Guide to Beijing:

We provide this guide for those independent travellers making their own holiday plan, exploring more interesting places - there's a lot of information that is not in the usual guide books.

Click here for Join in Organized Small Group Tour in Beijing or Private Guide/Transport Service in China

* PLACES to GO:

MAIN ATTRACTIONS: 
The Forbidden City, Great Wall (there are 4 main sections), Ming Tombs, Yuanmingyuan, Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square, Beihai Park, Temple of Heaven, Yonghegong (Lamasery), Drum Tower & Bell Tower, Shichahai Hutongs, Qianmen Dashilan (ancient commercial street), Guozijian (also called "Chengxian Street". Imperial Academy - the highest institute of learning in China's traditional educational system) & Kongmiao, Guguanxiangtai (Ancient Observatory).

Not far from the Summer Palace, there are two top Chinese universities ( Beijing University and Qinghua University) with very pleasant campus environments, some people are may interested. Also Xiangshan Park (The Fragrent Hills) is worth visiting if you stay in Beijing long enough.

Children would love to see the Chinese pandas in Beijing Zoo. If you have time, visiting one or two famous people's former residence in Shichahai area).

The Great Wall

There are four main sections of Great Wall in the surrounding area of Beijing, you can choose one to visit from below: 
 

Simatai Section: About 130 km from central Beijing. Very rough going, more nature and original. It may does not suit infirm people, but it's most original part of Great Wall near Beijing. There are 16 watch towers on the East side of the Simatai Great Wall.
 

Getting there:

Route1: Take Coach from Dongzhimen, - Miyun - Simatai

Route2: Take No.12 tour bus from Dongsi Shitiao (in Dongcheng District) direct to Simatai Great Wall.

Jinshanling Section: Also about 150 km from central Beijing. Quite wild. Jinshanling ~ Simatai, is the most authentic section of Great Wall near Beijing. There hasn't been much restoration. 24 watchtowers, many of them kept in the original form of 400 years ago. Walking from Jinshanling to Simatai, about 10km, takes 4 hours. There are local guides in both Jinshanling and Simatai.

The best route is from Jinshanling Great Wall to Simatai Great Wall. But you would need to buy the tickets for entering both sections. One is 50 RMB and another is 40 RMB.

Badaling Section: It's more than 70 km from Beijing. About 4km long, a most magnificent part of the Great Wall. It's much more renovated and organized tourist attraction. But for those travellers who are more adventurous, we suggest that you should go to Simatai & Jinshanling Great Wall.
 

Getting there: Bus No. 919 from Deshengmen (Underground Line 2 Deshengmen station), direct to Badaling Great Wall. 5 yuan (RMB) for ordinary ticket, 10 yuan (RMB) for express ticket.

Entrance fee: 45 RMB.
Cable Car: 60 RMB (return).

Mutianyu Section: About 70 km from Beijing. It's About 2 km long, with beautiful scenery in Autumn. Similar to Badaling.

Getting there: Coach from Xizhimen train station to Beizhai, than changing bus to Mutianyu Great Wall.

Entrance fee: 40 RMB,
Cable Car: 50 RMB (return); 35 RMB (one way).
 

Combined day trip: Mutianyu or Badaling Great Wall + The Ming Tombs.

Going to Simatai or Jinshanling Great Wall will take you whole day.

Huanghuacheng section: The name Huanghuacheng means "Yellow Flower City". Every summer, the wall and the place would be buried in vast wild yellow flowers, that's this name originally came from. Huanghuacheng is 80 km from Beijing city, and Southwest of Huairou county. This section of Great Wall was built in Ming Dynasty, recently opened to public. There is a lake and a reservoir near by, you will see the beautiful view with both Great Wall and water. The wall is connected to Mutianyu Great Wall in the east, to Juyongguan Pass and Badaling in the west.
 

