"798 Art Zone’s Unlikely Roots: From East German Factories to Instagram Backdrops"

Those red-brick Bauhaus buildings in 798? They were part of a 1950s East German-designed electronics factory. Today, galleries like UCCA (entrance ￥100) showcase Ai Weiwei’s latest alongside graffiti kids spray-painting Lenin murals. Don’t miss Timezone 8, a bookstore-café in a former boiler room—their art monographs are pricey, but the courtyard is free to lounge in. Every Saturday morning, a farmers’ market pops up near Gate 2 with organic baozi and Kazakh cheese (cash only).

  Sanlitun's Hidden Layers: More Than Just a Bar Street"

Everyone knows Sanlitun for its nightlife, but the real gems are tucked behind the main drag. Walk 10 minutes east to Nali Patio, where you'll find independent boutiques like Postcards (selling minority crafts from Yunnan) and The Bookworm—before it closed in 2019, this was Beijing's go-to English-language bookstore. Now, locals grab flat whites at Metal Hands Coffee (￥35) while flipping through secondhand art books from the nearby flea market. Pro tip: The alley behind 3.3 Mall has a killer jianbing stall (￥12) that’s been there since 2008—watch them crack the egg one-handed.

  "The Last Bicycle Repairman of Gulou: Spokes, Wrenches & Vanishing Old Beijing"

Under the shadow of the Drum Tower, Uncle Wang’s bike stand has been fixing Flying Pigeon bicycles since 1983. No signage—just look for the grease-stained pavement and a cluster of rickshaw pullers smoking Zhongnanhai cigarettes. He still uses hand-forged tools to true wheels (￥20 per tire), muttering about how "kids these days only ride those damn shared bikes." While waiting, grab a sugar-coated hawthorn stick (糖葫芦) from the granny next door—she’s been selling them here since the '90s.