shop
Taikoo Li Sanlitun
Open-air retail complex by the British firm Farrells, opened 2008. Apple's Beijing flagship, international luxury brands, and the city's best restaurant concentration (Duck de Chine, Temple Restaurant Beijing, Taco Bamba).
Beijing · China
Sanlitun
Beijing's embassy-bar district — the post-1990s bar street, the Taikoo Li retail complex, and the city's expatriate anchor
— The Neighbourhood
Sanlitun grew in the 1990s as an expatriate bar strip around the embassies in Beijing's northeast; the 2008 Olympics triggered a full rebuilding. Today the area is anchored by Taikoo Li (an open-air retail complex with Apple Store, flagship brand stores, Beijing's best restaurant concentration) and Workers' Stadium (the football ground recently rebuilt). It's less historic than the hutong districts but it's where Beijing's nightlife, contemporary dining, and international community concentrate. Stay here for the modern-Beijing rhythm; hutong-base for the classical city.
— Highlights
Where to eat, drink, and explore
restaurant
Migas Mercado
Spanish-modern restaurant on the top floor of the China View tower — a full mercado with 8 food stations plus a sit-down restaurant. The rooftop terrace has one of the city's best skyline views.
sight
798 Art District (adjacent)
Not technically Sanlitun but 15 minutes northeast — the 798 factory complex converted in the 2000s to China's largest contemporary-art district. UCCA Center for Contemporary Art is the anchor; a full afternoon of free gallery-hopping.
bar
Yue Rooftop
The rooftop bar of the Ritz-Carlton Beijing on the Workers' Stadium side. Sharp cocktails, 41st-floor views across the embassy gardens. Expensive but the city's best cocktail room.
sight
Beijing Workers' Stadium
The football ground, rebuilt 2023 ahead of the AFC Cup. Beijing Guoan games draw massive crowds; the surrounding bar strip (Gongti Nanlu) has the city's densest nightlife.
— Where to stay
Sleeping in Sanlitun
The Opposite House (Kengo Kuma-designed, 99 rooms, the Taikoo Li anchor hotel) is the design-forward flagship. Rosewood Beijing and the Ritz-Carlton Beijing are the grand-luxury options. Mid-tier: East Beijing. Budget travellers often pick Sanlitun for hostel access to the nightlife rather than for the neighbourhood itself.
Hotels in Sanlitun
Live rates via Expedia
Search Sanlitun hotels →destination.com earns a commission when you book through our links. Does not affect the price you pay.
— Getting around
How to move
Metro Line 10 (Tuanjiehu, Agricultural Exhibition Center) serves the district. Didi is easy and cheap. Within Sanlitun, walking is fine but the neighbourhood is bigger than it looks; taking a Didi one stop is the norm.
— FAQ
Sanlitun: common questions
First-timers: hutong for the atmosphere and proximity to the Forbidden City. Business/returning: Sanlitun for the restaurants, nightlife, and international chains. The metro connects them in 20 min.
— More in Beijing
Other Beijing neighbourhoods
— If you love Sanlitun
You'll also love these
Naples · Italy
Chiaia
Naples' elegant waterfront quarter — the Riviera di Chiaia promenade, Belle Époque apartment blocks, and Villa Comunale opposite the bay
Vienna · Austria
Neubau
Vienna's 7th District — independent fashion, Biedermeier townhouses, and a neighbourhood that refused to play along with the coffeehouse cliche
Madrid · Spain
Malasaña
Madrid's bohemian quarter — Movida Madrileña history, independent shops, and the taberna culture that defines the city's late nights