Shichahai and Houhai (什刹海)
Open neighbourhood · Beijing. A lakeside hutong district around Qianhai, Houhai and Xihai.
Source: https://chinafootnotes.com/places/shichahai · Data checked 2026-10-06 · Rendered for 2026-10-08 (Asia/Shanghai). Facts carry their status; "not found yet" means we searched and found no reliable source.
Why go
Shichahai (什刹海) is a district of lakes and historic lanes rather than a single gated attraction. Walk the shore of Qianhai and Houhai, then branch into the connecting hutongs for a waterside view of old Beijing. Restaurants, bars, boats and nearby museums have their own hours and prices, separate from the public paths.
What to do
- Circle the lake edge. Start near Shichahai subway station and follow the Qianhai or Houhai shoreline. Choose a manageable section rather than assuming the entire three-lake district is one short loop.
- Cross Yandai Xiejie. Use Yandai Xiejie (烟袋斜街) as a connection between the lakeside and the Bell and Drum Towers area. It is a street walk, not a ticketed part of the lake.
- Walk toward Xihai. The government Grand Canal route links Xihai Wetland Park, Gulou West Street, Yandai Xiejie and Lotus Market. Pick one segment to see a quieter side beyond the busiest Houhai bank.
- Don't miss: Qianhai, Houhai and Xihai are distinct waters within the wider Shichahai area.
- Best time: Late afternoon into evening for waterside light
Practical details
- Hours: Public lakeside paths; venues set their own hours
- Boats, restaurants, ice rinks and museums have separate schedules.
- Admission: Free lakeside walk
- Boat trips and nearby museums charge separately.
- Boat prices reported by visitors in Jun and Sept 2026 (小尽尽尽, Yogurt喵): ¥180 an hour for a four-seat pedal boat, ¥240 four-seat and ¥280 six-seat electric boat, with a deposit of about ¥420; no operator tariff was found.
- Booking: No booking for public paths
- Last admission: No single last-entry time
- Time to allow: 1.5–3 hr
- Getting there: Line 8 Shichahai A2/A1 · Line 6 Beihai North B
- Metro Line 8 to Shichahai (什刹海), Exit A2, about 4 min walk
- Metro Line 6 to Beihai North (北海北), Exit B, about 6 min walk
- Show a taxi driver: 西城区什刹海前海北沿
- Exit A2 for Line 8 is named by three Chinese visitors in 2026 (烤烤在此, cici在路上, 芭啦芭啦小魔女); cici在路上 says it leads straight to the Dibai pier. The other posts do not decide between A1 and A2.
- Exit A1 is named instead of A2 by Beijing Daily (2024-05-29) and the Beijing tourism site (2024-09-19); the municipal English page (2023-03-24) and three 2026 visitors name A2. Follow the station signs.
- Foreign visitors: No site-level ticket or ID check
Traveler tips
- Start with the lake, not the bars. Take Line 8 to Shichahai station (什刹海) and leave by Exit A2 or A1; both put you about 200–300 m from the water. From A1 the lake is reached by cutting through a small hutong, so follow the crowd toward the meeting of Qianhai and Houhai. Decide there which bank to follow rather than committing to a full circuit. Caveat: The municipal English page names Exit A2; Beijing Daily and the Beijing tourism site name Exit A1. Station signage decides which is open on the day. Three visitors from Jan–Apr 2026 name Exit A2 (烤烤在此; 芭啦芭啦小魔女; cici在路上, who says A2 leads straight to the Dibai pier); 微笑豆 (Dec 2025) writes 'A2/A1'. 烤烤在此's Oct 2025 post named A1 for the same route, but it is more than 12 months old. (3 travelers) source
- Reach the lakes from Line 6 instead. Line 6 to Beihai North (北海北) Exit B lets you walk about 500 m east (roughly 6–7 minutes) to the archway marked Lotus Market (荷花市场), the west-shore start of the Qianhai walk. Choose this if you are coming from the Beihai Park side or Prince Gong's Mansion. The Line 8 exits put you at the Yandai Xiejie end instead. Caveat: Distances are as stated by the sources; the Lotus Market archway is a landmark, not a ticket gate. source
- Separate the three lakes. Shichahai names a wider lake district including Qianhai, Houhai and Xihai. A map pin marked “Houhai” is only one part of it. Save the specific bank or bridge you want before arranging a meeting point. source
