Food and Drinks, parks and gardens
Beijing boasts more than 1,000 restaurants, so it’s not difficult to find one. There are a lot of regional cuisines like Sichuan cuisine and Cantonese cuisine, but restaurants also serve international food. The times of lunch and dinner differ from the times in the Western world. Lunch hour for example is from 11am to 2pm and dinner is around 5pm to 8pm. In Beijing, lunch implies going to restaurants to eat warm dishes. Fast food restaurants are becoming popular as well, for example Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonald's are also in Beijing. If you are planning to visit Beijing and taste the food, Studios92.com can provide you with the optimal accommodation!
Beijing cuisine is a combination of several Chinese cuisines including local flavours. The most famous Beijing local dish is the Beijing Roast Duck. There a a lot of famous Roast Duck restaurants, for example Quanjude (全聚德) and Bianyifang (便宜坊). Some popular snacks are sticky rice with sweet fillings (艾窝窝), fried dough twist (麻花) and shaomai (steamed rice dumplings, 烧麦). Another treat of the Chinese is beans, in particular bean juice (豆汁). Next to this, other popular Beijing dishes include hot pot, jiaozi and steamed bread. Everything has a affordable price and high quality.
For drinks, the most important place to go to in Beijing is a tea house. Tea houses are very popular throughout China. A tea house, however, is not just a place to drink numerous sorts of different tea. Some places also serve snacks or food as well. Tea houses are a part of the traditional Chinese culture. The history of tea also includes tea ceremony performances. Examples of tea houses are:
Laoshe Tea house
This is a famous tea house in Beijing, located on Qianmen Xidajie building 3. It includes performances of Beijing Opera, acrobatics and more.
Santaosha Tea house
This tea house also has tea ceremony performances and is located in the Chaoyang District, on Jia 1 Waiguan Xiejie.
RBT Tea house
This tea house has over 250 kinds of classy tea. The tea house is decorated as a garden-style house. The tea house is situated in the Dongcheng District, on Dongdan Beidajie 69.
Parks and gardens
Beijing is also famous for its parks and gardens. In the past, some of the parks were not open to public since it was a residence of an emperor. Today however, they are visited by many Chinese people as well as foreign tourists. It is a great place to relax, get a grasp of the Chinese culture or practise some sports. Every district in Beijing has its own park. The bigger gardens are sometimes situated outside the city centre. Some of the most famous parks are:
Beihai Park
This is an imperial garden built in the 10th century. It is located near the Forbidden City in Beijing. Historically, this is one of China’s largest garden and also the most important garden, since it was part of the Forbidden City. In 1925, the garden became open to public. The park has a lot of unique features which describe the Chinese architecture.
Beijing Botanical Garden
This garden is close to the Fragrant Hills (Xiangshan). It was built in 1955 and covers 564,000 square meters. In total, the garden has 6,000 plant species including trees, bushes, subtropical plants, flowers and water plants. Everything looks traditional and many of the species are rare. The garden boasts several districts and halls, like the rose garden for example. The garden also boasts several Buddhist temples. There are also several exhibitions with different plants. In 1981, the Peony Garden was opened. Beijing Botanical Garden attracts more than 1.4 million visitors every year.
Summer Palace
This is a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design. Even though the garden suffered several attacks, the garden was rebuilt and is now a very popular place for visitors. It contains halls, palaces, temples and bridges. The park is a popular place for recreation, sport and of course sightseeing. The biggest part of the park contains water and is entirely man made. In total, the Summer Palace covers 2.9 square kilometres, containing many buildings like a Buddhist Temple and the Sea of Wisdom Temple. Visitors are able to access the park by the 3rd , 4th and 5th Ring Road or by public transport.
Fragrant Hills
This public park is located in the Haidian District. The park covers 1.6 square kilometres and has numerous sorts of trees, traditional architecture and cultural relics. Fragrant Hills is popular for Chinese people as well as tourists, especially in the autumn. In this park, the Red Leaf Festival of Beijing takes place.
Temple of Heaven
Built in 1406, the Temple of Heaven is located in the Xuanwu District of Beijing. This imperial garden was home to emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Before the Olympics in Beijing, this Temple was renovated for 47 million Yuan (about 4,7 pounds). There are three more temples in Beijing; the Temple of the Sun, the Temple of Earth and the Temple of Moon.
Other entertainment:
Beijing food and parks Beijing nightlife and karaoke Beijing opera and performances Beijing sports and shopping
Just like in other cities, Studios92 offers visitors in Beijing great accommodation deals, transportation and all kinds of information. For more information about accommodation in Beijing, feel free to submit an enquiry or contact Studios92.You can also visit the local government tourism website, providing more information about Beijing.
