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| Tiananmen Square |
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| The Summer Palace |
Beijing The first time I went to Beijing was when I was 16 for a short trip with my family. I then went back reluctantly by myself to work in an orphanage when I was 18 over my gap year. At first I was adamant that I would only go for a MAXIMUM of 2 months. I was slightly petrified of the fact I would be in the countryside, hardly speaking the language and not really knowing anyone. At the end of the 2 months I can't even begin to tell you how much I loved the place. I ended up extending for another 2 months, and the only reason I left was because I had to leave enough time to spend my 3rd part of my year in Italy. I loved it so much that I decided to go back again to live during my year abroad! This time I made sure I was in the city centre, where I worked for a great Consulting Company right in the heart of the CBD.
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| The map of Beijing city |
There is so soo much to discover in Beijing. Everything that I list below is probably only a small fraction of what I experienced and saw over there. It is an absolutely incredible city which is massively up and coming. The economy is booming, there are buildings being constructed daily out of nowhere I swear! Every time I used to come back to the city on the weekends from the orphanage I saw a different building. It was crazy! I also don't think you ever get over how cheap things are, and also there are lots of things about Beijing that are mental, but then it is almost acceptable because it happens in Beijing (I refer more to the politics and the rules). But anyway, the perfect balance of East meets West for me. The streets are filled with tradition, culture, delicious street food, hidden gems around every corner, but also hugely commercial these days and most certainly has an escape from the Chinese craziness if you need some Western food or culture in your life.
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| The Great Wall of China |
The nightlife surprised me here as I didn't really associate Beijing with nightlife for some reason. But boy was I wrong. Some of the best nightlife in the world for me personally. I thought it was unbelievable. Huge, spacious and very impressive clubs, often with a line up of world renowned DJs. It is very much a glamorous style of clubbing over there, often with table service, people buying bottles. But again you compare the price of what you are paying over there to get all of this to London, or wherever you are, and you know that it is worth it. Anyway, I could probably go on about Beijing forever, but I will let you read on to the recommendations and let you decide for yourself.
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| Around and about the city |
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| Inside the Summer Palace |
Where to Stay?
I think that most people assume that the centre is always in the centre of the city. And why wouldn't you because Tiananmen Square is right in the centre. However, in terms of places to eat, places to go, and a better place to stay, I would suggest that you don't stay near Tiananmen Square because quite frankly there is not much else there. If you want to find the centre, it is so much better to look to the CBD (Central Business District), which is situated in the East 3rd Ring. The map of Beijing can basically be divided up into rings as the whole city is mapped out with ring roads, mainly from 1 to 6. You will also find, if you ask anyone directions in Beijing, they don't tell you "Go Straight, then turn Left". No no.... much more complicated than that, everyone seems to have an in-built compass that I seemed to be missing, and what it actually will translate as is "Head North, then go West".
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| The Forbidden City |
CBD, ChaoYang District
If you are living and working in Beijing then I don't think you should really think of living anywhere other than the CBD. There is so much going on around the Chang Yang District that you will never be short of a choice of great restaurants, shops and other activities. Like the whole of Beijing, but especially so because this is the Business District where all the main offices are located, you will find the area heavily congested at peak hours, so just be prepared for that and perhaps leave time if you are ever in a rush to get anyway and planning on jumping in a taxi.
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Shopping mall called The Place in the CBD with the largest single screen
in the world I believe if you look up to the ceiling. |
SanLiTun
This is also near the CBD area and it is the famous 'Bar Street' area of Beijing. There are plenty of bars to choose from around here and as of recently, there is also a huge SanLiTun Village. A complex which is perfectly equipped with restaurants, shops and bars. So for another central location to stay, this is definitely a great area.
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| SanLiTun by night |
WuDaKo
If you are a student, perhaps living and studying in Beijing, then you will probably find yourself in WuDaKo. This is to the North West of the city, so quite a way away from the CBD. However, the wonderful thing about Beijing is that even though the city might be big, oh boy is the transport cheap! Taxi's start at 15 yuan, which is about the equivalent of £1 something and they jump verryy slowly. A taxi from the airport for example would probably not cost more than £15.
