Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
You'll find the head offices of many of China's biggest high-tech companies here, in-
cluding Baidu, China's interpretation of Google; computer giant Lenovo; Sohu, a Goliath
Internet company responsible for much of China's digital media; Youku, China's alternative
to YouTube; and Microsoft's Asia Research and Development Headcounter. Even Google,
which scaled back its China operations in 2010, still has an office in Haidian Science Park.
In fact, more than 100 Fortune 500 companies have R&D offices in the region.
But Haidian isn't just all study and business. It also has some of Beijing's most import-
ant historical and scenic sites. When not working or hitting the topics, you can enjoy visits
to such places as the Summer Palace, Xiangshan (Fragrant Hills), Yuanmingyuan Park, and
Recumbent Buddha Temple.
Haidian district sits in the northwest corner of urban Beijing, starting from the corner of
the Second Ring Road and extending outwards far beyond the Fifth Ring. It is bordered by
Changping, Chaoyang, Xicheng, Fengtai, Shijingshan, and Mentougou districts. It covers
431 square kilometers (166 square miles), making it just slightly smaller than Chaoyang
district. At the last census in 2010 it had a registered population of 3,281,000 people—1
million more than in the previous census in 2000.
Inner Haidian is like the rest of urban Beijing—pancake flat. But you don't have to go
far to get into the mountains that seem to suddenly rise out of the west and north. On a day
when pollution isn't reducing your depth of field, they seem to be within walking distance.
At the very least, a short bus or subway ride will get you out of the city and into the leafy
hills.
To the rest of the city Haidian can seem like a world away, and it's a rare thing for east
siders to make a trip out here to shop or dine. A trip up to Wudaokou from Dongzhimen will
cost you around RMB50-60 in a taxi or about 45 minutes on the subway. Unsurprisingly,
those who usually work or study out here, live out here. Transport to and from Haidian is in-
creasingly convenient, and the only real problem you may have is getting home after about
11pm when public transport closes, at which point you'll need to rely on taxis. The airport
is 25 kilometers (16 miles) from the center of the district, but access to the Third, Fourth,
and Fifth Ring Roads makes the journey swift.
