On a sunny day in early summer, it’s the perfect time to wander around and explore the city.
Today, we recommend 4 great places for a spring citywalk in Beijing that are definitely worth checking out. Let’s quickly follow the footsteps of summer together and discover the unique beauty of Beijing!
Sanlitun Embassy Area → Liangma River
If you don’t know where to go on the weekend, come take a stroll in the Sanlitun Embassy Area and along the banks of the Liangma River. It’s both chill and romantic.
We suggest that you walk straight through Sanlitun North Street and along the riverbank. Observing the various buildings and scenery along the way is truly wonderful.
The streets of the Sanlitun Embassy Area can be considered one of the most picturesque places in Beijing during spring. Because there are embassies of various countries nearby, the streets here are exceptionally quiet and very suitable for taking photos.
On a bright spring day, the leaves on the trees along the street begin to sprout green buds, and the street is lined with various foreign restaurants.
The open windows facing the street, the fresh and abundant greenery, and the red-brown brick walls give you the feeling of walking on a European street with an exotic atmosphere.
Walking eastward along Sanlitun Street, we arrive at the Liangma River. Here, people stroll and play along the banks of the Liangma River. Some are picnicking and fishing, while others are playing with paddle boards and frolicking in the water. Time seems to slow down.
Various French restaurants and cafes are distributed along the shore. You can leisurely spend an afternoon in any of them, feeling as relaxed as if you were on a Parisian street, with everyone enjoying life.
As night falls and the neon lights rise, the Liangma River night cruise begins. We can also choose to take a boat ride on the river and enjoy the bustling night view of Beijing.
If you’re tired from playing, you can also walk to the Blue Harbor and the small shops along the street, have a drink, and rest your feet. It’s very cozy.
Yangmeizhu Xiejie
If you’re looking for a street in Beijing that perfectly combines the culture of hutongs and artistic flair, apart from Wudaoying Hutong, it would be Yangmeizhu Xiejie.
It is located in the most golden geographical location of Beijing, the Qianmen Dashilan block, starting from Meishi Street in the east and extending to Yanshou Street in the west.
On both sides of the street, there are various characteristic restaurants, cafes, and handicraft shops. It’s artistic and quiet, without a strong commercial atmosphere.
Here, you can walk around, stop and take photos, while occasionally playing with unique small decorations in the shops.
These small decorative accessories are either handmade by the shop owners following traditional culture or “treasures” that the owners have collected from exchanges. They are exquisite and make people want to take them home.
Qiankun Space is an exhibition hall themed on history. The building was formerly the “Zhaochangyin Hao” during the Republic of China era, with a strong historical atmosphere of that period. Based on ancient ceramics, they have launched many traditional craft works with unique Beijing characteristics.
Here, you can also collect free cultural and creative stamps, purchase various creative refrigerator magnets, handmade items, and different versions of old Beijing maps and textiles.
Walking further along the street, you can see a shop dedicated to making old Beijing rabbit figurines, run by Zhang Zhongxiang, the fifth-generation inheritor of Beijing’s intangible cultural heritage.
The colorful appearance and the lively expressions of the rabbits are vivid and lifelike, making them perfect gifts for friends from other places.
On a bright spring afternoon, the artistic shops, leisurely pedestrians, sunlight, and budding tree leaves intertwine to form a beautiful painting.
Some of the coffee shops on Yangmeizhu Xiejie have set up seats at the entrance, while others have a second-floor terrace.
Sitting by the window inside the shop, sipping coffee while watching this hutong full of life, it feels like time has slowed down.
Dongjiaominxiang: St. Michael’s Cathedral → Former Belgian Embassy → Former French Embassy
When it comes to the most photogenic check-in spots in Beijing, Dongjiaominxiang is a must-visit. Walking along this alley, you can see a well-preserved group of Western-style buildings.
Dongjiaominxiang is known as the most beautiful hutong in Beijing and is also the longest hutong in the city, starting from Tiananmen East Road in the west and extending to Chongwenmen Inner Street in the east.