Transport
I generally don't have a transport sector in my blog but I thought that it might be worth mentioning with Beijing. The
Taxis in Beijing as I said are just ridiculously cheap. We pretty much lived like Kings over there. A friend of mine lived just a couple of streets away (granted the streets are quite long and wide in Beijing!) but I would still opt for a taxi to get there, which took less than 5 mins. But the traffic is very bad in Beijing. You could be stuck for half an hour in a journey that normally takes 5 - 10 minutes.
Scooters/ Motorbikes - As the traffic is bad, and if you are planning on settling in Beijing, or you want to rent a Scooter, it is one of the fastest modes of transport to get around. When the traffic is flowing in Beijing, you can in fact get around the city rather quickly due to the infrastructure of the ring roads. With a scooter though, even in traffic, you can normally fit through the nooks and crannies and get to your destination in no time.
Underground/ Buses
The public transport system has improved drastically over the years. When I was first in Beijing in 2005 barely anyone dared to use the underground. Nowadays, it is a fantastic mode of transport and a great way to dodge traffic. It is also a great mode of transport to take if you are slightly petrified of the taxi drivers and their heavy Beijing accents, as you will find not all speak English. I know lots of my friends had maps, business cards with directions, people on the phone all at the ready in case of emergency rescue situations. Buses as well also seem to be a lot more reliable and frequently used. And I think the best thing about them is just how ridiculously cheap they are.
*Ahem* as bad as it sounds, I have actually only taken the underground about errr..... twice, and I've never taken a bus in Beijing! Just too spoilt by the taxis being so cheap! Just feel like you must take advantage.
Where to Eat?
There are literally endless numbers of restaurants that I would loveeee more than anything to share with you and tell you about and it kills me that I can't give you names and addresses of all of them. But there were simply so many with authentic Chinese names, some with no names, a lot of hole in the wall, back alley restaurants that my friends would take me to. And when we went back there it would just be described as, oh you know the Mongolian BBQ place down the back alley with one table, or the place with the amazing hot plate mushrooms that somehow taste like steak! Or the all you can eat and drink sushi place we went to the other day. Ahhh.. gawddd...... my mouth is literally watering thinking of all the amazing restaurants I went to in Beijing and for dirt cheap prices. I know you are just going to be really frustrated at me now because I have just told you of all these amazing places and just told you that they are in a back alley in Beijing somewhere and you will never be able to find them! I will try and rectify the situation and attempt to name a fewww though!
Nan luo Gu Xiang
I will absolutely tell you about this place in more detail later because it was one of my favourite hangouts in Beijing, but it was also full of little restaurants, cafes and shops. Perfect to come for a bite to eat and an afternoon tea and browse.
Shao Rou Ren - Taiwanese bbq
This is a restaurant within Nan Luo Gu Xiang so hopefully you will find it in the side streets as I seem to have misplaced their business card. But god I loved this place! Just off a side street in the gorgeous Chinese Hu Tong area lay a fantastic Taiwanese BBQ restaurant. You can get these hugeee glasses of beer there as well which is always a novelty and great photo opp. The restaurant itself is very small and intimate, very edgey, graffiti like decoration. It is just a perfectly tailored place to go for a meal with some friends, sitting on wooden bench style seating, cooking your own food on the bbq. It's just delicious there.
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Taiwanese BBQ place
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| Told you the beers were big there! |
Xiao Nan Guo, 1 DongZhiMen South Street
For a ridiculously extensive menu of Chinese food I would come to Xiao Nan Guo. The menu is predominantly Shanghainese, which is probably my favourite kind of Chinese cuisine, as there are many many types. The first time I went with my family we were blown away by the food, but that was over 8 years ago and when we went back to the Shanghai branch a few years ago, we were slightly disappointed. Having said that, coming from a Chinese family we have very high expectations of GREAT Chinese food because there are sooo many restaurants to choose from out there, so that is from a very picky point of view. I would say that compared to the average Chinese Restaurant outside of China, there is absolutely no comparison, Xiao Nan Guo would blow them out the water easily. One of their best dishes you should try are the Xiao Long Bao - Little steamed buns filled with a tasty selection of meats, generally pork, but sometimes crab, and ouzing with a bit of soup.