Thirteen Ming Tombs ("Shisanling" in Chinese)

The place  where berried 13 of 16 Ming emperors and their wives and concubines in Chinese Ming Dynasty (1368 ~ 1644). More than 40 square km area in a valley which is North-West of Beijing about 50 km from the city. The bomb site location has been carefully selected according to the Chinese Feng Shui rules. There are only 4 bombs open to the public  - Changling, Dingling, Zhaoling and Kangling (just opened in 2003).

Changling: The oldest & biggest tomb which was started to be constructed in 1409 (completed in 1413), it lying the central of the Valley, buried the 3rd Ming Emperor Yongle (reigned 1402~1424) and Empress Xu.

Dingling: The tomb of 13th Emperor Wanli with 2 wives (reigned 1572~1620), the construction was begun in 1584 and was finished in 1590. 

Above 2 tombs are the most representative Ming Dynasty Royal Tombs.

Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Stadiums:

Olympic Village is located in North Beijing, between 4th and 5th Ring Rd. Some Olympic Games venues are in or near the Olympic Village, but there are many of venues are spread out in the city.

Shichahai Area - a characterful residential Hutongs area and tourist attraction in Beijing  

Shichahai is a famous scenic area that combines history, culture and beautiful scenery. It comprises three lakes - Qianhai, Houhai & Xihai. There are many cultural relics, vast areas of water with beautiful water lilies (in summer) and weeping willows along the lake. Several famous former residences, full of tales about former royal family members and other notable people who used to live in Shichahai. Most local people have been living in this area for many years (some are for two or more generations). You can sometimes see local people playing chess, cards, singing Chinese opera, doing Tai Chi, as well as rowing boats in the lake where people playing traditional Chinese instruments, This area has a strong culture atmosphere and character. You can take a Pedicab to explore those Hotongs, it would be very interesting experience. Some people also pronounce "Shishahai".

To get there by buses or trolley buses: 13, 107,108, 111, 701, 810, 850, 823.

"Shichahai By Night" 

It's a unique and romantic scene in Beijing. Sitting in old design wooden boat, drinking Chinese tea while listening to the traditional Chinese music (the best season is May ~ October; the best time is dusk and evenings ). When it's getting dark, there will be lanterns on every boat, create a beautiful and romantic atmosphere.

Attractions in Shichahai area:

Prince Gong's Residence, also called Gongwangfu Garden, (built in 1777, see the picture right):    

17 Qianhai Xijie, Shichahai area, Xicheng District

Opening hours: 8:40am~5:00pm

Former Residence of Song Qingling

(widow of Sun Yatsen, honorary chairman of the People's Republic of China), also the prince Chun's residence before Song Qingling lived there.

46 Houhai Beiyan, Shichahai area, Xicheng District.

Opening hours: 9:00am~4:30pm. Closed on Mondays.

Former Residence of Guo Moruo

(famous Chinese writer and scholar)

18 Qianhai Xijie, Shichahai area, Xicheng District

Opening hours: 9:00am~5:00pm (ticket till 4:30pm). Closed on Mondays.

Bell & Drum Tower (more than 700 years history)
These two buildings were built in 13th century on the Meridian according to Beijing's city layout (in the history, only the Imperial buildings were allowed to built along the Meridian. so the Meridian was also called "Dragon's Pulse"). They have been the time reporting centre for the capital city in Yuan, Ming & Qing three dynasties. Suggest go to the top of Bell & Drum Tower to get a good view.

Opening hours: 09:00 ~ 17:00.

Public transport: No. 5, 60, 107 (trolley bus), 815, 834, 734 and underground (metro / subway) "GulouDajie" station.

Entrance fee: 10 RMB for Bell Tower), 20 RMB for Drum Tower).

Deshengmen Jianlou

(Deshengmen Arrow Tower, built in 1439).

Guanghuasi (Guanghua temple)

Built in Yuan dynasty (13th century), rebuilt in 1463 (Ming dynasty).

