Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The area around Chaoyang Park (
www.sun-park.com
) is a wonderful place to live, partic-
ularly if you like outdoor sport. The park itself is great for carrying out your own personal
training or joining up with group sports, and it has a wide range of facilities, includ-
ing a tennis center, a badminton hall, basketball courts, football fields, and even its own
amusement park. Chaoyang Gongyuan Lu (Chaoyang Park Road), which runs along the
entire west side of the park, is a long-time favorite destination for expats. Starting at the
north end near Liangmaqiao Lu, the road goes by the name of Lucky Street or Haoyun
Jie. It's lined by restaurants and cafés, including the much-loved South German Bakery
(
www.germanbakery.com.cn
)
and organic store Lohao City. On the east side of the road
here, you'll notice a very large dome. This is the Sino-Japanese Youth Center Pool (tel. 10/
6468-3311, noon-10pm), and, as far as local swimming pools go, this is a serious pool with
people who understand the etiquette of lap swimming. Clearly, though, an early morning
swim before work is not the done thing in Beijing. Farther down the road, across the river,
is shopping village Solana (
www.solana.com.cn
). It can be an interesting place to shop and
is often the venue for events such as film premieres and the occasional fair. Continue down
the road again, and it again transforms in style, this time into a youthful club and restaurant
area.
Liangmaqiao and Sanyuanqiao, on the other hand, have a more corporate feel. This area
is something of an extension of the CBD, and is populated by high-rise buildings and head
offices of international Fortune 500 companies. It's also one of Beijing's other embassy
zones, and includes the U.S. Embassy, among many others. Unsurprisingly, there is a big
concentration of five-star hotels in the vicinity, including the Hilton, the Four Seasons, the
Westin, and the Kempinski, all venues for important events and all with their own upscale
wining and dining options.
Housing
Around the Chaoyang Park area, rental prices are similar to those in Sanlitun, particularly
for smaller apartments. Studios can start from around RMB6,000-10,000, depending on
the complex, and reach RMB25,000-30,000 for a two-bedroom place. If you need a larger
apartment, however, such as a three- or four-bedroom place, you may find you can get more
for your money out here.
Out by the East Fourth Ring Road, off the east side of Chaoyang Park, there are numer-
ous high-density communities, such as Greenlake Place. If you don't have a car or a driver,
you may start to feel that you're a little disconnected from the city. Getting to and from
