Rickshaw Tour

Lakeside Hutong stroll

The charming Hutongs around Houhai and Qianhai lakes meander through quiet neighborhoods and parks along the lakeshore. The Hutongs, despite being a tourist attraction, are living communities enclosed within a warren-like maze of narrow lanes. You can se residents chatting over a pot of tea on whicker chairs while their songbirds chitter their musical tunes. Renting a rickshaw strolling through the Houhai and Qianhai areas will take you by grand homes, hip cafes and the centuries old Bell and Drum Towers. The area across from the north gate of Beihai Park, and where Qianhai Lake meets Houhai Lake has lots of eating and drinking options, any of them make perfect rest stops.

Antique Markets Hutong Tour

The hutongs of Liulichang and Dazhalan lie in commercial areas. Poking around the old shops in Liulichang and Dazhalan is one of this area's many attractions. If you decide to buy something, be sure to do some comparative shopping in nearby stores before pulling out your wallet.

The Liulichang neighborhood spreads across both side of Nanxinhua Jie. Scholars and artists have frequented Liulichang's art shops and bookstores for centuries. Strolling along Liuchang Xi Jie is like visiting a living museum, the Hutong filled with shops selling antiques and antique reproductions, kites, drums, posters from the 1930's, Mao memorabilia, contemporary paitings and more. The most emporium is Rongbaozhai, which for years has specialized in supplies for scholar, gentleman and artist.