31 Yaer Hutong, Houhai Beiyan.

Hutong Tour by Pedicab                                                  

This is a very interesting thing to do in the Shichahai area, Xicheng District. The guide who is in traditional pedicab clothing will take you into these Beijing Hutongs and will tell you the history of the courtyards while he is riding with you sitting behind. If you try to explore the Hutong yourself, you are unlikely to find most interesting areas and the history. The standard maps are no help. There are several different routes for Hutong tours. On some routes, you will visit private homes in the very old traditional courtyards, join in with the Chinese cooking, have tea or dinner and chat with the hosts, visit the local school (or nursery). This is also called "Being a Beijing person for one day". View a unique life style of Beijing - past and present.

Organised tour:

• Hutong tour A, price 180 RMB / person. 2 and half hours. 
   

• Hutong tour B, price 230 RMB / person. (called "being a Beijing person for one day, experience Hutong life"), must be more than four people. Whole tour takes about 4 hours, twice a day, 9:00 am and 2:00 pm.

Start from 100 m west of the North Gate (back gate) of Beihai Park.

Note: "Being a Beijing person for one day" requires 4 (or more people) group. Please confirm in advance the exact tour itinerary. Tel: (0)10 - 6617 1186. 

Turn up and go:

If you just want to turn up and go, you can get any pedicab when you are there. Please be aware that there are many pedicabs which are not been trained, they cannot give you a proper guide and they don't speak English. Suggest to get one with black colour and red canopy should be more professional (like the photo on the right). This kind of tour usually is much shorter time (about 40 minutes ~ 1 hour). Prices vary.

Recommended 2 museum/exhibitions in Beijing:

Capital Museum:

Add: 16 Fuxingmenwai Dajie, Xicheng District, Beijing

Opening Hours: 09:00 - 17:00 (stop selling ticket at 16:00. Close on Mondays)

www.capitalmuseum.org.cn

Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall:

Add: 20 QIANMEN DONGDAJIE, Chongwen District, Beijing

Opening Hours: 09:00 - 17:00 (stop selling ticket at 16:00. Close on Mondays)

www.bjghzl.com.cn

OTHER:

798 Art District: In 2002, a few artists found the opportunity to rent workshop space cheaply as their studio for their art creation from a went down previous large factory (name 798 factory) which used to make electronic parts. 798 factory area is enormous and the workshops are very high and spacey. They were built in 1950's and still have cultural revolution slogans on the walls. Those artists felt that they can get more inspiration from this kind of environment, some studios still kept the old machines. Also it's away from the busy city centre. It attracted more and more artists to go there, became a popular art district. Just like 1990's Songzhuang Artists Village (in Tongzhou, East Beijing, also called East village) and Yuanmingyuan (Old Imperial Palace) Artists Village (also know as Weast Village).

The picture on the right is the a statue of Chairmen Mao which filled about a ton of rice. You can clearly see the rice through the transparent material.

798 address: No. 2 - 4 Jiuxianqiao Rd, Dashanzi, Chaoyang district.

Now, 798 Art District is getting more commercial then before.

Apart from 798 Art District, there are quite a few artists villages located just out side of Beijing city. The artists rent rooms in the village houses from the local peasants, it's not of only because the rent is cheap in the village compared with the city, they also want the surrounding atmosphere and the peaceful simple life for their art creations.

A place for bookshop, library, bar, restaurant and events space - THE BOOKWORM (see details www.beijingbookworm.com ).

* PLACES TO EAT:

Traditional Brand Restaurants (some famous traditional brand Chinese restaurants you shouldn't miss):

1. Quanjude Hepingmen (Roast Duck). 

14 Qianmen Xidajie Xuanwu District

Tel: (0)10 - 6301 8833

Getting there: Underground Hepinmen station

2. FangShan (Royal Palace style of food) 

Inside the Beihai park 

Tel: (0)10 - 6401 1889

Opening hours: 11:00~1:30; 17:00~20:00 

Price: 100RMB, 150RMB, 200RMB per person

Trolley bus: 103, 107, 109, 111,118,

Bus: 5,13, 101, 812, 814, 819

Courtyard Style Restaurants (eating in ancient courtyard restaurant with traditional culture atmosphere is something you can only experience in Beijing):

* Gegefu: 

9 Daqudeng Hutong, Meishuguan Houjie  Dongcheng District.              

Tel: (0)10 - 6407 8006

Opening hours: 11:00am~2:00pm, 16:30pm~10:00pm

Prices are a bit more expensive.

