Kaorouji is a 100-year-old restaurant near the Yindian Bridge of Shichahai. Kaorouwan is another restaurant in Xuanwumen Inner Street. Together they were called "Wan in the south and Ji in the north". Kaorouji is known for carefully chosen lamb prepared with meticulous care. Kaorouwan was founded by a Muslim surnamed Wan. The beef served here is prepared in complicated procedures to meet the pickiest connoisseurs.
Eight Mansions
Around the 1900s, there were eight famous restaurants whose names ended with "lou" (mansion): Zhengyanglou, Taifenglou, Xinfenglou, Wandelou, Yuebinlou, Qingyunlou, Dongxinglou and Huiyuanlou. Most of the eight restaurants were founded by people from Shandong Province, whose cuisine — namedLucai— is seen as one of the major genres of cuisine in the country. Zhengyanglou, opened in 1843, is the most famous and provides big crabs from Bohai Sea in autumn accompanied with liquor from eastern Beijing.
Art zones
Shangyuan Art Village
The Taohuayu scenic area in Xingshou Town of Changping District has attracted painters, poets, art critics, collectors and art professors. They purchased the rights to use the land and designed their own houses as part of their art works.
Songzhuang Art Village
At about 6km to the east of Tongzhou District, Songzhuang Village has become a SOHO area with some 400 Chinese artists from outside Beijing.
In the 1950s, New York artists moved into dilapidated industrial buildings to live and create. The spacious factories with low rent have become fashionable among artists. There are also similar centers of art in Beijing.
Huajiadi Art Zone
Lo c a t e d i n s id e Wa n g j i n g r e s i d e n t i a l compound, the art zone is home to many famous artists.
Feijia Village
The village is located at the Laiguangying East Street to the north of the 5th Ring Road and near the Airport Expressway. It is close to Wangjing, China Central Academy of Fine Arts and 798 Factory.
East End Art
The newly developed modern art zone is close to the Airport Ex p r e s swa y a n d c a n b e reached by Bus No 402. It is just 1 km away from 798 Factory. Artists, galleries, institutions, design studios and media offices have been set up at the area with a strong futurist feel.
Huantie Art Zone
At the northeastern part of Beijing is a huge circle of rails that was constructed for testing new trains. There are about seven art zones scattered here like tribes, involving at least 100 art studios.
Beijing No.1 Art Base
The art zone covers nearly 2 sq km at Hegezhuang Village of Cuigezhuang Township, Chaoyang District. Some 30 art institutions and nearly 100 artists and collectors have come to the place with six function areas like international arts trade and traditional Chinese arts.
798 Art Center
Centering on the 798 Factory, the area has become a center of avant-garde arts and pop culture in the country as a big number of artists, cultural activists and organizations have moved here since 2001.
Jiuchang Art Complex
Lo c a t e d a t Be i h u q u o f Be i y u a n i n Chaoyang District, Jiuchang Art Complex is reconstructed on the base of Chaoyang District Erguotou Liquor Factory that has a history of 30 years. More than 100 Chinese and overseas art dealers and artists have gathered here, which has become an ideal site of artistic creations.
Caochangdi Art Zone
At about 3 km away f rom 798 Fa c tory, Caochangdi has attracted many major domestic art institutions and artists. Galleries like Sanshang Art, Tzuchinhsuan, Platform China, Art Corridor and Ai Weiwei Art Studio are located here.