Great Leap Brewery: Beijing's Ellis Island

Trying to explain to my Chinese girlfriend why I refer to the Great Leap Brewery as the “Ellis Island” of Beijing took some time and effort.  First, I had to explain what the hell Ellis Island was, then its impact on American history and immigration, and finally why the Great Leap resembled this famous gateway to America.  Once the analogy made sense, she certainly concurred.  Go to GL on any given night and here languages from all over the world.  Hear English in every accent imaginable and take some time to soak up some internationalism in this famously provincial megacity. 

  

All of this unfolds while lao wei and Chinese scarf down one of the best burgers that I have ever been lucky enough to eat.  That’s right….I said “ever”.  I know…I know, but trust me.  You can find some great hamburgers in China if you just know where to look.  However, the beer is a little lackluster and overpriced, but you can’t have everything. 

Great Leap is one of the first stops for any foreigner “fresh off the boat” from home.  (That is how expatriates refer to newcomers)  It was one of the first places that I went to after arriving in Beijing, and a trip to the GL usually includes at least one fresh-faced, idealistic foreigner who’s ready to experience all China has to offer; after they have one more American-style burger of course.  Though the food is always comforting, the real wonderful part of the experience remains the fact that the other diners don’t stare at me, because they too are likely culturally exhausted lao wei in the Middle Kingdom, looking for a reminder of their homes across the ocean. 

Since the opening of its Sanlitun branch, the restaurant/brewery has gained a cult following among Chinese and a hub-like atmosphere for foreigners.  It is my Chinese girlfriend’s favorite restaurant, so naturally she had her birthday dinner there.  Even foreigners that don’t hail from the west, such as Korean and Japanese expats, use the brewery as their unofficial base of operations.  Sometimes I joke that they’re going to start shuttle services between PEK (Beijing Capital Airport) and the Great Leap.  I should buy a bus and get a Chinese driver’s license and make a killing.  The phenomenon reinforces the idea that in China, all foreigners belong to a single, relatively homogeneous class unto themselves.  Not inferior or superior in anyway, just different.  There are Chinese and foreigners and not much in between.   

The Chinese wait staff specializes in the dialect of Chinglish spoken by tourists and expats trying to master the linguistic difficulties of Mandarin.  Long story short, they all have the patience of Job.  Imagine a bunch of picky foreigners yelling, “Wo bu yao pickle,” at you all day long.  I’d lose it.  And I must say that it is nice to go to a restaurant and not have to yell, “fuian,” to get a waiter to get off their cellphone and pay attention to me.  So comps to the GL for that. 

One of my favorite jokes to make is that a police raid at the Great Leap would get half the illegal foreigners living in Beijing, and this isn't far from the truth.  In the choppy waters of Beijing, sometimes it’s nice to have an international port of call that helps fresh off the boat lao wei to adjust to their new home.  Most will just have their passports stamped and visas checked, but others at the GL are going through the naturalization process just like Ellis Island’s immigrants of yesteryear.