The Pass By Bar,a Home away from Home

By staff reporter ZHOU LIN

ALMOST 800 years ago in the Yuan Dynasty （1271-1368）， a street running north to south in the hub of the capital city， Beijing， linked eight hutong stretching from east to west， resembling from above a crawling centipede. Its name was Nanluoguxiang. Now located in the citys Dongcheng District， the traditional alley， approximately 800 meters long， has become a fashionable destination for tourists and locals alike， and the Pass By Bar situated at the southern entrance of the hutong attracts visitors from all over the world keen to seek out a home away from home.

Dwelling for Passers-by in Beijing

Xiaobianr， meaning braid in Chinese， is the nickname of Jin Xin， the host of the Pass By Bar. He is known in the city for his love of outdoor activities and the braid he once wore makes him an unforgettable figure. Unlike the braids men had during the Qing Dynasty （1644-1911）， xiaobianr was not a symbol of submission or obedience； instead， it represented his free spirit and affinity with the arts. Even though he no longer wears his hair in a braid， he still goes by his nickname and the Pass By Bar in Nanluoguxiang remains ever popular.

At the end of 1997 when Xiaobianr came to Beijing， he was living in a less than 13 square meter room on Nanluoguxiang. He found a job as a group leader for an outdoor club and settled into life in Beijing. Fascinated by beer culture， traveling and making friends， he came up with the idea of opening a travelthemed restaurant.

There is a story behind every tiny detail of the Pass By Bar： the antique wooden plaques， the sunlit courtyard， the bookshelf-lined wall filled with Lonely Planet volumes， and the photos Xiaobianr has taken on his travels. When the Pass By Bar first opened in July 1999， it covered less than 40 square meters and was kitted out with what was essentially recycled rubbish. The saying “one mans trash is another mans treasure” could have been written with Xiaobianr in mind. He would scour construction sites buying “leftovers” from builders and creating them into works of art to adorn the Pass By Bar walls. He enjoyed this creative process， and in his eyes， the transformation was like watching his own child growing up.

As for the name， Pass By Bar， Xiaobianr recalled that it came to him on a cycling trip in Tibet. Riding swiftly past a small fruit stall， he came into eye contact with the peddler. Without any conversation between them， he passed by. It suddenly dawned on him that most people are just passers-by of other peoples lives. So he named his new bar the Pass By， a transient but memorable dwelling for people on their way.

For Xiaobianr， the bar is not a business. He said， “In other peoples eyes， it might seem like a private business， but to me， it is part of my personal life. I make friends here including my staff. In fact， one of my employees has been working in the bar for about 14 years and I have seen him get married and have a baby. We were friends first， but now we are like family.”

An Outlet for an Artistic Imagination

Haiyan， Xiaobianrs wife， a patient listener， is always willing to offer advice. Like many women， she is a queen of multi-tasking： During the interview with China Today， we saw her greet customers， discuss plans for upcoming events at the bar， remind her husband to have dinner， and check up on her son at home， all handled in an orderly way， with an air of composure.

“Xiaobianr has a wild imagination and bursts of artistic energy. New ideas pop out of his head all the time， but Im the one who turns them into reality，” Haiyan said， adding that when their bar opened in 1999， the alley was home to barbersshops and public toilets， and blocked with dustbins. In summer， men in their rolledup T-shirts （dubbed “Beijing bikinis” by foreigners living in Beijing） or even bare-backed would loiter there drinking beer and eating lamb chuanr， barbecued shish kebabs usually flavored with cumin. At that time， a glass of draft beer cost less than RMB 2. “We were just friends back then. We shared a love of traveling and one day we came up with the idea to open our own bar. We contacted beer suppliers and bought three boxes of Lipton Black Tea and some popcorn， and the bar was opened.”

On the opening day of the Pass By， they employed their first cook， an Italian chef. The bar retains its Mediterranean menu today. Coincidentally， the bars first customer was also Italian. Haiyan still vividly remembers how she felt that day， uneasy and flustered， although the customer had only ordered a cup of coffee and the complimentary popcorn. But the lady stayed for hours. The couple decided from the very beginning that no matter how much a customer spent– in time and money – all staff should warmly welcome them. This relaxed， welcoming attitude has won the Pass By the reputation as a home away from home for foreigners in Beijing.

As business boomed， Xiaobianr and Haiyan decided to move premises to ac-commodate the bars growing patronage. This gave Xiaobianr another artistic outlet， and he set to work on decorating the new bar， combining traditional hutong elements with modern architecture.

Lamb Kebab Pizza and Craft Beer

The Pass By Bar succeeds in being innovative and creative. Ever since the bars establishment， Xiaobianr has constantly tried new things and his love of outdoor pursuits has become a source of inspiration. Haiyan， on the other hand， is more practical and is totally tuned into her husbands ideas， which enables her to bring them to life. This “dream team”is constantly creating new surprises for its customers.

However， there is one sticky point that the couple have not always been able to agree on – the bars menu.

As soon as the Pass By Bar had settled into the groove of daily business， thinking of his clienteles palates – both Eastern and Western tastes – Xiaobianr had a “eureka！” moment： What if he fused some popular Eastern and Western dishes？ The Pass By Bars specialty， lamb kebab pizza， was born. This revolutionary idea was totally out of Haiyans imagination. She worried that if it failed， it could be the ruin of their newly acknowledged brand. However， being open-minded， she decided it was worth a gamble. The pizzas popularity exceeded both Xiaobianr and Haiyans expectations and even made Time Out Beijings Top 10 Beijing Delicacies.

Haiyan admires her husbands artistic talent and accurate judgment of the market. Crazy about beer， Xiaobianrs collection now includes more than 180 kinds of beer from all over the world. He also brews various craft beers flavored with a range of tastes， such as ginger， blueberry， honey， coffee and highland barley， each with a distinctive name and its own character. “Honey Lunatic Woman，” a honey-flavored beer with an intoxicatingly high alcohol content， was the couples joint effort.

It is unusual to come across a beer lover who does not speak English， French or German， the languages of great beer-loving nations. Yet， Xiaobianr has collected more than 3，000 bottles of international beers. “I am starting a beer revolution throughout China in order to create our own distinguished beer culture.”

Bob Dale from California is now working at the Slow Boat Brewery on Qianmen Street， Beijing， which offers typical American-style craft beer. Having lived in Beijing for eight years， he has become one of Xiaobianrs age-old friends and often hangs out at the Pass By Bar. Xiaobianrs Chinese craft beer gets his seal of approval.

Xiaobianr said that a grass-roots campaign is being raised by a group of Chinese craft beer fans who are trying to create more home-grown beer options， with a view to broadening peoples horizons. “In China， we are used to drinking one kind of beer， living the same lifestyles and having the same survival instincts. But I dont think the same voice of a large group of people necessarily denotes a harmony； instead I think only diversity creates and perpetuates harmony.”

Today， Xiaobianr and Haiyan have branched out and own another bar， Nbeer Pub on Huguosi Street in central Beijing， where they brew their own craft beer. In Haiyans words， happiness exists when different cultures coexist harmoniously. Guided by such an idea， Xiaobianr and Haiyans businesses offer the ideal spot for Eastern and Western cultures to intermingle and create new inspirations for life.