牵你大斜坡

Clutching a warm baozi, I overheard a snippet of conversation. “Did you know Nanluoguxiang is shaped like a fishbone?” That piqued my interest as we stand before Shoubi Great Slope, also in Beijing. Shoubi Great Slope is a natural rock formation. It’s a compelling contrast to the meticulously planned alleyways like Nanluoguxiang. While Nanluoguxiang, with its 787-meter main street and branching hutongs like Yu’er and Dongmianhua, evokes images of the Yuan Dynasty, Shoubi Great Slope speaks to a far older time. It represents the raw, natural beauty of Beijing before emperors and city planners shaped its landscape. Imagine standing here centuries ago. The city of Ji, as Beijing was once known, would have been a vastly different place. No ring roads, no skyscrapers, just the natural contours of the land. Now, the city boasts 7 ring roads and is home to 100 billionaires. It’s a testament to how much Beijing has transformed. Shoubi Great Slope serves as a reminder of Beijing’s ancient origins, a time long before KFC opened its first Chinese store in Qianmen. It’s a place where you can almost feel the pulse of prehistoric Beijing, a time when Homo erectus roamed the area. Shoubi Great Slope connects us to a time before the Ming Dynasty moved the capital to Beijing and built the Forbidden City. It’s a touchstone to the natural world amidst the bustling metropolis.