Beijing City Layout

Beijing local people often mention “ring road” when talking about the city roads in Beijing. Ring Roads circle the city and the city has now six ring roads. The first ring road theoretically goes around the Forbidden City, which is the middle of the city, but in reality, it doesn’t exist. So the ring roads start with the second ring road. People often consider the city within the third ring road as city proper. When people talk about city center, it means the area around Wangfujing Street, Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.

Dongcheng( east district)
encompasses the Forbidden city,Tian’anmen square,Wangfujing(a major shopping street),the Lama temple,and many other historical sights dating back to imperial times.

Xicheng (west district)
Directly west of Dongcheng,is a lovely lake district that includes Beihai park,former playground of the imperial family,and a series of connected lakes bordered by willow trees and countyard-lined hutongs.

Chaoyang is the biggest and busiest district,occupying the area north,east and south of the eastern Second Ring road.It’s home to foreign embassies,multinational companies,and the newly rising Central Business District,with its gleaming skyscrapers.

Haidian,the technology and university district,is northwest of the Third Ring road;it’s packed with shops selling electronics.