Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Turn right into Shatan Beijie and left into Songzhuyuan Xixiang. Bear right, then left into Sanyanjing Hutong.
Note the elaborately carved Qing-dynasty doorway on your right, now blocked up and turned into a wall and
window. Just before the end, turn right into Jiansuo Zuoxiang. No 8 was
Mao Zedong's former home
.
At the end, turn left, take the second right and head towards Huanghuamen Jie. No 43 is the
former court-
yard home of imperial eunuch Li Lianyin
, a favourite of Empress Dowager Cixi.
At the end, turn right then left under an arch in part of the old imperial city wall, into Youqizuo Hutong.
Follow the wiggly
hútòng
to Gongjian Hutong . Soon after, turn right into Gongjian 2 Hutong, a quiet res-
idential alleyway, which hugs the
eastern wall of Běihǎi Park
.
Follow Jingshan Xijie to Jǐngshān Park west gate, turn right, then cycle under the car-park arch and into Dash-
izuo Hutong, which meets Jingshan Qianjie, where you'll see the Forbidden City moat. Follow Beichang Jie,
past the now closed
Fúyòu Temple
and opposite, the entrance to the small
Wànshòu Xīnglóng
Temple
.
Stop at
Hángzhōu Xiǎochī
for dumplings, turn left to the west gate of the Forbidden City, and follow the
Forbidden City moat
and towering
palace walls
around to
Meridian Gate
. Cross the square in
front of the gate, and follow the moat eastward. Pass the palace's east gate before crossing onto Donghuamen
Dajie, turning left into Donghuangchenggen Nanjie and returning to Bike Běijīng.
CHUĀN BÀN$
|CHINESE SÌCHUĀN
( 28 Dongzongbu Hutong, off Chaoyangmen Nanxiaojie, dishes from ¥20; 11am-2pm & 5-11pm Mon-Fri,
11am-11pm Sat & Sun; ; Jianguomen)
Every Chinese province has its own official building
in Běijīng, complete with a restaurant for cadres and locals working in the capital who are
pining for a taste of home. Often they're the most authentic places for regional cuisines.
This restaurant in the Sìchuān Government Offices is always crowded and serves up just
about every variety of Sìchuān food you could want. It's very much a place for fire fiends:
almost every dish comes loaded with chillies and mouth-numbing Sìchuān peppercorns,
whether it's bamboo shoots, Sìchuān specials such as
làzi jī
(spicy chicken), or steamed
fish with pepper and taro. There's an English menu, and the helpful staff can assist you in
avoiding anything too extreme. Beers are ¥10; you'll need them to restore feeling to your
tongue. No English sign; it's housed in an office-block of a building, with the entrance
round the back.
