Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
DRINKING & NIGHTLIFE
If you're shopping on Wángfǔjǐng, there are four or five drinks stalls (8.30am to midnight) on the main pedestri-
anised shopping strip that have shaded seating areas and serve cheap soft drinks and beer (from ¥8). There are
also plenty of coffee shops inside the modern shopping centre, Oriental Plaza.
ALLEY COFFEE
|CAFE
( Xúncháng Xiàngmò Kāfēi Tīng; cnr Jingshan Dongjie & Shatan Houjie, 8.30am-11pm; Nanluoguxiang or Na-
tional Art Museum)
Perfect for a coffee break after a visit to the Forbidden City or Jǐngshān
Park, this cute, traveller-friendly courtyard cafe, diagonally opposite Jīngshān Park's east
gate, has friendly English-speaking staff and does fresh coffee (from ¥25), cold beer and a
mix of Chinese and Western food, including breakfast fry-ups (until 11am). Also rents
bikes (per day ¥50, deposit ¥600) and has free wi-fi.
|BAR
( 33 Qihelou Jie, off Beichizi Dajie; beers and cocktails from ¥50, wine from ¥250, champagne ¥400-4000;
11am-2am Apr-Nov; National Art Museum)
Ascend the stairs of the boutique hotel the Emperor to
reach this chic terrace bar, and then climb the wooden steps to their highest point for a
stunning view over the rooftops of the Forbidden City. It's lovely at sunset, but the drinks
aren't as special as the setting, and they certainly aren't cheap. But there's a happy hour
(4pm to 10pm) on Thursdays, a DJ at weekends and a hot tub for exhibitionists.
CON 'ARTISTS'
We receive an enormous number of emails from those unfortunate enough to be scammed in Běijīng. By far the
most notorious is the tea-ceremony scam, which exploits foreigners' ignorance of Chinese culture, unfamiliarity
with the exchange rate and gullibility in a foreign setting; visitors are invited to drink tea at a tea house, after
which the traveller is hit for a bill for hundreds of dollars. Many travellers pay up and only realise later that they
have been massively conned. Foreigners at Tiān'ānmén Sq or wandering Wangfujing Dajie are also routinely
hounded by pesky 'art students' either practising their English or roping visitors into going to exhibitions of over-
priced art. They will try to strike up a conversation with you, but while some travellers enjoy their company, oth-