Quan Qu De, WangfuJing
I would say that this is almost more of a tourist attraction these days as it was established in 1864 and is one of the oldest and most famous Peking Duck Restaurants in Beijing. But of course if you are in Beijing you must try their infamous Peking Duck. Personally I can't eat this too often as it is quite fatty, but it is damn tasty and a thing to tick off the list.
Hua Jia Yi Yuan
I really loved this restaurant when I was in Beijing. Great place to dine with a large group of friends, gathered around a large round table and sharing a whole host of food. This is probably more of an authentic Beijing cuisine, but of course there will be an eclectic mix of Chinese dishes from all over. The courtyard is wonderful and it is great to sit outdoors and enjoy a bit of fresh air in the early evening if it is a nice day. And then again when I say 'fresh air', not so sure in Beijing as it does get quite polluted. Though I must say it has got quite a lot better these days.
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| HuaJia YiYuan Restaurant |
Jiao Zhi - Dumplings
MMmmm..... the simplest but tastiest Asian dish. There are lots of small restaurants around Beijing that solely specialised in Dumplings and if you see any of them around definitely go in and order a portion or two. If the place looks a bit grubby then get it to take away. They are so simple, yet extremely traditional, so tasty, and just a great way to almost have a cultural experience as there is often a glass window put up in front of the kitchen so you can watch as the chefs make the dumplings from scratch at lightning speed.
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| Jiao Zhi |
Zian Wai Soho & SanliTun Village
Honestly do not feel bad if there comes a point in Beijing where, despite the fact that you are surrounded by an incredible selection of Asian restaurants you just turn around and say....God I fancy a burger! It happens! Hey this is what these 2 complexes are for. When you get those Western food cravings and you just need some meat in a solid form rather than chopped up into a million pieces and served in a dish full of tiny bits of food that you can't even distinguish what's meat, what's vegetable and god forbid....what's insect! - That was my nightmare....correction... IS my nightmare. But yes it does happen and I almost put some fried bees in my mouth once. No no, if you think it was a mistake and they got in the dish by accident, you're wrong. That was THE dish, fried bees wrapped in lettuce leaf. makes me shiver thinking about it! Rightttt..... moving swiftly back to the Western food. If you are looking to escape, perhaps find a burger, salad, whatever you're craving really, you will probably find it in these 2 locations.
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| SanLiTun Village |
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| Jian Wai Soho |
Steak and Eggs, Xiu Shui Nan Jie (By the Beijing Friendship Store)
Again another place to come to if you are craving a bit of Western cuisine. We loved nothing more than coming to this place on a Sunday afternoon for a spot of brunch. The real American diner experience with massive portions, amazing pancakes or a good old hearty English breakfast.
Late Night....
This really is a city that never sleeps. You could go on for days without having to sleep here because there are always restaurants open 24/7, clubs are open until 6am and shops start opening at 6am, and if you really run out of options there are the Kareoke halls that are open all day every day too where you can have food and drink delivered to your door so you don't even have to lift a finger. But anyway, the best late night restaurants around if I was to suggest any are the following....
Cutie Club Restaurant, GongTi XiLu - The Worker's Stadium, West Side
I say Cutie Club Restaurant but I am not actually 100% sure if that is what it is called. But it is next door to all the large clubs situated at the Worker's Stadium. It is a perfect Chinese restaurant to come to after the clubs shut.
Tango
Next door to Tango Club is the restaurant in the shape of a big lit up boat. Great for a selection of Dim Sum and fast service after a night out. Or even if you are in the mood for Dim Sum. It is spread over about 4 floors so there is normally plenty of space to accommodate any number of people.
Gui Jie - Ghost Street, DongZhiMenNei
This really is the street that never sleeps. It is known as Ghost Street because legend has it that it used to be filled with ghosts and lost spirits. So in order to ward off the ghosts people would hang red lanterns above the restaurants - thus the cliche red lanterns you see in the cheapo Chinese takeaways you see around the world these days. But anyway, the lights were supposed to ward the ghosts away and it just turned into a bit of a tradition and all the restaurants stay open through the night so it is always buzzing at 6 in the morning.
