woman going to Beijing alone...?

Question

Hi - I am planning a short trip to Beijing to check out all the usual tourist spots. I would like to know about any good restaurants and nightife that I can check out. I am a girl traveling alone, so that can be a factor... thanks for any help!

Thanks so much everybody for great detailed answers!! Very helpful. I'm sure I'll have a fun and safe time :)

Answer 1

Hi there,

I'm an Aussie living in Beijing, I've been here for about 1.5 years now, had to extend my stay because I fell in love with this place. So here are some of my advice:

1. If you're planning to visit Beijing soon then please pack a lot of warm winter clothes, a bomber jacket or a down coat is highly recommended, a pair of Ugg boots would be wise too. Beijing is freezing at the moment, it has snowed twice in the last couple of weeks, and it's only going to get colder in the coming months (that's why I'm heading back to Sydney for awhile till it gets warmer)

2. If you're coming alone, please take care and be very cautious as you would in any other country. From my experience I would say Beijing is a pretty safe place, people here are very welcoming and helpful, as long as you're a sensible traveler you will be safe here in Beijing.

3. With regards to good restaurants, there are plenty of good restaurants here in Beijing. Local Chinese food is cheap as chips, you can get a decent feed on local food for about $AUD10 that will give you 3-4 Chinese dishes with fried rice plus local beers. There are many western restaurants and cafes scattered all around the CBD areas, so you'll have a large variety of choices to choose from.

4. The nightlife here is fantastic, you can go out pretty much any night of the week around the Gongti (Workers Stadium) area and there will be a guaranteed crowd. The clubs here are huge, and they get pretty jam packed by around 12 o'clock, so if you do decide to go out, please head out early. Personally I don't like to go to Houhai, it's a very touristy place where locals try to overcharge foreigners and these bars are rather cheesy with no real identity to offer. The best expat hang outs are the following places:

* Kai bar + Nanjie bar in sanlitun (they have real cheap drinks, favourite student hang outs)

* Centro in Kerry Centre (Jianguomen, upmarket cocktail serving some of Beijing's finest cocktails, kinda pricey though)

* Frank's place in Lido (typical anglo sports pub/bar, relatively cheap drinks, friendly atmosphere, good bistro type food)

* Mix + Vics in Gongti worker's stadium (both popular rnb/hip hop clubs facing each other, although Mix's new renovation has brought a lot of new comers to the place)

* Babyface on the other side of Gongti (favourite electronic club, this place hosts many of the international big names that come to China e.g. Stanton Warriors, Krafty Kuts, BLIM etc)

* Zub + Lush in Wudaokou (this is the student district, two of the best clubs in this area, Zub is an underground electronic spot and Lush plays hip hop and apparently a good pick up joint, so I've been told)

Anyway, hope that was helpful, if you need more info regarding Beijing. Visit the following website, it's the website of a monthly English magazine for expats, you can also get copies of these magazines in many western cafes, restaurants and shops.

www.thatsbj.com

*^_^*

Answer 2

Welcome to Beijing! It is my hometown!

Here are some recommendations for the restaurants in Beijing;
1. Don't miss the most authentic Beijing Duck at Qianmen Quanjude Restaurant which is close to Tian'anmen Square. It is a restaurant has pass down for four generations and have received a lot of VIPs from all over the world, including several US Presidents.
2. Try the Imperial Banquet ( Fangshan in Chinese) in Beihai Park. The Restaurant originates from the Royal Family. According to historical records, the restaurant used to serve the Qing Dynasty Empress Dowager Cixi 108 kinds of dishes. The decoration, cuisine and service all follow the Qing Dynasty style! It is truly an unforgettable experience in your tour to China!
3. If you can eat lamb, then try a local favorite restaurant: Donglaishun Restaurant. The best one is in a shopping mall called Xindongan on Wangfujing Street. Their lamb hot pot is truly a treat in the cold winter!
4. If you like a view while eating, then try the TV tower in the west Beijing, close to Yuyuantan Park. It is the No 1 height in Beijing, so you can have a good bird's eye view on top of the tower. The restaurant is a revolving one and buffet style. My favorite time is the sunset time where you can sit through both the sunset as well as watching the whole city lighting up when it's getting dark.

Regarding night life: I will recommend the Houhai area where you can have a drink or a cup of tea while enjoy the flavor of the heart of Old Beijing!

