Beijing is brimming with wonderful places. While the Summer Palace and the Great Wall are often mentioned, Shichahai is another destination with plenty of appeal for foreign travelers: namely, its hutongs and rickshaws...

In the Heart of Traditional Hutongs

The first distinctive feature of Shichahai, officially known as Hou Hai District, is the presence of numerous traditional hutongs, around which numerous restaurants, small shops, and bars catering to visitors have sprung up.

One thing is certain: here you truly feel you're in China—the China one imagines from afar, with its narrow alleyways and rickshaws. These vehicles, which consist of a bicycle pulling a cart where passengers sit, are everywhere in the area and are hugely popular with tourists.

The neighborhood and its many alleyways seem difficult to cover on foot, so the drivers offer "tours" of the district to their clients. Keen to try the experience, we approach one of them. The price is 60 yuan per person, or 120 yuan for both of us.

Hard Bargaining for the Rickshaw Ride

Arguing that the price is too high, we turn to a second driver, but the first conductor returns with an offer of 80 yuan for two passengers. Eventually he wins us over at 60 yuan, while not failing to reproach us for our lack of generosity...

The base price of 60 yuan for an hour-long tour per person is clearly aimed at foreigners, who are often unaccustomed to China's low cost of living. We console ourselves by thinking that if he's willing to offer us 60 yuan for two, he must still be making it worthwhile.

The tour of the hutongs, accompanied by our conductor's commentary in Chinese—a man from Changchun (northeast China, Jilin Province)—proves to be quite enlightening. While all the alleyways seem similar, several pieces of information are particularly instructive, such as the meaning of decorations on certain doors, indicating the former residence of a government official in ancient China.

A Paradise for Tourists

Our conductor, who surely has arrangements with local merchants, proposes that we enter certain museums along the way. We're told we can take photos for free, but it's not specified that admission is paid. After several refusals, our guide seems to understand that our interest lies with the hutongs...

The tour lasts a total of an hour, as planned, and ends on foot accompanied by our guide through an alley full of souvenir shops. One thing is certain: Shichahai is worth a visit, provided you know how, as with many places of this type, to avoid tourist traps...