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Staying in Chaoyang, XiCheng or Dongsheng - Beijing

Staying in Chaoyang, XiCheng or Dongsheng - Beijing

Old Feb 22nd, 2017, 11:22 AM
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Staying in Chaoyang, XiCheng or Dongsheng - Beijing

Hi I will be coming to Beijing with work in March. I will arrive on a Tuesday morning and the exhibition I am attending officially starts on Sat. They have recommended we stay in the Crowne Plaza Airport hotel for this as it is close to the exhibition centre. I am arriving a little earlier to see my colleague and do a little bit of sightseeing ( I visited Beijing about ten years ago) so I’d like to stay somewhere else before the exhibition starts.

My colleague has recommended the Jiangjuo hotel in Chaoyang as it is close to the office. I am not sure, I see it is close to the silk market, and seems a historical hotel but I would like to make sure it is easy to get to the sights and restaurants. I am not too bothered whether I stay in an international chain or not I’d just like to be reasonably close to the sights (Tiananmen square, Forbidden City, etc) and some good restaurants. Is it an ok location or would I be better in Wangfujing? My friend has just told me she lives in Xi Cheng (Xuan Wu) so Hai Dian is closer to her than Dongsheng but by the looks of it, Dongsheng looks like the best location to stay!? For a combination of restaurants and sights.

Budget of up to about £120 pn.

Thanks
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Old Feb 22nd, 2017, 12:47 PM
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> My colleague has recommended the Jiangjuo hotel in Chaoyang

That would presumably be the Jianguo, which was the first ever Sino-foreign joint-venture, and is well past its heyday despite refurbishment. There are many other much better hotels in that vicinity.

> I see it is close to the silk market

Which you would want to avoid anyway.

> I’d just like to be reasonably close to the sights (Tiananmen square, Forbidden City, etc)

The 'sights' are spread out all across the city, but your definition of 'reasonably close' should be 'I'm at a hotel on a metro line', although there are certainly decent hotels in walking distance of the Forbidden City, such as The Peninsula, the Regent, or the Grand Hyatt. It sounds as if these would be better choices for you, if the right room rates are available. All are right by metro stations. There's a large choice of less prestigious hotels for below the rate mentioned, although those on Wangfu Jing Dajie are mostly overpriced and a bit battered. The Park Plaza next to the Regent is cheaper, but in all these cases you'd need to look at their websites to check prices. For a clue about rates in Chinese hotels you could look at english.ctrip.com, but don't believe the hotel descriptions or photographs, and there are plenty more hotels not listed there.

> some good restaurants

There are good restaurants everywhere in Beijing. This really shouldn't be a worry.

> My friend has just told me she lives in Xi Cheng (Xuan Wu) so Hai Dian is closer to her than Dongsheng but by the looks of it, Dongsheng looks like the best location to stay!?

A great deal of confusion here.

Xi Cheng and Xuanwu are two entirely different districts.

Xi Cheng has a long border with Dong Cheng (not Dongsheng).

If your friend is in the far west of Xi Cheng, or the northwest side of Xuanwu, it might be true that Haidian would be closer if you were staying right in the south of Haidian (which is vast). But in most cases Dong Cheng would be closer.

And again, the key thing is metro lines. Surface traffic is so clogged for a large part of the day that proximity makes a huge difference, but the metro system, although crowded, overcomes this.
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Old Feb 22nd, 2017, 04:50 PM
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I must admit that I found Wangfujing ridiculously westernized, even back in 2010!

As temppeternh notes, what really matters is ease of access to metro lines.

If you are willing to stay in a non-Western hotel -- and from what you've said on your other thread, it sounds like you might be -- you might want to consider a siheyuan. I spent a few nights at the Templeside Deluxe Hutong House Hotel, which gets some great reviews, although I would note that it was not perfect IMO.

If you are interested, I'm sure that temppeternh can suggest some other siheyuan....

Or for a bit of a mishmash -- a recreated compound with some character and lovely gardens and many of the services that a Western hotel would offer, close to a metro stop, walkable to some sites -- maybe the Bamboo Garden Hotel? Again, I wouldn't consider it perfect, but it might be worth considering.
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Old Feb 22nd, 2017, 07:07 PM
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I'm all in favour of staying in something that's unique to Beijing, instead of just another international hotel. They range from simple hostels to ludicrously over-priced for foreigners wannabe deluxe.