This street has witnessed the ups and downs of a century of history and retains European-style buildings such as embassies, churches, banks, and official residences. It can be said that there is a scenic view with every step, making it very suitable for a short Citywalk.
It is recommended that you check in from east to west, passing through St. Michael’s Cathedral → Former Belgian Embassy → Former French Embassy → China Court Museum → Beijing Police Museum.
In Dongjiaominxiang, St. Michael’s Church is the most representative landmark. It is one of the four major churches in Beijing, built in 1901, and was previously part of the French Consulate area.
St. Michael’s Church is a typical Gothic building with a brick arch porch, exuding a strong classical Western European feel.
Across the street, you can see little angels and crosses through the gate railings, making it a perfect spot for taking photos.
The former Belgian Embassy is also very beautiful, built in the style of European classical architecture. The red bricks and grey seams, along with the stepped gable on the roof of the main building, give a feeling of traveling back in time a hundred years.
Not far away, there is the former French Post Office, a Western grey brick building that perfectly combines Chinese and Western elements. The China Court Museum, formerly the Yokohama Specie Bank, houses exhibitions of ancient books from the Ming and Qing dynasties for visitors to explore.
After visiting this group of buildings, you can also head north to Shijia Hutong to fully experience the European architectural culture and history, which is very pleasant.
Wusi Street: Lu Xun Museum ➠ Zhengyang Bookstore ➠ Red Building Library ➠ Xishiku Church ➠ Miaoying Temple White Pagoda
If you were to ask where in old Beijing is the best place to experience the atmosphere of the Republic of China era while strolling, it would definitely be Wusi Street.
Compared to Dongjiaominxiang, it has less sophistication and liveliness, but more of a sense of old Beijing life and historical and cultural atmosphere.
Along this route, you can visit the Lu Xun Museum, the Red Building Library, the former site of the Beiping Library, and feel the historical vicissitudes of the “Awakening Age”.
The Peking University Red Building on Wusi Street is the predecessor of Peking University and the former site of the Peking University campus. It has a history of 105 years and is also the most important check-in location featured in the TV series “Awakening Age”.
The Peking University Red Building is named after its construction with red bricks and tiles, exuding a solemn and dignified atmosphere with its vintage red brick walls.
In modern Chinese history, several major historical events and many famous scholars have left their manuscripts and footprints here, which are still preserved for people to visit, narrating the vicissitudes of China’s modern, contemporary, and recent history.
If you want to enter the Red Building Public Library, you can directly enter for free. Many people read and study here, leisurely spending an entire afternoon.
Zhengyang Bookstore is located in a small courtyard directly opposite the Red Building. This courtyard houses the important architectural remains of the Wansong Laoren Pagoda from the Yuan Dynasty, which is also the only existing dense-eave brick pagoda in Beijing’s urban area.
At the same time, this place can also be regarded as the most Beijing-flavored bookstore, selling only books related to Beijing’s historical documents, as well as old maps from different eras.
The entire street is quiet with few people, ancient trees towering over the roof tiles, and a group of elderly people sitting and chatting under the trees at the entrance, full of the aroma of life.
The former site of the Beiping Library, formerly the 1909 Jingshi Library, is the architectural remains of Beijing’s first large-scale modern library, inheriting the imperial collection since the Southern Song Dynasty, with a rich collection.
Xishiku Church is also very magnificent. The towering dome, stained glass windows, and vivid deity paintings inside appear solemn and sacred. There is also a cultural and creative store inside the church where you can check in, collect stamps, and even make handicrafts to experience the production of colored glass.
Finally, when you’re tired from strolling, find a terrace café near the Miaoying Temple White Pagoda to rest your feet, leisurely drink a coffee, and wait for the gorgeous sunset glow.
After appreciating the great places for a spring Citywalk in Beijing, have you been impressed by their breathtakingly beautiful scenery? The editor is so fond of them that I want to go and check in right now.
Alright, that’s it for the content of this issue! If there are other topics you’d like to learn about, please leave a comment below, and the editor will promptly present them to you! See you in the next issue, bye~