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| Ghost Street |
Ok...so I didn't actually fall too short on restaurant suggestions in the end. That should definitely keep you going for a while through the trip.
Where to go Out?
I was very fortunate to meet an incredible group of friends over in Beijing and I really do hope to go back over and visit again someday soon. Although the social circle would expand and extend a times, there was always a solid crew of us who partied together. My friend set up the amazing website named
ClubZone which I think is a great site to turn to if you are interested in learning about the up and coming events or where the best clubs and bars are in Beijing. Beijing has a fantastic mix of clubs and bars. They are very big on their DJs and I have seen the likes of Armen Van Buren, Paul Oakenfold and Tiesto perfom over in Beijing.
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| Beijing 2008 |
Because of the sheer size of Beijing city, you can imagine that the clubs are very big and spacious and often the music choice in the big clubs tend of be quite house/techno/electro and trance based. I honestly think, even if you didn't think it, that Beijing for me has some of the best nightlife in the world if you are talking about clubs. I know it is a massively bold statement, and I'm sure in my lifetime that I will retract it, but so far from the clubs I have been to around the world, Beijing is pretty high up there for me.
Bars
Punk, The Opposite House, Right next to SanLiTun Village
Very chic, funky bar inside The Opposite House, a very cool boutique Hotel, which looks like it would be worth a stay. A fabulous selection of cocktails - my personal favourite was the watermelon and chilli martini. Always some good DJs playing and some exciting events and functions.
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| At Punk, The Opposite House |
SanLiTun - The 'Bar Street'
If you are looking to bar hop and perhaps go to some cheaper bars, you are most certainly not short of choice here. The 'Famous Bar Street' of Beijing. Whether you are looking to start of here or spend your night here you are bound to have a good time. A mixture of East meets West crowd in this area.
HouHai
Going a bit further away from the CBD, well quite a bit further in fact, you will find the picturesque area of HouHai. All the bars surround a gorgeous lake so it is a really nice place to come and have some drinks and food. There are a countless number of restaurants and bars along here. It would probably take a good 20 - 30 mins to walk around the whole area around the lake in fact.
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| HouHai |
Clubs
To be honest there are probably a lot of clubs that I will forget to mention or even be a bit dated now as I have not been to Beijing for a couple of years now and the latest 'cool' hangout has probably changed since then. But there are a tonne of clubs to choose from and here are some that I had some great times in.
Worker's Stadim West Side - GongTi XiLu
Babyface, Cutie Club, Angel
There are mostly likely to be a couple of clubs that I missed out on that list but those are the ones that I rememeber the most. The layout is not dissimilar in most clubs to be honest but it's spacious, its comfortable and it creates a great atmosphere to dance around and have a good time. They are all next door to each other so you can take your pick of which one to go to. I think back in the day Cutie Club was my favourite, although I couldn't tell you a distinguishing factor that made it my favourite over the others.
Bling
I think there was a phase where we used to come here about twice a week! Just randomly on a Thursday night we'd go for a 'quiet drink' and end up at Bling knowing that we had working looming ever closer as the night drew to a close in the early hours of the morning. We even had a regular table and a friend who used to DJ there a few times. Great atmosphere and a bit of a smaller club so much easier to find people and have a quick dance on the dancefloor before retiring back to the table for a drink. That was quite a standard way of going out, to have a table with bottles of spirit and often a fruit platter thrown in there. - A very important source of my five a day in fact! Before you think that it seems a bit extravagant to always be going out and getting tables and bottles, having a table and a bottle of spirit over there was definitely a lot cheaper than over here in London, that's for sure. But I don't know exactly how much it was.
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| Inside Bling Club |
Suzie Wongs
Another club, or you could consider it a bar, that I went through a phase of frequenting at least twice a week! Also funnily enough I discovered that at the time it was part owned by a man from Hong Kong who used to work in Nigeria, where my Dad worked, and where I spent a lot of time during my childhood. But anyway, he was a close family friend who had watched me grow up. Turns out he had moved to Beijing and helped to run Suzie Wong!! Small world or what? This place I do have to say seems to attract an older crowd than the average. Actually that was something I noticed out and about in Beijing in general and it was quite disturbing (not to sound TOO offensive) to see these rather young Asian girls with these 60+ foreign men out on the town. Ok, I probably shouldn't say 'disturbing' should I.....lets put it as.... it just looked slightly wrong.
