Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
MASSAGE AND SPA
Beijing is full of dodgy
massage
joints, but reliable venues do exist - plenty of them, too.
Prices are rising, but are still less than you'd pay in most Western countries.
Spa
services are
even easier to track down - most upper-end hotels offer such treatments.
Aibosen
11 Liufang Beilu 010 64652044; Liufang subway (line 13).
The blind staff at
this clinic are trained in Chinese medical massages. Most popular with foreigners are the 1hr
deep-tissue massages (
￥
118). If you like them and are sticking around for a while, you can
pick up discount cards for ten (
￥
790) or twenty (
￥
1380) massages.
Daily 10am-1.30am.
Bodhi
17 Gongti Beilu, opposite Workers' Stadium 010 64130226,
bodhi.com.cn
;
Dongsishitiao subway (line 2).
Ayurvedic and Thai massages are among the many options
available at this Southeast Asian-styled clinic. Ayurvedic massage
￥
288 for 1hr.
Daily
11am-12.30pm.
Chi
Shangri-La Hotel, 29 Zizhuyuan Lu 010 68412211,
shangri-la.com/beijing/shangri-
five Chinese elements - metal, fire, wood, water and earth - to balance your
yin
and
yang
. It
might look like a Tibetan temple, but there can't be many real Tibetans who could afford to
darken its doors. A Chi Balance massage costs
￥
1430, a Himalayan Healing Stone Massage
￥
1700 (and there's a 15 percent service charge).
Daily 10am-midnight.
Dragonfly
1F Eastern Inn, Sanlitun Nanlu 010 65936066, Hujialou subway (lines 6 & 10);
60 Donghuamen Dajie, just outside the East Gate of the Forbidden City 010 65279368,
Tian'anmen East subway (line 1);
dragonfly.net.cn
.
This well-reputed Shanghai chain has
opened a couple of conveniently located centres in the capital. Their two-hour hangover re-
lease special (
￥
288) is always popular, as are the foot massages.
Daily 10am-11pm.
St Regis Spa Centre
St Regis Hotel, 21 Jianguomenwai Dajie 010 64606688,
star-
woodhotels.com/stregis
;
Jianguomen subway (lines 1 & 2).
Traditional Chinese massage,
aromatherapy and facials are among the treatments on offer at this very upscale
hotel
. Prices
start at
￥
350 for a head and shoulders massage.
Daily 10am-10pm.
ROCK-CLIMBING
Dianshi Club
Ritan Park 138 0105 2361; Dongdaqiao subway (line 6).
This outfit has a
popular climbing wall at Ritan Park, charging
￥
50 per session, with discounts for regular
participants. They also arrange climbing trips to areas outside Beijing (from
￥
40/day),
which can be an awful lot of fun.