* Huajiayiyuan Restaurant
T: (0)10-64051908
235 Dongzhimennei Dajie, Dongcheng District.

Open 24 hours. Reasonable price.

Book 1 day in advance if you want to go between Thursday ~ Sunday.

* Guigongfu
Opening hours: 11:00~22:00

T: (0)10-65127667
11 Fangjiayuan Hutong, Dongcheng District (enter Dafangjia Hutong about 100 m then turn left).

* Jiumen Xiaochi (for traditional Beijing snacks)
"Xiaochi" means snack in Chinese. There are 12 different traditional Beijing snack brands, the stalls are now concentrated in this courtyard. You will feel a strong culture atmosphere there.
Opening hours: 9:00 ~ 22:30

Add: No.1 Xiaoyou Hutong, Shichahai Houhai, Xicheng District. Just on the west side of "Former Residence of Song Qingling".

T: (0)10-64026868 / 64025858

Down to earth eating places:
There are quite a few shopping malls and department stores have food hall on the top floor or basement. Huge varieties and also with very cheap prices. This kind of places have more local atmosphere. Below are three examples in different locations, in case you want to try one.

* Yaxiu Clothing Market Food Hall
Add: 58 Gongti North Rd, Chaoyang District. Just opposite of Gongti stadium. In Sanlitun.

* Xindong'an Department Store Food Hall

(in Wangfujing Pedestrian Shopping Street, East side), Close to the Oriental Plaza.

Underground Line1: "Wangfujing" station.

Buses: 1, 4, 10, 20, 22, 52... "Wangfujing" stop; number 103, 111, "Dongan Shichang" stop 

* Chang'an Department Store Food Hall

(At Fuxingmenwai Davie, Nanlishilu, Xicheng District)

Underground Line1: Nanlishilu station

Buses  number: 1, 4, 52, 337, 338, 728... "Nanlishilu" stop

Trolley Bus: 114 "Baiyunlu" stop.

The restaurants with view of the city

There are two places for getting best view of whole Beijing city while you are eating: 

* Beijing TV Tower Revolving Restaurant

11 Xisanhuan Zhonglu, Haidian District.
Tel: +86 (0)10-6847 5552

Restaurant is on 225 m high level. Buffet Service, good food.

Opening hours:11:00~14:00; 17:00~21:00.
Price:118RMB (TV tower entrance + buffet)

Note: For best visibility avoid mornings. Bus number: 323, 300...

* Xiyuan  Hotel Revolving Restaurant (93m high)

Add: 1 Sanlihe lu, Xicheng district.
Tel: (0)10- 6831 3388. Opening hours: 11:30~14:30; 18:00~22:30

Tram buses: 102, 103, 114 "Erligou Xikou" stop.

Type of food: Chinese and Western buffet. Price: 118 RMB (lunch); 138 RMB (dinner)

Yeshi (Night Snack Markets)

Apart from restaurants, street food is also very tempting, and big value for money. It's called "Yeshi" (Night market), they are:

* Donghuamen Yeshi (in Donghuamen Dajie);
* Shichahai Yeshi (near the north entrance to Bihar Park);
* Wangfujing shopping pedestrian area (day and night)

Dumpling speciality - Beijing Tianjin Baijiaoyuan (Xidan branch).

There are about 200 different choices of dumplings. You can have either boiled or crispy type (called Guotie).

