The Rear Lake (Houhai)

Restaurants and bars are scattered along the sides of a serpentine lake north of the Forbidden City. At the very center of Beijing, it makes a great place to sit back and enjoy the views, particularly at night when the lights glisten off the water. Restaurants here offer a range of Chinese and foreign cuisines, including Hakka cuisine from south China, spicy Sichuan and Yunnan dishes, light Vietnamese and heavier Russian food. Most of the restaurants offer a cozy dining environment. Many have a lake view, some set up tables in the open beside the water, and a few even offer boats for dining on the lake itself.