Summary
Virtually every trip to Beijing, I’m confronted with the question: should I stay in Zhongguancun, CBD, or somewhere in between? This post outlines three strategies and specific hotels to consider in each strategy.
But first, some context for first-time visitors to Beijing
Beijing is extremely spread out. To put it in terms that Americans can understand, Beijing is like Los Angeles and Orange County in scale. You would not stay in downtown LA, drive to a morning meeting in Irvine, then drive to meet someone for lunch in Santa Monica! But in fact, if you don’t plan properly, and you don’t take the ever present traffic jam into account, you can set yourself up for missed meetings and literally hours in the car. I know…I’ve done it.
Zhongguancun or Chaoyang, or somewhere in between?
The issue for tech entrepreneurs is: most of software and technology companies are based in Zhongguancun, within the Haidian District, to the northwest of Tiananmen Square. Western multinationals, service providers, and many other businesses are headquartered in CBD (Central Business District) or other parts of Chaoyang District , southwest of Tiananmen Square. Don’t know where anything is in Beijing? See the map below:
Subway Line 10 Map
Click the image to see a full size image
As you can see on this map, Zhongguancun is in the Northwest, and CBD is in the Southeast. We pointed out in our post “Getting to Know Subway Line 10 ” that Line 10 is perfect for people who need to get from CBD to Zhongguancun. Once Beijing Metro Line 10 is operational, getting from Zhongguancun to CBD will be direct, transfer-free and presumably very fast.
Currently, the most direct way to get from CBD to Zhongguancun is by taxi taking the 3rd Ring Road. However, this can easily be a 60 minute drive or more during traffic.
Strategy 1: Stay in a Zhongguancun Hotel
I personally like to stay in a Zhongguancun hotel because I like geeks more than I like investment bankers! I feel surrounded by the brainpower of China’s best and brightest. Because I’m from Silicon Valley, it is the place in China where I feel most at home. Its also cheaper than Chaoyang where all the international hotels are.
Zhongguancun Hotels over RMB700 (over $100) per night
I’m familiar with three hotels: Jade Palace Hotel, Park Plaza Beijing Science Park (formerly known as Tianhong Plaza), and Empark Grand Hotel. I’ve stayed at Jade Palace, had meetings at Park (Tianhong) Plaza, and had clients stay at Empark Grand.
Jade Palace – 北京翠宫饭店
CNReviews Review: (coming soon)
Website: http://www.jadepalace.com.cn/
Price as of 5/10/2008: Standard Room RMB720, Deluxe Room RMB920 at Ctrip.com.
Park Plaza Beijing Science Park – 北京丽亭华苑酒店
Website: http://www.parkplaza.com/beijingcn_sciencepark/
Price as of 5/10/2008: Superior Room RMB668, Deluxe Room RMB718, Administration Room RMB858 at Ctrip.com. Have no idea what “Administration Room” means.
地址：中国北京市海淀区知春路25号
全球免费订房电话：10-800-610-8886 (中国北方) 10-800-261-8888 (中国南方)
酒店预订部电话：+86-10-8235-6699 传真：+86-10-8235-6683
邮箱：beijing@parkplaza-bj.com
Empark Grand Hotel – 北京世纪金源大饭店
Website:
http://www.empark.com.cn/english/bj01/
Price as of 5/10/2008: Superior Room (Twin bed) RMB780, Superior Room (Queen bed) RMB850 at Ctrip.com.
Other hotels to consider include:
Shangri-La Hotel – not as convenient location, I have not been there
Zhongguancun hotels between RMB400 and RMB 700
Its easy to spend money like a foreigner but hard to save money like a local. When I’m traveling on my own dime and not trying to maintain mianzi by spending money on lodging, I try to step it down a notch. But its not as easy. The one budget Zhongguancun hotel I stayed at I can’t recommend, so I asked Winser Zhao of SinoHotelReservations.com for advice. If you like these recommendations, please give Winser a try because he has very competitive rates vs. Elong and Ctrip, and provides personal service. I am trying him out this trip. He recommended the following:
Sariz International Hotel
Website: site is flagged as having malware by Google so I won’t link there.
Address: No.19 Zhongguancun street, Haidian district, Beijing
Rate: RMB618/night(service fee included, breakfast excluded)
Breakfast: RMB58 / person
Comments from Winser: opened in 2007,quite new. 6 km from Shangdi (where UpTake office is). ADSL for free. Strongly recommended.
Friendship Hotel
Website: www.bjfriendshiphotel.com/en/
Address: No,1,Zhongguancun South street, Haidian, Beijing
Room Type: Standard Room (Yibin Building)
Rate: RMB628/night(service fee included, breakfast excluded)
Breakfast: RMB40/person
Comments from Winser: outside is quite old, but the inside is nice. ADSL is not free.
Xiamen Commercial Hotel
Website:
Address: No.46 Zhichun Rd, Haidian district, Beijing
Comments: Whole new decoration. Only one minutes walk to line 13 subway station. Opened business from 1st Jan 2007. 8 floors, 84 room totaly. 28 square metres in standard room.
Room types (all with pure-wood floor):
- standard room: 398RMB/night(service fee and single breakfast included)
- business single room: (with LCD PC upper 5th floor): 460RMB/night(service fee and single breakfast included)
- suite room (king-sized bed): 560RMB/night (service fee and single breakfast included)
Note: all rooms offer free ADSL
Elliott: I walked by this hotel last time I was in Beijing. It is right across from Microsoft Research Asia and right next to Line 13 Zhichunlu Station. I asked Winser to find the information. He is not familiar with this nor have I stayed here.
Other options:
Yanshan Hotel – I have not been there.
Dear CNReviews Reader: Do you have any other Zhongguancun Hotel options to recommend?
Strategy 2: Stay in CBD, Guomao (World Trade Center area), Chaoyang
The second strategy is staying in CBD or elsewhere in Chaoyang. We’ll cover that in another post.
Strategy 3: Stay in-between
The third strategy is stay in between. One approach I’ve taken is stay somewhere on Line 2 and then transfer to Line 13 at Xizhimen station. Another approach would be to stay near Line 5. The arrival of Line 10 will make this even easier and will likely be the best option of all.
Other Beijing Neighborhoods
Ctrip lists a number of districts, but unless you already know the city, it is not all that helpful:
- Tiananmen Square Wanfujing Area
- Qianmen Chongwenmen Business Area
- Gongzhufen Wanshoulu Business Area
- Yansha Business Area
- Xizhimen and Beijing Exhibition Center Area
- Xidan Station Financial Street Area
- Beijing International Airport Area
- Yonanmen / South Railway Station Area
- Two rings of east / Worker’s Stadium Area
- West Railway Station Area
- International Exhibility Center Area
- Asia Game Village / Olympic Village Business Area
- Jinsong / Panjiayuan Area
- Madian Area
- Shangdi / Zhongguancun Area
- Houhai Area
- Yizhuang Area
- Wangjing Area
- Beijing Railway Station / Jianguomen / China World Trade Center Area
Having been to Beijing between 5-10 times now, I know where about 50% of these areas are. But the English language information on all these Websites still leaves much to be desired.
Any other Zhongguancun Hotels to recommend?
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