Wudaokou & Haidian

Wudaokou, Beijing’s student enclave, is in the heart of Haidian district and a prime spot for affordable accommodation. It is quite far from the city centre, but the distance lends the area its own character.

Restaurants and bars tend to be cheaper and there are several good markets for clothes and electrical goods. The area is also credited with being the birthplace of Beijing’s fledgling music scene and is a great place to catch China’s indie kids, metal heads, goths and punks.

Area H p.84

See also Map 4

A great deal of accommodation in Wudaokou is university residences, offered to students as part of their education packages. Rent prices are the cheapest in the city and a single dorm or room can go for ¥1,000 a month. There is plenty of opportunity for house shares; adverts for roommates can be found in cafes and online.

A standard, fully furnished two-bedroom flat in a development near Beijing Language & Culture University costs around ¥2,000 and has 24 hour security, but won’t be anything fancy. Prices go up to around ¥4,000 or ¥5,000 for large three and four-bedroom apartments and duplexes.

The Wudaokou clothing market is a great place to kit yourself out cheaply. There is a Wal-Mart (p.297) on Zichun Lu and a Carrefour (p.297) on Zhonggauancun to cover household needs. On the same road is one of Beijing’s largest electronics markets, and Zhonghai computer market is nearby. Together they provide everything from hard drives to digital cameras.

The Zhonggauancun shopping mall (p.296) has a range of local and western chains including Nike, Lacoste and Sephora. Some of the best English language books and study aids can be found among Wudaokou’s large international bookstores.

The noisy, smoky and cheap bars and clubs in Wudaokou are the antithesis of those in the city’s east. Leading the crowd is the pokey live music venue D-22 (p.343) on Chengfu Lu, its tireless efforts to showcase local talent makes it one of the leading live music venues in China. Two doors down, 13 Club (p.326) charges itself with promoting the country’s nebulous heavy metal and rock scene.

The student district is characterised by cheap eats so there are plenty of local restaurants and fast food joints to satisfy those on a budget.

The Summer Palace (p.182), Beijing Zoo (p.189) and the Botanical Gardens (p.190) are this side of town and are all excellent places to escape the city, especially in summer.

Beijing Xiyi Elementary School (p.134) on Beisanhuan Xilu was one of the first local schools to admit international children. There are several local nurseries that take expat kids, however the primary language is Chinese, so most foreign children commute to schools in Shunyi and Chaoyang.

Further education is Haidian’s speciality and all the main campuses for foreign and local students are based there. These include Peking University (p.141), Tsinghua University (p.141), Beijing Language & Culture University (p.140) and Renmin University (p.141). There are also a wide range of private schools and tutors offering group or one-to-one Mandarin classes. The best way to find out about these is to check university noticeboards or one of the online expat forums (p.52).

Wudaokou is 45 minutes by bus, subway or taxi from the centre of Beijing. A taxi can cost as much as ¥40 or ¥50 for a single journey. The Wudaokou subway stop is on Line 13, which connects to Line 2 at Xizhimen in the east and loops all the way round to Dongzhimen in the west, taking 45 to 60 minutes. Bus number 375 runs between Wudaokou and Xizhimen, where you can take the subway to downtown Beijing. The number 690 bus to Qianmen takes more than an hour. On weekends, some of the university campuses put on coaches to take students into town for a night out.

There is a branch of the Arrail Dental Clinic (010 8286 1956) on Kexueyuan Nanlu, offering 24 hour dentistry, general check ups, and the treatment of gum disease. The nearest international hospital is the Beijing United Family Clinic (p.118) in Shunyi.