Beihai, Shichahai and the Bell and Drum Tower

One of Beijing's most popular spots for young fashionable Chinese, the Houhai Lake area is a perfect place, day or night, to settle into a roadside cafe and watch the world go by. People come to the area to eat and a plentiful variety of food is available all round the lake and nearby Beihai and Shichahai lakes. Bars provide a festive atmosphere with music and laughter spilling the lakeside and completing the picture.

 

The Drum and Bell Tower at Gulou Dongdajie is a good starting point. The Tower was once a timepiece of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) that clocked up the hours of the day to the beating of drums. Today, it serves as a vantage point for tourists who want an unusual view of the city. Near by, on Di'anmen Dajie is Yandai Xie Jie a narrow alleyway that connects the main street to the lakes. Filled with curiosity shops, cafes and bars, don't miss Yandai if you are in the area. The xie jie (winding street) recalls a time when the city was almost entirely composed of narrow winding streets.

 

To get your bearings Yandai Xie Jie (Tobacco Pipe Lane) connects Yinding Qiao (Silver Ingot Bridge) to the east and the Drum and Bell Tower at Gulou to the west. Yinding Qiao is a pedestrian mall and leads directly into the lake if approached on foot.

 

Houhai connects Xihai to the north and Qianhai to Beihai and Beihai Park to the south. The bars, restaurants and cafes in the areas around Houhai and Qianhai reinvent themselves on a regular basis, but some time-honoured establishments including the Nuage Restaurant on the east side of Qianhai and the Houhai Cafe and Bar on South Houhai.

 

Part of the charm of the area, of course, is the lakes themselves. Although frozen in winter, the summer months attract large numbers of boat-lovers who are content to loll about on punts or energetically manoeuvre pedal boats in the sunshine. Motor boats are also available.

 

Beihai Gongyuan (Beihai Park) is a stone's throw from the Houhai lake area and is worth devoting a part of a day to see. Dating from the middle of the 11th century, the park is the largest of Beijing's municipal parks and is located at the back door of the Imperial Palace in the Forbidden City.

 

Stretched out over 86 hectares of lush, landscaped gardens and woods, the park was a former playground of Imperial families and contains many unique references to Beijing's history.

 

At the southern end of Beihai Park, the Round City, a walled, elevated landform immediately to the east of the Great Marble Bridge, dates from the Liao Dynasty (916–1125) and is said to be built on the site of a palace of former Mongol ruler Kublai Khan.

 

Across the bridge on Jade Islet, the sublime 36-metre-high White Dagoba Temple rises through the trees. Rebuilt in the 18th century the temple commemorates a visit by the Dalai Lama in the mid-17th century. The Xitian Fanjing Temple to the north houses three mammoth statues of Buddha.

 

The park opens at 6 a.m. Rise with the dawn and you will catch Beijing locals dancing the waltz, perhaps mist rising from the lake, making it a memorable moment to capture on film.