Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the leafy
hútòng
of Dongcheng
Xicheng is a lot like Dongcheng—a shrine to Beijing's past with its ancient
hútòng
and ar-
chitecture, and an ideal location for Beijing's super wealthy to buy out and transform former
imperial homes into their own private palaces. Unlike Dongcheng, it is still markedly local.
English-friendly facilities are relatively scarce and cafés that excel beyond a mediocre imit-
ation of “Western food” are next to nonexistent. Expats do find their way out here, but their
numbers thin dramatically a short distance west or south of Houhai. The lack of Western-
centered services might be one explanation for this, but until a few years ago, Xicheng's
