Houhai Lake and Shichahai, Beijing

What is Houhai Lake?

Houhai (“Rear Sea”) is the middle and largest of the three Shichahai lakes in Xicheng District, directly north of Beihai Park. Small Qianhai (“Front Sea”) lies to its south-east and quiet Xihai (“West Sea”) to its north-west. Together they hold 34 hectares of water — the only open lakes inside Beijing’s old city.

The lakes are man-made. Under the Mongol Yuan dynasty they were the northern end of the Grand Canal: barges loaded with southern grain sailed right into the capital, and the shores became a busy market district. The name Shichahai, “Sea of Ten Temples”, comes from the monasteries that once ringed the water. Princes later built mansions along the shore — the best known is Prince Gong’s Mansion.

Today it’s a place to stroll: willows over the water, retirees fishing and flying kites, cyclists and rickshaws. From the 2000s, lakeside houses turned into bars, cafés and restaurants, and after dark Houhai becomes one of Beijing’s best-known nightlife strips. Walking the shores costs nothing and there are no gates.

Is Houhai Lake worth visiting?

Yes — for an evening, or as the easy finish to a day at the Forbidden City, Jingshan and Beihai. It’s free, it’s central, and it shows a side of Beijing the palaces don’t: water, willows and ordinary people out for a walk. The walk from Silver Ingot Bridge around Houhai takes about 90 minutes on level paths, fine for a pushchair.

Be realistic about the bar street. It’s touristy, loud and pricier than most of Beijing, with music spilling out of door after door. If you want a quiet drink, head for the north shore of Houhai or the small bars in the lanes east of the lakes near the Drum Tower. If you want calm water, keep walking to Xihai, which few visitors reach.

It’s less worth a special trip in midday heat in summer or on a grey November afternoon, when the boats are gone and there’s no ice yet. Then it’s a pleasant walk rather than an event.

What to see around Shichahai

• Silver Ingot Bridge (银锭桥, Yinding Qiao) — a small Ming-dynasty stone arch over the channel between Qianhai and Houhai. On a clear day you can see the Western Hills from it, one of old Beijing’s classic views. It has been rebuilt many times on the same spot.
• Qianhai and Lotus Market (荷花市场) — the west shore of the Front Lake by Beihai Park’s north gate: a painted archway, cafés and the main boat pier. In summer lotuses bloom along the bank.
• Wanning Bridge (万宁桥) — at the east end of Qianhai on Di’anmenwai Street, where the little Yuhe stream leaves the lake; part of the Beijing Central Axis World Heritage Site.
• The Houhai shores — the south bank is the bar strip, the north bank is quieter and more local. A full loop of Houhai takes about an hour at an easy pace.
• Xihai — the calmest of the three lakes, in the north-west. On an islet by its north shore stands Huitong Temple with a small memorial to Guo Shoujing, the Yuan-dynasty astronomer and water engineer.
• Close by: Prince Gong’s Mansion south of Houhai, Soong Ching-ling’s former residence, the Drum and Bell Towers to the east, and Yandai Xiejie — covered with the lane walk on our Beijing hutongs page.

Houhai bar street at night

Evening is Houhai’s main event. From sunset into the late evening, bars with lakeside terraces line the south shore of Houhai and the east shore of Qianhai, many with live bands playing anything from Chinese pop covers to jazz. Neon reflected in the water, music from open doors and a crowd on Silver Ingot Bridge — that’s Houhai at night.

You don’t need to sit in a bar to enjoy it. Walk the loop, stop on the bridge, buy a drink or a snack from a shop by the water. The scene is liveliest from May to October; in winter many terraces close and evenings end earlier.

Payment: most bars and shops take WeChat Pay or Alipay, and both accept foreign Visa and Mastercard cards once linked to your passport. Carry some small yuan notes too, in case a scan fails or your phone has no signal.

Boats and ice skating through the seasons

Boats. From spring to autumn you can hire pedal, electric and rowing boats, mainly from the pier at Lotus Market on Qianhai’s west shore. We found no official fare list. A recent China Bound guide quotes ¥180 an hour for a four-seat pedal boat, ¥240 and ¥280 for four- and six-seat electric boats, and ¥80 per person for 30 minutes in a rowing boat; hire runs 9:00–20:00, last tickets at 19:00. Expect a deposit.

Worth it? It’s a gentle hour on the water, good with children — but the view from the boat is much like the one from the shore, and Beihai’s boats come with an imperial garden around them. If you only have time for one boat ride, choose one place.

Skating. In a properly cold winter the lakes freeze and the Shichahai rink opens, one of the largest in Beijing. Last season it opened on 20 January and, according to the Beijing government, ran daily 8:00–17:00 across about 100,000 m²: a speed zone on Houhai at ¥30 on weekdays and ¥40 at weekends and holidays, a family zone with sleds and ice bikes at ¥100, and skate hire at ¥30 with a ¥200 deposit. Tickets were sold only by scanning a QR code on site. Dates depend on the weather — the last two seasons opened in January; never step on the ice outside the fenced rink.

Houhai or Beihai Park?

You don’t have to choose: Beihai and the Shichahai lakes are joined by water, so do the park by day and walk north to Houhai for the evening. The hutongs are in the same blocks and quietest in the morning.

Beijing’s waterside sights compared

Every waterside sight in Beijing rated by YesGo. Tap a column heading to sort.

Nearby — add to your day

33

Prince Gong's Mansion

Beijing, China

1 h 30 min · ¥40, book ahead with passport · 9 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Prince Gong's Mansion

42

Beijing hutongs

Beijing, China

1 h 30 min · Free; rickshaw about ¥100–200 · 16 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Beijing hutongs

34

Drum and Bell Towers

Beijing, China

1 h · ¥30 for both towers · 16 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Drum and Bell Towers

40

Nanluoguxiang

Beijing, China

1 h · Free, open 24 hours · 29 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Nanluoguxiang

How to do it right

• Arrive an hour before sunset to walk the loop in daylight and be on Silver Ingot Bridge as the lights come on.
• Quietest shores: the north side of Houhai and all of Xihai. Busiest: Houhai’s south bank and Qianhai’s east bank.
• Take rickshaws only from a rank and agree a price for the whole vehicle before you get in.
• In summer heat, go early or late — there’s little shade on the promenade at midday.
• Pair the lakes with Beihai Park by day and the hutongs in the morning — all within 15 minutes’ walk.
• Public toilets are in the lanes just off the promenade, on almost every corner.
• In winter, watch the Beijing government’s English news pages: the rink’s opening date is announced shortly beforehand.

Questions