Vics & Mix, GongTi Bei Men , Worker's Stadium, North Road
If you are looking to escape the electro clubs or that kind of dance-y music, you might be inclined to come to Vics or Mix. Both clubs are next door to each other and located on the other side of the Worker's Stadium to the other clubs. It plays a mix of RnB and Commercial music. Good night out if you are looking for a club night out.
There are also PLENTY of other activities to keep you entertained in Beijing, which is something that I absolutely love about it. And the best thing about it is that unlike other countries where there are probably a lot of activities to do if you had the right amount of money, you aren't hindered by this factor in Beijing because everything is so much cheaper. First of all the tourist sights will keep you going for days on end. The Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square, The Great Wall.... All breathtaking sights that will blow you away, especially when you think how long ago these buildings and monuments were constructed, and what limited resources they had. There were certainly no lazy builders sipping on some tea whilst sat in a crane all day building the Great Wall of China, I can tell you that for nothing. Anyway, here are a few of my favourite pass times in Beijing if you were looking for alternative entertainment...
NanLuoGuXiang
As I said before I would come back and talk about this area of Beijing. It is an absolute gem! I totally fell in love with this place and came here quite a lot over the weekends just to chill out during the day. It is a Hu Tong area, very traditional and you will get a great sense of getting transported back in time to what the little streets of China were like before the 10 car wide roads were constructed around the city. Except within this Hu Tong there are also an array of shops, restaurants and cafes to pass the day away. So if you actually want to find a Hu Tong that you can relax in and feel like you are having a cultural experience, but also want to sip on a cappuccino at the same time, come to NanLuoGuXiang. I can't stress how wonderful it is!
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| One of the streets in NanLuoGuXiang |
798 Art District, DaShanZhi
This contemporary art gallery was set up partly in a way of rebellion of some sort. It allowed artists to express themselves through radical artwork, which was quite provocative and slightly daring in a Communist country. The whole area itself is a large abandoned military electronics complex. It is spacious and raw, full of abandoned warehouses and empty office space. Perfectly complimenting the artwork featured within the gallery really. A great place to come and spend the day, admire some artwork and sit and enjoy a coffee or a bite to eat.
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| 798 Art District |
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| Some Controversial artwork displayed at times |
KTV
Who could resist a bit of Kareoke sing-along fun in China. It is the home of it and what a home it is. The KTV halls are terribly impressive in Beijing, many of them boasting numerous floors and hundreds of Kareoke rooms. I don't know if you can sing or like to sing, but this is the place to test that theory because it really is a fantastic night out if you are with a bunch of friends. It can be a really cheap night out as well. You normally pay for the room per hour and then you have an unlimited chance to get food from the free buffet and free soft drinks. The only thing they charge for is the alcohol, though they often have drinks deals, oh...and beware of the peanut charges! If you don't want the peanuts and they are there on the table when you come in, just quickly ask them if it costs to have them and if you have to have them because they try to be sneaky sometimes and charge extortionate prices for one portion! Like 200 yuan worth. sneaky sneaky.
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| Tango CLub - KTV |
Massage & Nails
There is no better place to pamper yourself than Beijing. For a fraction of the price you would be forking out over in England for a spa treatment, you can get 5 star treatment over in Beijing and it is just as good, if not better. So if you need to relax and unwind, maybe you have a bit of an ache or pain from trekking up the Great Wall all day, go and get yourself a massage. Getting your nails done, mainly in shopping malls or parlours if you want to source them out is just ridiculously cheap. Prices start from £1 and up basically, and you can expect to pay a maximum of £5. You will feel like you have transported into an episode of The Hills, living that Beverly Hills star treatment lifestyle!