No. Jia 12, Xinwenhuajie, Xicheng district

(0) 10 - 5820 2670 / 5820 2680 / 5820 2690,

Opening hours: 11:00-21:00

Beijing 24 hours food street - Guijie.

In Beijing, there is a well know food street called Guijie (in Dongzhimennei Dajie, Dongcheng district). Nearly 1.5 km long street, over 100 restaurants, they are all open 24 hours. It's food lovers paradise. And very convenient for the people who enjoy night life.

  Tea-Houses:  

* Laoshe Teahouse

3 (Zhengyang Shichang), Qianmen Xidajie, Xuanwu District

Tel: +86 10- 6303 6830, +86 10 - 6304 6334

Price: 40~130RMB per person. Opening hours: 9:00~23:00

Artistic performance at 19: 50~21:20

(Tea Ceremony Demonstration at this teahouse - Picture right).

Underground Line2: "Qianmen" station. Buses: 2, 5, 20, 22, 44, 59...

* Terrace Tea House
Located just outside of the East Gate of Forbidden City.
69 Donghuamen Dajie, Dongcheng District
Tel: +86 10 - 6525 9595
Opening hours: 10:00 ~ 01:00

* Zitenglu Tea-house

2 Nanchangjie, Xicheng district. Bus: 5 Zhongshan Gongyuan (Park) stop. Near Xihuamen.               

Tel: +86 10 - 6606 6614. Opening hours: 11:00am ~ 2:00am. Minimum price: 40RMB

Foreign Restaurants in Beijing:

If you are tired of Chinese food and missing knife and fork, we recommend  some  foreign restaurants:

Moscow Restaurant ("Zhanlanguan Canting" in Chinese) : 

This Russian architecture restaurant is nearly half century old, The elegant decoration and original food with a lot of character. 

135 Xizhimenwai Dajie, Xicheng District. Tel: +86 10- 6835 4454. Opening hours: 11:00~14:00; 17:00~21:00 every day.

Tram: 111, 105, 107, Beijing "Zhanlanguan" stop. Buses: 15, 19, Beijing "Zhanlanuan" stop

Maxim's  (French Restaurant):

No.2 Chongwen Xidajie, Chongwen District. Tel:+86 10- 6512 1992. Underground Line2: "Chongwenmen" station

T.G.I. Friday's:

No.19 (Huapeng Dasha), Dongsanhuan Beilu, Chaoyang District

Tel: +86 10- 6597 5314 

* EXPLORING BEIJING:

There are many organized package tours just for a day trip. Such as visiting Great Wall, Summer Palace, Ming Tombs.

Beijing city its self also keeps you very busy. Apart from those well known main tourist attractions, we recommend the following:  

     Hutong tour by Pedicab 

(see above "Attractions in Shichahai area" )

Hiring a bicycle to explore old Beijing area - Hutongs 

In Beijing, you can hire a bicycle from most hotels. Price is about 20~30 RMB /day. A big advantage when exploring the hidden areas in Beijing.

There are 5 main Pedicab routes you can follow, they are carefully collected routes:
 

1. A circle route starting from Qianhai Xijie --> Qianhai Beiyan --> Houhai Nanyan --> Liuyinjie (go pass the Thirteenth Middle School) --> Longtoujing --> Qiangan Hutong --> Qianhai Xijie     

2. Nanguanfang Hutong Xikou (the west end of Nanguanfang Hutong) --> Nanguanfang Hutong Dongkou (the East end of Nanguanfang Hutong).

3. Beiguanfang Hutong Dongkou (the East end of Beiguanfang Hutong) --> Beiguanfang Hutong Xikou (the West end of Beiguanfang Hutong) --> Houhai Nanyan   

4. From Yinding Bridge going North, through Xiaoshibei Hutong --> Dashibei Hutong --> Yaer Hutong Beikou (North end of Yaer Hutong) --> Houhai Beiyan --> Former Residence of Song Qingling.  

