SHICHAHAI (HOUHAI, QIANHAI AND XIHAI LAKES) · SHICHAHAI
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VERIFIED2026.09.11Jingshan, Beihai, Houhai & the Drum Tower · 39.938°N 116.387°E
No ticketingClosure day
Three linked lakes northwest of the Forbidden City with the last big stretch of lived-in hutong around them — the open-air heart of old Beijing. Free, unfenced, and busy from dawn (swimmers, tai chi) to midnight (the Houhai bar strip). Rowing boats from March to autumn, ice skating when the lake freezes, and the hutong pedicab touts everywhere in between.
AdmissionNo ticketingFree public park (municipal listing); boats and skating priced separatelyVerified · 2019-11Source ↗
HoursOpen ground, 24 hours; boats 9:00-18:00 in season, tickets to 17:00Verified · 2026-03Source ↗
ClosedNone; boats run March to autumn (weather permitting)Verified · 2026-03Source ↗
IDNone for the lakeside; boat deposits vary by boat type (park notice) — carry a working payment methodVerified · 2026-03Source ↗
AddressShichahai Park, Houhai North Bank, Xicheng (around Qianhai and Houhai lakes)Verified · 2019-11Source ↗Navigate ↗
EntranceLine 8 Shichahai station for the Yandai Xiejie / Silver Ingot Bridge end; Line 6 Beihai North for the Qianhai west bank and Prince Gong's Mansion
Last verified 2026-09-11
How to book
Nothing to book for the lakes. Boats: scan-to-pay on the dock for electric and pedal boats (no advance booking); rowed 'yaolu' boats are chartered or run as sightseeing trips. Boat hotline 010-66125717Verified · 2026-03Source ↗
Beat the crowds
The bottleneck is Silver Ingot Bridge (Yinding Qiao) between Qianhai and Houhai — on weekend afternoons and every evening the bridge and Yandai Xiejie beside it are shoulder to shoulder. The west and north banks of Houhai and the whole of Xihai are quiet at any hour.
Language
Street signs bilingual; bar and restaurant menus on the Houhai strip are often bilingual with pictures; pedicab drivers pitch in a few words of English and quote in Chinese