Sanlitun & Chaoyang, Beijing
Nightlife, international dining, shopping and the city's best modern base

The appeal of Sanlitun and Chaoyang is a kind of internationalism you can actually use. Step out of Taikoo Li and there is a café where the barista pulls a clean flat white; turn a corner and you pass Japanese, Mexican, Italian and Thai restaurants in a row; walk a little further and you find a bar that runs late. This is where Beijing's expat community actually lives, not merely where it poses for photographs.

• 1
  For shopping and photogenic streets

  Taikoo Li · flagship stores · Page One · open-air mall

  Taikoo Li Sanlitun is an open-air mall designed to be walked like a city quarter rather than a sealed box — flagship stores, colourful architecture, and the Page One bookstore famous for its city-view corner. Shop it by day, photograph it by night when the lighting comes up. It is the natural starting point for the whole neighbourhood.

• 2
  For international food

  International dining · cafés · restaurants

  If you have eaten Peking duck and hotpot for several days running and want a change, Sanlitun has the densest concentration of foreign restaurants in Beijing. Around Taikoo Li and Workers' Stadium you will find Japanese, Korean and Western kitchens through to brunch cafés. Prices run higher than local spots, but the quality and atmosphere are worth it when you want a break from Chinese food.

• 3
  For a night out

  Nightlife · bars · Workers' Stadium

  Sanlitun is Beijing's nightlife centre, from cocktail bars and craft beer through to clubs. Be honest about the old Sanlitun Bar Street, though: quality varies wildly and it is heavily tourist-facing. For a better evening, look to the lanes around Taikoo Li or the rebuilt Workers' Stadium area, where a newer wave of genuinely good bars has opened.

• 4
  For contemporary art

  798 Art District · galleries · contemporary art

  Northeast of Sanlitun is 798 Art District, a complex of old Bauhaus-style factory buildings turned over to galleries, studios, cafés and design shops — most of them free to enter. It pairs perfectly with a half-day in Sanlitun on the same day, since both sit within Chaoyang district. A short taxi connects the two.

The strongest argument for basing yourself in Sanlitun is simple: you wake up already inside the neighbourhood for eating, drinking and shopping — no journey required to find a good dinner or a decent café. This is the densest cluster of modern hotels in Beijing, from design boutiques up to international five-stars, and it sits a short taxi ride from 798 Art District.

The honest trade-off: this area is several metro stops from the Forbidden City and the historic sights of the central districts. If your trip is built entirely around old Beijing — the palaces, the hutongs, the Temple of Heaven — a central base may suit you better. But if you want modern hotels, good food and nights that stay awake, Sanlitun delivers all of it in one neighbourhood.