5. Qianhai Xijie --> Zhanzi Hutong --> Daxiangfeng Hutong                                                            

    Walking tour:

There are many places is worth taking a walking tour. We recommend several walking tour routes:

1. Start from Tian'anmen Square --> Going north, through Tian'anmen --> Going through the Forbidden City  --> Going through Beihai Park (you can have a break in Fangshan which is inside the Beihai Park. Come out of the North gate --> Di'anmen Dajie --> to The Bell & Drum Towers --> Shichahai area

2. Start from Liulichang Culture Street --> Dazhalan --> Qi'anmen --> Tian'anmen

Along this route, there are many small shops to see, you can have a tea break in "Laoshe Tea House" in Qianmen.

3. Explore Shichahai area: Start from the North Gate of Beihai (in Di'anmen Xidajie) --> Visiting Gongwangfu Garden --> Visiting Former Residence of Song Qingling  --> Walking along the Houhai Beiyan --> Yindingqiao (Yinding bridge) --> You can have a meal in Kaorouji restaurant --> Visiting  Bell & Drum Tower 

   Water tour (summer):

There are three different water tour routes along the canal and lake in Beijing.

1. Kunyu route (whole journey approx. 10km): South gate (Ruyimen) of Summer Palace - Yuyuantan (Bayi lake pier) 

Standard boat:    40 RMB (single)           70RMB (return)       
Luxurious boat:  50 RMB (single)           90RMB (return)

Take bus No.1, No.4, No.57, getting off at The Military Museum. Getting on the boat from Bayi lake pier. The boat is going past: CCTV tower, Binjiaoyuan pier, Enji Garden, Linglong Tower, Changshawan pier to Summer Palace.

2. Changhe route (whole journey approx. 10km): South gate (Ruyimen) of Summer Palace - Back lake of Beijing Exhibition

Price: Same as Route1. 

Take bus No.332, No.360, No. 904 or No. 808, at the East gate of Beijing Exhibition stop. Get on the boat from back lake of  the Beijing Exhibition pier. The boat is going past: Zoo, Beijing Library, Zizhuyuan (Purple Bamboo Park), Wanshousi (Wanshou Temple), Changhezha (Changhe lock) to Summer Palace.

There are 3 trips everyday. 9:30, 10:30 and 15:00 from Mon~Fri.

There are 5 trips at weekends. 8:30, 9:30, 10:30, 13:00 and 15:30; There is extra trip at 19:00, price 70 RMB.

3. Yulong route (whole journey approx. 26km): Yuyuantan - Longtanhu

Price: 50 RMB (single) 80RMB (return)

Bus No.1, No.114 or No.414 at Yuyuantan Nanmen (South gate of  Yuyuantan park), start from Yuyuantan pier. The boat is going past: Xibianmen, Errezha (Erre lock), Tianningsi (Tianning Temple), Tiantan Nanmen (The south gate of Heaven of Temple) to Longtan pier. Two hours journey. Start at 9:00 every morning.

Historical Red Light District - Eight Alleys (Ba mean's eight, Da means big. So "Bada Hutong" in Chinese means Eight Alleys).                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
 

Although it's not as a tourist attraction officially, but this area had a reputation for "Red Light District" in the past (before 1949 and back to Qing dynasty). It is a part of the history in Beijing. The Eight Alleys (Badahutong) are not far to the South of Tian'anmen Square - in Dashilan area, Qianmen, Xuanwu District. The eight alleys (Hutongs) used to be well known as Red Light District in Beijing's history. Those Hutongs are: Baishun Hutong, Yanzhi Hutong, Hanjiatan (now called Hanjia Hutong), Shanxixiang, Shitou Hutong, Wangguangfu Xiejie, Zhujia Hutong and Lishamao Hutong (now called Dali Hutong & Xiaoli Hutong).