Do you have any friends there? Otherwise I will highly recommend that you get some professional help before the trip since you don't want to miss any important things or wasting time on the logistics by yourself.

If you have any more questions, please feel free to contact me at; [e-mail]

Answer 3

I'm a 5 year foreign resident of Beijing, I'm from America orginally. In my experience, foreigners who come to China like to explore and discover on their own, rather than be part of a tour. Chinese-organized tours tend to be very commercial and "beaten-track." Touring, dining, and entertainment tastes of Chinese people tend to have a "follow-the-herd" mentality that is often does not match up with the tastes of folks who grew up in other parts of the world. The places recommended below are all a little off the beaten track, but worth checking out.

The food in Beijing is among the most amazing in China, as you have access to an incredible number of regional cuisines. The #1 restaurant that I would recommend is Hua Jia Yi Yuan on Guijie. It is a courtyard restaurant with picture menu. They have an excellent chicken, walnut, and ginko nut dish that I've never had anywhere else (runfei bunao ji,) a great cold spicy chicken salad, IMO the best Peking duck in town (their own special take on it including pineapple) and great green and black beer that they brew on-site. Really any of the restaurants on Gui Jie (Gui Street) will be excellent and it's a fun street just to "window shop" and watch the people eating. To get to Gui Jie just get off of the Dongzhimen subway and walk directly west. Hua Jia Yi Yuan is on the north side of the street about 3 stoplights from the subway stop.

Another great area to eat is Wudaokou (another subway stop on line 13, the yellow line in the northwest corner of the city.) Right near the subway there are several very cheap sushi restaurants that cater to the japanese and korean student populations in the area. Go further west down Chengfu Lu to the second pedestrian overpass to find several excellent restaurants including two dumpling joints and a fantastic Yunnan restaurant (try the pineapple rice, fried bananas, and crispy fried beef.

For night life I strongly recommend Q Bar. (address and pics at http://treehouse.ofb.net/go/en/place/183466 ) It's got the best mixed drinks in town and a foreigner-friendly atmosphere. George, the bartender, is a really great guy. Ask him to mix you something off the menu (perhaps suggest a fruit that you like to start with.)

There are some other nice bars in town that I could recommend as absolutely safe. The Red Moon bar in the Grand Hyatt is expensive, but has fantastic atmosphere and a fun classical chinese fusion band that plays every night. Another great bar on the weekends is Bed, its tucked away in a residential neighborhood and a little hard to find if you don't know how to get there.

Which brings up my final point, when you get to Beijing, find a copy of "That's Beijing" its Beijing's most complete English-language rag. It has more bar and restaurant reviews than you can shake a stick at. They have a website too, at: http://www.thatsbj.com/

I have found Beijing to be the safest place I have ever lived (however I am a man and speak Chinese.) Just keep your wits about you, Chinese people are extremely friendly and welcoming. I hope you have a great trip!

Answer 4

Hello, I have been living in Chengdu, China for almost 6 months studying Chinese (hanyu). The advice i give you is plan for the cold, Im freezing my *** off here. Oh and they speak english there. The food is real good, you could go to western restaraunts, {Peters, that is the name of a famous tourist restaraunt, they serve good peanutbutter chocolate shakes. There are a lot of discos there, I bit of warning thou, the chinese food in china is not at all like that of the USA. However Beijing food is quite good, not spicy though. 1 dollar is equal to 8 rmb. Have fun and Qinjin zhong guo (Welcome China).

Answer 5

hi, it is quite safe in BJ. More safe than most European cities IMHO. The city is doing a lot of cleaning up and keeping a watchful eye. As usual, you're in foriegn territory so be street smart.

As for the night life, etc. check out wangfujing, "silk road" shopping center, and also areas just north of BeiHe park..many bars, catering to foreigners...quite nice scene. Hope this helps.

Answer 6

There are wonderful wonderful restaurants in Beijing, located in the international trade center building. All of them are really good, but i remember there is this particular one that just stood out. But i don't remember the name of it. I know it's southern chinese food. and when you go in there is a little bridge. it's really amazing. if you only get to go to one restaurant in beijing. this gotta be it. oh i remember now, it's called Qiao Jiang Nan (South Beauty). Definitly try it.

Answer 7

Be careful when you travel alone. Don't trust anyone.

Answer 8

its best to join a tour

Answer 9

not a good idea