I haven't been into it for a few years, but this is in the middle, and in the right location, and is known to foreigners so you wouldn't be the only foreign face. Some of the more realistic small-scale local-level tour companies use it.

Beijing Jin Hu Zhi Xing Sihe Binguan
北京锦湖之星四合宾馆
Dengcao Hutong 5
Tel: 5169 3555, 6525 5280

http://www.sihehotel.com

Close to Dong Si metro (on two metro lines), walking distance (unless you're someone who never walks) from the Forbidden City (or two metro stops south and two west). Another former residence of Mei Lanfang (the opera star) with one main courtyard and two side courtyards of slightly newer construction. Joint Singapore and Hong Kong management last time I saw it, with quite competent and friendlly staff. Internet throughout the hotel.
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Old Feb 23rd, 2017, 12:35 PM
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> some good restaurants

There are good restaurants everywhere in Beijing. This really shouldn't be a worry.

It was just that my colleague who had stayed at the Jianguo said there was the restaurant in the hotel and a McDonalds. Hence my question.

> My friend has just told me she lives in Xi Cheng (Xuan Wu) so Hai Dian is closer to her than Dongsheng but by the looks of it, Dongsheng looks like the best location to stay!?

A great deal of confusion here.

Xi Cheng and Xuanwu are two entirely different districts.

Xi Cheng has a long border with Dong Cheng (not Dongsheng).

If your friend is in the far west of Xi Cheng, or the northwest side of Xuanwu, it might be true that Haidian would be closer if you were staying right in the south of Haidian (which is vast). But in most cases Dong Cheng would be closer.

And again, the key thing is metro lines. Surface traffic is so clogged for a large part of the day that proximity makes a huge difference, but the metro system, although crowded, overcomes this.

Just quoting the text she sent me 'Now I live in Xi Cheng (Xuan Wu) Hai Dian - is more close to me than DongCheng' mind you her English wasn't fantastic when she lived here 8 years go. Looks like Xuan Wu was was merged into Xicheng in 2010. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xicheng_District)

Anyway, I don't want to get into an argument about that. I think I'll stay in Dongcheng as closest to the some 'sights' I have approval for Beijing Hotel NUO (Ex Raffles) which is in walking distance of some 'sights' such as Forbidden City and Tiannamen Square, etc should be easy enough to soak up the atmosphere of the Hutongs as well. I assume from Dongcheng it will be ok by taxi/subway to get to Chaoyang and wherever my friend lives in Xicheng.
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Old Feb 23rd, 2017, 12:37 PM
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I should mention I'd like the luxury of a pool and although there are mixed reviews of Hotel NUO's pool and the closeness to Wangfuijing hopefully it'll be ok
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Old Feb 23rd, 2017, 02:23 PM
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These sort of admin changes happen all the time, but the geography and public usage remain the same. Xuanwu is still the western half of the south city, and its border with Haidian is small and only with the very south part. It remains the case that you'd have to be staying in the southern part of Haidian for it to be closer.

As for restaurants around the Jianguo it's merely a matter of being prepared to exit the building.

When it was the Raffles the hotel was a top choice, being about the only large-scale hotel with any history to it, particularly if you stay in the front building which dates from 1917 (although the rear one, from the 1990s, has a slightly fustian atmosphere, too). George Bernard Shaw and Henri Cartier-Bresson both stayed here. As a Raffles it was well-run, with possibly Beijing's best hotel breakfast, and concierges who actually had a clue. This will likely be in the process of going to pot as China attempts to establish its own properly international five-star brand (the idea is to open other Nuo hotels overseas).

Even the smallest rooms are a generous size and furnished with considerable comfort more redolent of staying with a friend than of staying in a hotel. Some suites have Chinese accents, ‘opium’ bed seats, four posters, but nothing kitsch, and everything top quality. Wooden floors with rugs are something of a Raffles tradition (if they survive). The rooms are designed as suites without reaching the 70 sq m threshold, so they can be charged to companies as rooms without attracting criticism. Dressing rooms have double sinks and a shower cubicle separate from the bathroom.

You're right by Wangfu Jing metro, and Tian'an Men Square and the Forbidden City are indeed walkable. One minor problem is that taxis are not permitted to stop in the street outside, and when they do pull in they tend to head for the Beijing Hotel, which is the east end of the same block. It's possible that problem has been sorted out by now.
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Old Feb 23rd, 2017, 06:56 PM
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Xi Cheng is nice place to stay..my friend has also already stayed there..
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