Actually the Eight Alleys (Badahutong) were just a preventative for the area. There were far more Hutongs had brothels then. There were use to be hundreds of brothels in this area in Qing dynasty until 1949. The structure of each brothel is different from ordinary residential houses, many of them were 2 stories wooden structure houses, some were courtyard style. After 1949, those brothels are used as hotels and residences which there are several households living in one courtyard house. But if you look carefully, you can still recognise the difference of those houses. You can even see the faded name of the brothel still left on the building.

Transports:

Beijing TAXIS:
The taxi price in Beijing is 2.00 RMB / km.

Beijing Underground/Subway:
Beijing Underground Map (please enlarge it to see the bigger version).

* NIGHT ACTIVITIS:

There are plenty of things to do at night in Beijing:

Acrobatic Troupe Performance  

You can see it in following theaters:

Chaoyang Theater 

36 Dongsanhuan Beilu (Third Ring Road East), Chaoyang District. Tel : (010) 6507 2421. Ticket price: 80RMB

Wansheng Theater

95 Tianqiao Shichang, Xuanwu District. Tel ( 010 ) 6303 7449. Tickets price: 100 - 150RMB

Bar Streets:

There several Bar streets in Beijing, they are showing a part of Chinese people's night life. Many bars have live Chinese popular music.

- Shishahai Bar Street (Shishahai, Xicheng District)

Near Yindingqiao. Behind of these bars are ancient courtyard houses.

- Nanluoguxiang Bar Street

This is a bar Hutong tucked in those old courtyard houses. The name of this Hutong is called "Nanluoguxiang", an ancient Hutong from Ming dynasty. It's not far from the Bell & Drum tower and close to Shichahai tourist attraction. Compare with other bar streets, the bars and cafes here are less noisy and commercial, more peace and cosy, and surrounded by those old courtyard houses.

- Yuandadu Bar Street

A new bar street opened in late 2004. It located in the Yuandadu Relic Park area in northeast Beijing. The bars and restaurants setting along the north bank of Xiaoyue river.

- Xingbalu Bar Street

A recent bar street near Tailai Lady's Street, opposite of Luftansa Centre and Kunlun Hotel.

* RECOMMENDED STREETS & MARKETS FOR SOUVENIRS:

Liulichang Culture Street

In Liulichang, Xuanwu district.

To get there: Underground Hepingmen station. Liulichang is in South direction.

Buses: 7, 14, 15,  Liulichang stop.

Hongqiao Small-Commodity Market - the biggest pearl wholesale/retail market in China
To get there: Bus 35, 39, 41, 43, 707 at Fahuasi stop. Opposite the East gate of Tiantan Park (Temple of Haven) Chongwen District

Xiushui Silk Street (no longer a street, it's a building)
The name "Xiushui Silk Street" came from the street stalls along Xiushui Street near the embassy area. It use to attract lots of foreign tourists and expatriates from all over the world.

After the mid 90's, all stalls in Xiushui Street had been moved into a new building in the same area. There are now still many people are looking for "Xiushui Silk Street" from the old reputation, but this replacement building would never be the same as the old Xiushui Silk Street, it lost all atmosphere. Of course you can still buy cloths and souvenir here, there are plenty of stalls to choose.
 

To get there: underground line1, GuiyouDasha station. Bus 1, 4, 52,  57... Yonganli staition, in Chaoyang district. Close to foreign embassy area.

Yaxiu Clothing Market
This market is one of my favourite place to do shopping when I go back to China every year. For me, it's better then Xiushui Dasha.
Add: 58 Gongti North Rd, Chaoyang District. Just opposite of Gongti stadium. At Sanlitun.

Panjiayuan Flea/Antique Market (Open on Sundays)

Location: Panjiayuan Nanlu, Chaoyang district (3rd Ring Rd East).
To get there: bus 300, "Te" 8, 730..."Panjiayuan" stop.

Don't forget you can bargain in these places (above)!

Postcards: Usually you can find the postcards in Post Offices (but rather boring ones). Some souvenir shop in big hotels or on the street.  

See our "Photos" page for more photos about Beijing and other places

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