BJ-T05: Old Hutongs & Modern Sanlitun

Huguosi Street - Mei Lanfang Memorial Museum - Prince Gong’s Mansion – Nanluoguxiang – Beihai Park – Sanlitun

 This is a guided tour by eco-friendly public transport. If you need a private car, feel free to contact our travel consultants to arrange it for you.

One day before this tour, our guide will contact you to double confirm the time to meet you and the address of your hotel, so as to offer you the guided sightseeing service timely. 

We advise you not to book breakfast with your hotel today, because the first stop, Huguosi Street is one of the most popular snack streets in Beijing City, where you will have more choices than ever. Among them, the most popular ones include Pea Cake (wan dou huang), Glutinous Rice Roll with Sweet Bean Flour (lv da gun), Steamed Rice Cakes with Sweet Stuffing (ai wo wo), Cream Fried Cake (nai you zha gao), Seasoned Millet Porridge (mian cha), Baked Sweet Wheaten Cake (tang huo shao). Telling the guide your taste and he or she will be glad to give you some recommendations. 

This street was named after the previous Huguo Temple, but now the temple has already been removed, leaving an old and quaint street clustered with architecture in the style of Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368 - 1911). In addition to snack stores and restaurants, there are also shops selling traditional stuff like wood combs, cloth shoes, and ornaments.

Public Transport to Huguosi Street

After picking you up, the guide will decide how to get there, taking in the account of your hotel location and the real-time traffic conditions. Nevertheless, subway train is always preferred if there is any subway station close to your hotel.

 Subway: Take subway line 4 or line 6 to Ping’anli, which is right to the west end of the street. 
 Bus: Take bus no.22, 88, 105, 111, and 409 to Huguosi Bus Stop; or take bus no.143 to Ping’anli Bus Stop. 

Mei Lanfang (1894－1961) is one of the most famous Peking opera masters in China. Right on the east end of the Huguosi Street, Mei Lanfang Memorial Museum is a classical and traditional style Beijing courtyard. You may seize the chance to know how traditional Beijing folk houses look like. Inside, various furnishings are displayed in their original state as when Mei Lanfang was living here from 1951 to 1961. 

 Admission fee: CNY10
 Open time: 9:00 - 16:00; closed on Mondays

Coming out from the Mei Lanfang Memorial Museum, the guide will escort you to walk east along the Dingfu Street for about 600 meters (660 yards) to reach the entrance to the Prince Gong's Mansion, then offer you a guided tour inside. 

It is one of the largest imperial mansions, which used to be the residence of Prince Yonglin and later the chancellor He Shen in the Qing Dynasty. The palace complex is quite grand and luxury, which fully reveals the noble life of the royal families in old times. In addition to Chinese style houses, pavilions and gardens, there is a western style gate inside, which is rarely seen in other traditional Chinese building complex. 

 Admission fee: CNY40
 Open time: 8:30 – 17:00

Leaving Prince Gong’s Mansion, the guide will accompany you to walk south for about 550 meters (600 yards) to Beihai North subway station and then take subway line 6 for one stop to Nanluoguxiang.

Nanluoguxiang (South Gong and Drum Lane) is a group of crisscross hutongs. The guide will accompany you to have a short stroll there, then leave you some time to have lunch. You will find yourself a lot of choices. If you cannot decide which restaurant to choose, just ask for advice from the guide.

After having lunch in Nanluoguxiang, the guide will escort you to take city bus no.124, or others if there is a stop nearby, to the South Gate, also the entrance for overseas tourists to visit Beihai Park. The bus ride will take about 20 minutes or so.

As one of the best preserved classic imperial gardens in Beijing, Beihai Park is a stunner with enchanting natural scenery and traditional Chinese architectures. It is said that the garden was built according to the wonderland described in an old Chinese legend. The Qionghua Islet is the center of the garden, and the White Dagoba on the islet will offer you a magnificent bird's eye view of the whole park.

 Combo ticket fee: April – October: 20; November – March: CNY15
 Open time: April – October: 6:00 – 21:00; November – March: 6:30 – 20:00

Travel Advice

If your budget is not too tight, it’s advised to enjoy a boat trip on the Beihai Lake while appreciating the scenery from different angles. It will give you a refreshing experience. Various standards of boats are available, and the guide could assist you to rent one. 

After touring Beihai Park, the guide will lead you to get out from its North Gate, and then take city bus no.4 to Sanlitun, in need of 35-40 minutes on the way. 

Sanlitun is one of the most popular and prosperous quarters in Beijing to spend the night. Due to its fashionable culture and entertainment, Sanlitun attracts a lot of people to relax themselves in pubs, bars, and night clubs. Besides, there are many top trendy shopping malls. Upon arrival, the guide will introduce the fun places to visit there, inform you how to get back to your hotel and draw an end to today’s guided service. Hope you will enjoy a wonderful night in Sanlitun. 

Public Transport around Sanlitun

 Subway: The closest subway station is Tuanjiehu on line 10.
 Bus: Buses 3, 4, 43, 110, 113, 115, 117, 118, 120, 403, 406, 431, Night Line 3, Night Line 6, Night Line 24, Night Line 34 and more stop by Sanlitun or nearby Workers’ Stadium.