Houhai is directly north of Tian'anmen Square and just south of subway Line 2. Because of its proximity to the Forbiddent City, this area was historically home to court officials and the city's elite. Some of their residence still stand. Today the area has noisy bars and restaurants.

Historic sites include the Drum and Bell Towers and former residences of literati and court officials, including revolutionary author Guo Morou (18 Qianhai Xijie, 010-66125392), Song Qingling, Sun Yat-sen's widow (46 Houhai Beiyan, 010-64044205), and Chinese author, Mao Dun (13 Yuanensi Hutong, 010-53044089). Prince Gong's Mansion, a courtyard home that housed He Shen, a corrupt member of Emperor Qianlong's imperial guard, can also be found in the area.

The Lama Temple and Confucius Temple are nearby, along with lesser known temples like Guanghua (31 Ya'er Hutong, 010-64035032).

Aside from the alleyways and historic sites, what attracts most people is the variety of bars and restaurants. Lotus Lane and Yandai Xiejie are two popular strips along Qianhai Lake. The strip along the western bank of Qianhai and Houhai lakes is also popular, as well as the renovated Nanluoguxiang Hutong, east of the lake. North of the lakes are the National Stadium and National Aquatics Center, known as the Water Cube, built for the 2008 Olympics.

Xin Yuan Zhai was established during the fifth year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong in 1740 and was originally located at Dong Liulichang. The teacher of the last Emperor in Qing Dynasty, Zhu Yifan once spoke highly of this shop and inscribed a plaque bearing the words “Xin Yuan Zhai Sweetmeat Shop”.

The shop sold mainly some seasonal delicacies, which were all made onsite. In summer, it would sell plum syrup from Grain in Ear for Stopping of Heat; in autumn, it would sell various sweetmeats, including crab apples, hawthorn and dried apricot slices from First Frost to Spring Festival; in winter, it would sell tomatoes on sticks, Tangduner and nut sugar adhibit. In addition, there were also some all-year-long delicacies, such as plum cake, sesame candy and autumn pear grease. Because of its quality ingredients and reasonable prices, it earned itself a high reputation.

In 1948, Xin Yuan Zhai closed down its business because of the slump in the economy. After 1956, Xin Yuan Zhai started its business again and moved into a new shop with the support of Premier Zhou Enlai and the Beijing Government. It was soon integrated with a small food factory in Dongcheng District and renamed “Yidu Food Factory”. In 1984, the time-honored brand Xin Yuan Zhai was once again available to the public and started its business. After the expansions, apart from some traditional delicacies, there were also some other new delicacies served. Traditional snacks such as osmanthus plum cakes, sesame candy and miso candy were awarded “High Quality Products” in consecutive years. On October, 1986, the former manager of Xin Yuan Zhai Zhao Shaowu and senior technicians such as Xiao Yonghai were asked to help recover the production of Xin Yuan Zhai, which earned the trust of customers.

Made with all-natural products, Neiliansheng shoes offer comfort, lightness and high-quality. Long ago, officials would appear in droves, specially requesting court boots at this store. Each time an order of court boots was made, Neiliansheng asked clients to have their feet measured so as to custom fit each pair. On the first floor of the store are handmade shoes made of special materials, children's shoes, slippers, and leather shoes too. The second floor sells fashionable shoes with special designs and the third floor sells brand named leather shoes as well as top hats. Given the history of this city store, it is well worth stopping by for a look and trying a few items on.

Story

Neiliansheng was established by high-ranking official Zhao Ting, and by General Ding in 1853 (Qing Dynasty). The two partners raised ten thousand taels of silver, and opened the shoe shop. The name Neiliansheng implies that the wearer of the shoes could get promoted straight through three levels of the Qing imperial court.