Tag Archives: old beijing
Tiananmen Square Video Posted by sasha on Oct 5, 2015
Tiananmen Square is the heart of China – the place where the country was founded in 1949. Take a short video tour, including the daily flag raising ceremony. 天安门广场 – tiān’ān mén guǎng chǎng Tiananmen Square 人民大会堂 – rén mín dà huì táng Great Hall of the People 国家博物馆 – guó jiā bó wù guǎn…
Top 10 Places in Beijing Posted by sasha on May 25, 2015
Beijing is an enormous metropolis with a history going back thousands of years, and it’s usually the first stop for tourists coming to China. There’s enough to do in and around the city to keep you busy for years; trust me, I spent more than four of them living there. For travelers with only a…
Top 10 Places in Beijing – Hutongs Posted by sasha on Apr 16, 2014
It’s finally here – we’ve come to the very end of our Top 10 places in Beijing countdown. With so many historical sites, cultural icons, amazing nightlife spots and more, China’s capital city has it all. On our countdown through the best of the best, we’ve visited the university district of Wudaokou, done tai chi…
Top 10 Places in Beijing – Qianmen to Jingshan Posted by sasha on Nov 29, 2013
We’re already half-way through our countdown of the Top 10 places in Beijing. Here’s a recap for those of you who’ve missed out: 10. Wudaokou – the student haunt of the Chinese capital. 9. 798 – a hip and trendy district full of art galleries and cafes. 8. Gulou – also known as the Drum…
Top 10 Places in Beijing – Gulou Posted by sasha on Aug 2, 2013
So far in our countdown of the Top 10 Places in Beijing, we’ve hit the student district of Wudaokou and the hip 798 art district. Speaking of hip, we’re going to the spot where hipsters love to gather in Beijing: #8 – Gulou (鼓楼 – gǔ lóu) This area of Beijing gets its name from…
Hutong Life in NLGX (胡同） Posted by Stephen on Aug 31, 2011
Following Sasha’s recent post on Beijing’s NLGX district or 南锣鼓巷 (nán luó gǔ xiàng), I thought I would write a little about my experience living in NLGX in a traditional or 传统 (chuántǒng) open courtyard house, called a 胡同 (hútòng). Hutongs are essentially open courtyard building complexes, centered around The translation for “hutong” literally means…