Chongwen's hutongs
Take a walk in the rapidly disappearing small streets of the Chongwen hutongs. The present situation March 2009 is that the area between Qianmen Dajie åé¨å¤§è¡ and the newly established Qianmen East Street åé¨ä¸è·¯ is not accessible due to the ungoing renovation, which can be expected to transform the area to a touristy and commercial area like the area west of Qianmen Dajie in neighbouring Xuanwu District. Furthermore, the area further east is partly deserted due to ongoing renovation, which here seems to leave things more or less as they were, a quiet primarily residential neighbourhood with few shops and restaurants. For a less disturbed area, you might want to check out north and north east of Tiantan, which is mixed hutongs and lower apartment buildings, and with a nice laid back feel and many cheap shops and restaurants.
Chongwen south of Ring Road Two
Explore the part of Chongwen stretching down beneath Ring Road Two. Here is an area, which seems to have been forgotten by the city planners. Hutongs and small shops, restaurants and businesses are thriving here seemingly undisturbed by the rapid development elsewhere in Beijing. It is a nice place for a walk into the past of Beijing with almost no traffic noise but a lot of local life in the streets.
Party Life
Karaoke.