Shopping - Xiu Shui Jie - Silk Street
Back when I first went to Beijing when I was 16, this whole shopping area was outdoors, market stall style. Nowadays, all the stalls have moved indoors into one big complex called Xiu Shui jie 2. To be honest, even if the feel of it may not feel as authentic as it did back when it was market stalls in the open air, it is almost more convenient. And hey, it makes haggling a whole lot more fun if you can stand indoors in winter time. You don't really want to be caught outdoors in the winter time in Beijing as it is minus 10 degrees at times. On the other hand, it isn't that pleasant to be stood outdoors in 40 degrees heat in the height of summer either! So all in all, it isn't a bad thing that it's all moved indoors. There are tonnes of stalls around here selling a huge selection of fake designer brands (done verrryy well by the way). Bags, shoes, clothes, jewellery, makeup (though be careful of makeup because you never know what's in it!)...... you can even get your own clothes made from the tailor shops, which is often a popular choice if you are suit shopping. Whatever the item all I can say is MAKE SURE YOU BARGAIN. There have been so many times where I have walked by and overheard the opening price for the same item range from 200 yuan for a Chinese person to 2000 yuan for a Western person who doesn't speak Chinese. Don't be one of those people! The average price to go in at is about 1/10 of the opening price. If they say 1000, retaliate with 50 and work up to no more than 150 I would say. Walking away and pretending you don't want it always helps too. They will chase you down and drag you back over if they get desperate enough. Great way to spend a day and get some good bargains out of it
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| XiuShui Shopping complex |
If you have time to get out of the city, I would highly recommend you experience some country life in Beijing. It is a whole another world out there. You can't even begin to fathom how poor some of these families can be sometimes and how little they can live off. They really do put us to shame when talking about budgeting. "But I HAVE to go out tonight" ....well no I don't really. I could probably save myself £40 if I stayed in. And £40 could probably support a family in the countryside for a couple of weeks! I actually worked in an orphanage out in the countryside and although the orphanage itself was well equipped and nothing like a countryside experience, it was a complete wake up call and whole another experience when walking around town. Food and drink prices out there were crazy cheap. A whole meal where I would have a feast cost around £1. My average spend in the canteen for dinner in the orphanage was less than £1 in fact. Out in the country it is a luxury item to have a toilet and running water in your home. Most people have to go out into the public bathrooms, where they are the hole in the ground and public showers to shower. If you are Western, don't be startled if people are pointing and staring at you, it just because you are completely alien to them. Righhttt....totally not trying to put you off, honestly! I found the whole experience to be incredible and I would love to go back. And actually when I mentioned Nong JiaLe it is a kind of 'Farmer's Guest House'. Tourists, or anyone really can stay in their home, designed to accommodate people to enjoy a bit of country life. We went for a weekend trip and it was amazing. We bought a tonne of meat skewers, had a bbq, sang some kareoke, went for a morning stroll in the countryside, played some MahJong (traditional Chinese game) and breathed in some freshER air than the city. Very relaxing and very interesting, I very much recommend it.
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| NongJiaLe |
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| Countryside Bar where we went for the weekend |
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| Just outside the NongJiaLe |
Living and Working in Bejing
Wow, just writing all of that out brought back a lot of memories and makes me miss Beijing an awful lot. It is just an absolutely incredible place to visit and if you do get the chance to live and work/study there, I really think you should. It might feel like you are out of your comfort zone at first if you aren't familiar with the language, culture or people. But I promise that you will find your footing there and you will grow to love this place as much as I did. Also a great magazine or website to follow for restaurants, jobs or events around Beijing is
The Beijinger. You can normally find them lying around and about cafes.
Despite the many places I have been to, there are few places in the world I could say that I could see myself living in and Beijing is one of them, so that really is saying something. In terms of finding jobs you just need to get out there and network. I met a lot of people out clubbing in fact who gave me their business cards when they heard I was looking for work and could speak English and Mandarin. Get to know the right people in Beijing and that will get you an awfully long way.
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| A typical Countryside Kitchen |
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Some of the amazing kids at the orphanage I worked.
Notice how Thomas at the front has got the Asian photo pose down already! |
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| Typical Asian pose...Peaceeeee! |