- Use Yandai Xiejie as a connector. Yandai Xiejie (烟袋斜街) links the Bell and Drum Towers side with the lake and ends at Silver Ingot Bridge (银锭桥) in the middle of Houhai, one of the old Eight Views of Yanjing (燕京小八景). Walk it east to west for the bridge view. Tower admission is a separate purchase. source
- Pick the south shore for a tree-lined walk. From Lotus Market (荷花市场) there are two ways along Qianhai. The west-shore path is flat and suits strollers; the south-shore lane runs under trees past Golden Ingot Bridge (金锭桥) and Silver Ingot Bridge and has more to look at. Choose the south shore if you can manage narrower pavements. source
- Choose a short western segment. The published Grand Canal walk runs from Xihai Wetland Park through Gulou West Street and Yandai Xiejie toward Lotus Market. A central lakes-and-hutongs walk takes 2–3 hours and the full three-lake circuit is about 4.5 km, so pick only the Xihai or Houhai section if time is short. Caveat: Two Chinese route posts give times: 微笑豆 (Dec 2025) 1–2 hours for the Qianhai side from the Drum Tower and 3–4 hours for Houhai plus Xihai; 烤烤在此 (Jan 2026) 3–4 hours for the Drum Tower, Yandai Xiejie, Houhai and a coffee stop. Neither measured walking time. (2 travelers) source
- Arrive before sunset and stay for the lights. Arrive in the late afternoon to see the lake in daylight, stay through sunset and an early dinner nearby, then walk the lit shoreline after dark. Keep bags zipped and phones in front pockets once the shoreline fills up. Caveat: 烤烤在此 (Jan 2026) advises arriving at 15:00–16:00 and staying through sunset and the blue hour, then returning by Beihai North or Shichahai station; 芭啦芭啦小魔女 (Apr 2026) names 16:00–19:00 as the best time. The municipal night-tour guide includes Shichahai as an evening route. The posts say nothing about last trains or taxis. (3 travelers) source
- Taking a boat on the lakes. The boating season opens in mid-March and runs through autumn. In season, boats run daily 9:00–18:00 with the last ticket sold at 17:00, from five piers including Lotus Market (荷花市场), Dibai (地百), Wild Duck Island (野鸭岛), Haomeng Jiangnan (好梦江南) and the Soong Ching-ling residence (宋庆龄故居). Electric and pedal boats are paid by scanning a code at the pier, with no advance booking; rowing boats are chartered or sold as a sightseeing trip. Night cruises open depending on weather. Enquiries: 010-66125717. Caveat: Season and prices are set by the operator; the source gives no prices. A code scan normally needs Alipay or WeChat Pay, and neither source says whether foreign-registered accounts work. source
- Rickshaw prices to expect at the Shichahai station. Two travel guides list rickshaw prices at the Shichahai station of roughly ¥120 for 30–40 minutes, ¥150 for an hour and ¥180 for 90 minutes, with numbered, uniformed drivers on fixed routes. Settle the total price, route, duration and whether it is per person or per rickshaw before you sit down. Avoid street touts offering cheap rides. Caveat: The prices and the “official station” description come from two commercial travel sites (Beijing Tourism Guide, Sept 2026; TripChina, 2026); no operator tariff was found. 芭啦芭啦小魔女 (Apr 2026) adds only that visitors should refuse unlicensed black pedicabs and look for the official hutong-tour signs. Ask at the station for the current board. source
- Decline invitations to tea or hidden bars. In the Shichahai and Houhai lanes, a friendly stranger may invite you to tea tasting, a culture experience or a hidden bar. The risk is unmarked venues with no posted prices that present a very large bill. Eat and drink only where the menu and prices are visible from the street. Caveat: Single commercial travel guide; no individual incident is documented. source
- Do not confuse it with Beihai. Beihai Park is a separate gated royal garden to the south. Shichahai here means the public lake edges and hutongs; a Beihai ticket does not apply to this walk. source
- Protect residential lanes. The streets behind the shore include homes as well as visitor businesses. Stay on public lanes, leave gates and driveways clear, and use the named waterfront landmarks to rejoin your route. Caveat: Practical editorial advice based on the district layout; no specific access restriction was found. source
