NEIGHBORHOOD GUIDE
A guide to local favorites in Wudaokou
- By Yifan Zhang
- Photos by Yan Cong
To some people, Wudaokou, or WDK, which means “where five roads meet,” is where poor students and coders hang out. For others, it’s not only quintessential modern Beijing, it’s also the Center of the Universe (a nickname for WDK). You can study, fundraise, create a unicorn start-up company and go out to have fun, all within a square mile or two. It’s best to work your way from west to east from the Peking University campus back to WDK, crossing in time for dinner.
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Yifan moved from London to Beijing in 2011 and hosts a weekly cultural review podcast, Culture Potato, with his friends.
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Wudaokou
Peking University
Founded in 1898, PKU is the first modern university in China, and its main campus is known for its beautiful classical Chinese architecture centered on the picturesque Weiming Lake. Tourists can enter only through the southeastern gate on Zhongguancun North Street, mapped below. Remember to bring your passport for signing in.
5 Yiheyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China
All Sages Books
East of PKU campus, turning on Chengfu Road, you will soon arrive at All Sages Books — or Wan Sheng in Chinese — a pilgrimage destination for book lovers from all over China. Even if you can’t read Chinese, it’s still fun to visit.
59-1 Chengfu Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China
Tsinghua University
Tsinghua is often said to be the MIT of China and an old rival of PKU. There is an art museum not far from the east gate (bring your passport). Another highlight of your trip may well be a visit to the impressive Canteen for Ten Thousand People, mapped below, which is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week.
Guan Tao Yuan, North of the Big Playground, Tsinghua University, Haidian District, Beijing, China
The eye-popping Wudaokou International Food Gallery
When it gets dark, the entire block on the northeastern side of Wudaokou Metro station comes alive. It’s packed with budget-friendly and Internet-famous eateries popular with students and coders. Downright weird dishes here are made for social media attention, so everything is OTT on purpose. Do you dare try the coal-fired triple-story hot pot layered with bullfrogs?
29 Chengfu Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China
GlobalClub
The Dongyuan Building, in the northwest corner of WDK, is known for its Korean barbecue restaurants and GlobalClub in the basement. Clubs in WDK tend not to take themselves too seriously — just coders letting their hair down. It gets busy after midnight.
B1, Dongyuan Building, 35 Chengfu Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China
There's more to see
Yifan Zhang
Yifan moved from London to Beijing in 2011 and hosts a weekly cultural review podcast, Culture Potato, with his friends.
Yan Cong
Yan Cong is a contributing photographer to The Washington Post living in Beijing.
