Category > history

Did China invent the restaurant?

From Wikimedia Commons It’s hard to imagine nowadays, but restaurants as we know them today did not always exist. French Revolution Paris in the late 18th century is usually cited as the birthplace of the restaurant (the word itself is French), but many of the characteristics that define a modern restaurant were already in place [...]

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beijing in vintage postcards from images of asia

Street cleaners wash down a city street in old Beijing. Chinese Lunch Counter on the Streets of Beijing   Chinese Water Carrier The Images of Asia stock image website combines two of my favorite things: vintage postcards and historic China. These evocative postcards, some with their original stamps, are organized by cities and by studios.  [...]

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walking the legation quarter

Earlier this week, I decided to take a walk from the Beijing by Foot series. (One of my goals, before I leave Beijing, is to go through all 40 of the walks. They are like doing a giant treasure hunt.)  I chose the Legation Quarter walk as I’ve meandered through the Qianmen area many times [...]

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