck. Older children are invited to talk with the adults about finances, education, topics of the day. The evening walk is a pleasant complement to the busy, frenetic pace of the city - an easy release of tension and invitation to share, learn, laugh.
We lived in China for just under 4 years and the soil, the air, the life of this rich culture is now part of us. For my three children and me, our family route to travel is a circle that will always include Beijing.
Written by Diane Barrett Tien.
The Seattle Chinese Garden has become a focal point for demonstrating our region's deepening friendship and growing relationship with China, bridging and cultivating our two cultures in a tangible, way. Diane Tien moved to Seattle with her children after living four years in Beijing with her husband. "I know how important it will be for me to show my sons something they share with their father," she said about visiting the Garden. The importance of building strong relationships within cultures and between new cultures has never seemed more vital in our interconnected world. From the vastness of China and its bustling Beijing to the quiet reflective garden on a hillside in West Seattle, comes this reflection.