What We Found in Beijing: Heping Guoju (和平菓局)
Dad went wandering around Wangfujing while Elaine visited the National Museum — and discovered an entire version of 1980s Beijing hiding underneath a department store.
🚶 Dad Went Downstairs… and Found Old Beijing
This was another discovery from the afternoon when Elaine managed to get a free ticket to the National Museum of China — and Dad didn’t. 😂
Instead of waiting around, I walked over toward Wangfujing (王府井, Wángfǔjǐng).
Eventually I entered the Beijing Department Store.
Then I went down to B2.
And suddenly, modern Wangfujing disappeared.
Welcome to Heping Guoju (和平菓局).
🎥 Come Downstairs With Dad
👀 Wait… What’s This Doing Under a Department Store?
Heping Guoju recreates the atmosphere of 1980s Beijing.
Instead of another modern shopping floor, we found narrow hutong-style lanes, vintage brick walls, old grocery stores, retro photo booths and all sorts of little details designed to make you stop and look.
And then there was this:
an old green train carriage.
🎥 Walking Through Heping Guoju
This is the fun of the place.
You don’t really come here to stand in front of one famous object.
You wander.
Turn a corner.
Look into an old shop.
Notice something from another era.
Take photographs.
Then turn another corner.
For Dad, who had only come to Wangfujing because he couldn’t get into the National Museum with Elaine, this was a pretty good Plan B. 😂
🍜 And Then Dad Got Hungry
Of course, all that wandering eventually led to another question:
What should Dad eat?
Since I was surrounded by an imitation of old Beijing, there was one rather appropriate answer.
Old Beijing Zhajiangmian (老北京炸酱面, Lǎo Běijīng Zhájiàngmiàn).
That bowl became a separate little ChinaTravelBUG story of its own.
Dad Missed the Museum — So He Ate Beijing Instead
🎥 One More Look Around
📍 If You Want to Find It
Heping Guoju (和平菓局)
B2 Floor, Beijing Department Store
Wangfujing Street, Beijing
🚇 Getting There
Take Beijing Subway Line 1 to Wangfujing Station and walk from Exit A.
👥 Dad’s Practical Tip
If you have a choice, try a weekday morning or afternoon.
Weekends can become extremely crowded, and Heping Guoju is much more enjoyable when you have room to wander around and actually notice the little details.
🐞 What We Remember
Dad hadn’t planned to visit Heping Guoju.
In fact, Dad hadn’t planned to spend the afternoon in Wangfujing at all.
Elaine got the National Museum ticket. Dad didn’t.
That small disappointment sent me walking.
The walk took me into a department store.
The department store took me downstairs.
And downstairs…
Dad somehow ended up in 1980s Beijing. 😂
That’s one of the things we’ve learned from traveling around China:
China Usually Has Another Way.
Sometimes you just have to go downstairs to find it. 🐞