- Houhai plus Drum Tower fills a spare afternoon. With a free afternoon, combine Houhai and the surrounding hutongs with the Drum and Bell Towers. A canal-side walk along the Liangma River, in Chaoyang district well away from Houhai, is a quieter alternative. (3 travelers) source
- Boat prices: ¥180 an hour pedal, ¥240–280 electric. Four-seat pedal boats cost about ¥180 an hour, four-seat electric boats about ¥240 and six-seat electric boats about ¥280. A deposit of about ¥420 is taken at the pier and refunded to the same payment account. Billing is by the hour with a few minutes' grace, so one hour and five minutes still counts as one hour. Caveat: Prices come from 小尽尽尽 (Jun 2026) and Yogurt喵 (Sept 2026); the deposit is from Yogurt喵 only and the billing rule from cici在路上 (Apr 2026). An older post (是霉霉团啊, Mar 2025) lists the same prices and a rowing boat at ¥80 per half hour. No operator tariff was found; confirm at the pier. (3 travelers) source
- Electric boats are slow; one stopped in weeds. Electric boats move very slowly on the lakes, and one boat stopped in water weeds until a rescue crew cleared them. Pedal boats are tiring for two people who also want to take photos, but they can be quicker. Boats pass under a bridge, which is the only exciting moment. Caveat: First-hand only from 最爱小西瓜 (Apr 2026); cici在路上 (Apr 2026) repeats a warning that electric boats can stall; 小尽尽尽 (Jun 2026) found the pedal boat a little tiring. One report of a stopped boat is not a rate. (3 travelers) source
- Piers: Dibai at Exit A2, Lotus Market near Beihai North. The Dibai pier (地百码头) is a short walk from Shichahai station Exit A2 and tends to have the longest queue. Lotus Market (荷花市场) and Haomeng Jiangnan (好梦江南) are closer to Beihai North Exit B. Boats from the five piers use the same lakes. Caveat: The Dibai–A2 link is from cici在路上 (Apr 2026); queue lengths and the Beihai North Exit B piers are from an older post (是霉霉团啊, Mar 2025) that is more than 12 months old. (2 travelers) source
- Tangfang Café's upper terraces look over the lake. On Yandai Xiejie (烟袋斜街) the Tangfang Café (糖房咖啡) has terraces on its upper floors with views of Qianhai, the Drum and Bell Towers and the rooftops. Go up to the third or fourth floor. It is a good stop before sunset. Caveat: 烤烤在此 (Jan 2026) names the third and fourth floors; 微笑豆 (Dec 2025) says the top terrace; 芭啦芭啦小魔女 (Apr 2026) says there is no minimum spend. The café's opening hours and seating were not given. (3 travelers) source
- Eat off the main strip of Yandai Xiejie. The snacks on Yandai Xiejie's main street are priced for tourists. Turn into Huguosi Street (护国寺街) for cheaper snacks such as pea cake and rolled donkey (豌豆黄、驴打滚), and walk the main street without stopping. Caveat: Two opinions: 芭啦芭啦小魔女 (Apr 2026) and 糖妈笔记 (Jun 2025, older than 12 months); neither gives prices. (2 travelers) source
Sources
- Beijing Municipal Government (published 2023-03-24)
- Beijing Municipal Government (published 2024-06-27)
- Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism
- 首都之窗·北京市人民政府门户网站 (published 2026-03-15)
- 北京日报客户端 (published 2026-03-14)
- 北京日报客户端 (published 2024-05-29)
- 北京旅游网（爱旅行时光） (published 2024-09-19)
- Nomadette (published 2025-09-05)
- ChinaGoTrip
- TripChina
- Beijing Tourism Guide (published 2026-09-23)
- BeardinTheJing (published 2026-09-17)
- Caffeine-n-Chill (published 2026-09-17)
- Prestigious_Salad_83 (published 2026-09-17)
- 烤烤在此 (published 2026-01-20)
- 烤烤在此 (published 2025-10-02)
- 微笑豆 (published 2025-12-25)
- 芭啦芭啦小魔女💫 (published 2026-04-21)
- cici在路上 (published 2026-04-18)
- 最爱小西瓜 (published 2026-04-03)
- 小尽尽尽 (published 2026-06-29)
- Yogurt喵 (published 2026-09-19)
- 是霉霉团啊 (published 2025-03-23)
- Shasha怪 (published 2025-09-13)
- 糖妈笔记 (published 2025-06-24)
- JT🐨 (published 2025-10-20)
- ButYou (published 2025-07-07)
More places
- Pair with: Bell and Drum Towers, Beijing, Prince Kung's Mansion
- More in Lakes & hutongs: Beihai Park, Prince Kung's Mansion