2008 Beijing Olypic Games
Sanlitun
Sanlitun, also known as 'Sanlitur' in Beijing dialect, is one of the best known and most popular bar streets in Beijing. Sanlitun, which is also used to refer to the general area, is located in Eastern Beijing in the Chaoyang District and forms part of the Gongti nightlife area. Despite several threats of closure, it remains fashionable with the expat community, foreign travelers and younger locals.
Prior to 1949, the Beijing Legation Quarter was the center of diplomatic activity in the capital. After the foundation of the People's Republic of China, the government wanted to move the diplomatic district outside of the inner city and Sanlitun was chosen as the area where foreign legations and embassies were to be reallocated in the late 1950s. The area was called Sanlitun to designate its location from Dongzhimen gate. Tun, like dian (e.g. Shibalidian), means no more than "locality". San li means "three li", and a li was 0.5 km -- thus, Sanlitun was 1.5 km away from Dongzhimen Gate.
Sanlitun's business grew when, along with the economic reforms of the late 1970s and early 1980s, bars serving expats (and later, to locals) sprang up. International hotels hosted the first bars, but in the 1990s standalone establishments appeared.
The small lane known as "Nan Jie" was demolished in the summer of 2005 to make way for new buildings. However, bars and restaurants continue to operate on both sides of Gongti Bei Lu.
Shishahai
Shichahai is a scenic area consisting of three lakes in the north of central Beijing in China. They are located to the north-west of the Forbidden City and north-west of the Beihai Lake. Shichahai consists of the following three lakes: the Front Sea, the West Sea and the Back Sea .In former times it was called Riverbank.
Shichahai consists of 147 hectares and dates back to the Jin Dynasty. From the time of the Yuan Dynasty it was the northernmost part of the Grand Canal linking Hangzhou in the south to Beijing in the North of China. Because of this the Shichahai area used to be the most important commercial district with all kinds of activities going on. It harbors several temples and mansions.
View on a building at the border of the Back LakeAround the lake there are ten famous Taoist and Buddhist temples. Around the lake are also several formal royal mansions and gardens. The most well known is the Prince Gong Mansion and the Prince Chun Mansion.
The borders of the lakes are surrounded by large trees.
Shichahai is a scenic spot in Beijing, near the north-gate of the Beihai-park.
In the summer tourists can rent boats to peddle on the lakes. In the winter a lot of people come to ice-skate.
In 1992 the municipal government of Beijing declared the district an "Historical and Cultural Scenic District".
Nanluoguxiang
Located several kilometers north of the Forbidden City and just east of Houhai Lake is Nanluoguxiang (NLGX), an 800-meter long North-South alleyway filled with cafes, bars, and shops all designed in classical Chinese ‘hutong’ style.
Nanluoguxiang has a history of over 800 years. Once a flourishing commercial street during the Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368), the NLGX area became a popular residential area for government officials and elites during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties. Organized in the traditional Chinese courtyard style, many of these residences still stand today.
