Hi, welcome to the capital city of China – Beijing. You may have heard of and seen Tian’anmen Square or the Forbidden City, and you may have been to the Great Wall as well, but Beijing has more places that are worth exploring for you, and if you live or work in Beijing, we highly suggest you to take trips around those places in your spare time.
However, Beijing is not a small city, of which the historical culture and modern atmosphere in different areas vary from each other’s, therefore it is very important to choose a suitable housing for those who plan to live or work in Beijing. We have a saying in China that a good start for getting a home or career reaches halfway to the final success.
So, please take five minutes to watch the following first part of Beijing Housing Guide: “Introduction to the Neighborhoods in Beijing” today. I'm sure it will give you a general idea about how to choose a house property.
There are lots of districts in Beijing with Tian'anmen Square as the center, and the nearer districts are Dongcheng District, Xicheng District, Chaoyang District, Fengtai District and Haidian District. The districts that are a little further are Shunyi District, Tongzhou District and Daxing District. Because of the differences in the geographical locations and infrastructures, the types and prices of house properties vary largely. We will analyze them from the nearer ones to the further ones.
A map of Beijing area
1.1 Regional Features:
These areas along the two ring roads are located in the city center of Beijing, mainly covering the following areas: Dongcheng District, Xicheng District and Chaoyang District. These areas have a strong sense of old city history, as well as the one of the modern city, friends who work in these areas can give preference to the house properties in these regions, because on one hand much commuting time can be saved, and on the other hand you can also feel the most authentic Beijing at a zero distance, such as getting a greeting every day in the morning from a Chinese uncle: welcome to Beijing!
1.2 Room Type Selection:
These locations mainly feature the quadrangle courtyards (siheyuan), and with refurbishing and fine decoration, you will live more comfortably. For those who have not many family members, especially the singles, couples or families of three, they are the best choices. The apartments are compact and generally located in a matured neighborhood. The quadrangle courtyards (siheyuan) have retained the original historical features, so that you can return to the past and feel the ancient history.
1.3 House Property Price:
The prices of the apartments are usually about 20-30 thousand RMB, especially in Wangfujing area, where a very nice apartment can be rented at the price around 20 thousand RMB, with full equipment and superior location; Of course, the price will be higher with the increase of the area of the house property. In the city center, an apartment with the area of nearly 200 square meters can be rented at the price around 40 thousand RMB per month, accommodating a family of five, which can be easily done. The quadrangle courtyards prices are usually between 40 to 50 thousand RMB, with the area over 200 square meters, an independent address, and a single courtyard, just like making yourself a historical scholars travelling through time and space, writing and reading poems with Li Bai (who is Li Bai?).
Conclusion:
One step to the office, two steps back home, and the superior geographical location are making the house properties along the Second and Third Ring Roads areas the best choices for the office worker. Like sanlitun, the dongzhimen are in this area .Choosing the house properties along the Second and Third Ring Roads areas is convenient for both your work and daily life.
Several suitable areas are recommended as follows:
Sanlitun
Dongzhimen
Lufthansa
Chaoyang park
Lido
2.1 Regional Features:
These areas are more distant from the city center, such as Haidian District, Fengtai District, Shijingshan District, and part of Chaoyang District. But they are not going to be less lively because of the food streets, tourist attractions, and even if you're hungry at midnight, you can find delicious food and the passion of the food vender in the street. If you have a great interest in humanistic feelings, you probably would like to take a trip around these areas in your leisure time, and the charms of the old town will be more thorough. In fact, the traffic in Beijing is not as bad as you think, if you can get up ten minutes earlier, the subway will take you to the city center easily.
2.2 Room Type Selection:
Beijing’s lands are valuable, even if it is not in the city center, each piece of land is acquired after a hard battle, therefore the apartments, serviced apartments and quadrangle courtyards are still the main hits in these areas, but they are relatively larger than the ones in the city center, a house property in this region can be rented with larger area and more rooms at the same price for the one in the city center. The quadrangle courtyards are recommended in these regions because the landlords have already prepared for everything and all you need to do is just moving in with your luggage. Even if you want to buy something for your daily life, the enthusiastic Beijing people will make you have no difficulties.
2.3 House Property Price:
As for the choices of prices, they are slightly less expensive than the ones in the areas between the Second Ring Road and Third Ring Road, however they are only low in prices, not qualities, because these regions are more and more populated, the rental prices are also on the rise especially in Tongzhou District, and the rents in Sanyuanqiao, Wanliu are rising gradually as well.
For details, please refer to the List of Current Rental Prices in Beijing. Therefore, it is good to choose the apartments or quadrangle courtyards at the rent of 20-30 thousand RMB.
Conclusion:
The house properties in the areas along the East Third Ring Road and East Fourth Ring Road are the choices made by many foreign friends. Here, the lively environments and comprehensive facilities will bring a lot of convenient experiences. When you sit down to have Beijing special dishes, a fellow from your hometown may be next to you. The area between the Third Ring and Fourth Ring are far livelier than the Disney World combined.
Popular quadrangle courtyards (siheyuan) position recommendations:
Houhai
Dongtao
Dongsishitiao
South Banqiao Courtyard
Gulou
3.1 Regional Features
Don't look these areas down for their rankings, the development of the urban area along the Fifth Ring Road and Sixth Ring Road is so rapid that a lot parts of them have caught up with the construction of the city center. If you have ever heard of smog in China, you will realize that the smog will be less of a problem in these regions, with large areas of vegetation and beautiful environment, which will let you live more comfortably, mainly including Shunyi District and Daxing District. Particularly, Shunyi District, known for its ecological construction, has built a lot of dedicated projects for the living environment, offering the conditions for people to be actually able to see the eagles when looking up at the sky and see the fishes when looking down at the waters. The international schools in Beijing, such as ISB/BSB area, Dulwich, Wab, (if you do not have the ideas regarding the international schools in Beijing, please refer to this article of ours, The Top 5 International Schools in Beijing) are mostly located in this area, therefore going to school in China is not a problem here for your children.
3.2 Room Type Selection:
In this area, considering the quality-price ratio and convenience for your children to go to school, a villa will be a very good choice for you and you can definitely become your family’s superman, at least for your choice of the house property. The garden that comes with the villa and the perfect security measures will give you full relaxation when taking a rest, embracing the unique environments in northern China.
3.3 House Property Prices:
The villas by themselves are excellent. The rent amounting around 50-60 thousand RMB will be worth every penny when all people in your family can happily enjoy daily life inside a villa. The area of a villa is usually about 230 square meters, and the villa also comes with good lighting and clean air, as well as the quiet afternoon when resting birds can stop at your table to share your food, which the villa can bring to you.
Conclusion: By choosing the house property in this area, you can stay away from the noises of the city, and life will be more natural. If you value the quality of life over the convenience of the downtown traffic, we would really suggest the house properties from this area, for the peace and eases around the Fifth Ring Road and Sixth Ring Road area that the people live in the city center would not understand.
Hot villas:
Beijing Riviera
Grand Hills
Yosemite
River Garen
Ok, I believe that you will have a lot of ideas in choosing the house property after having a general understanding of the relations between the selection of the room types and the locations. You can start a preliminary study, and if you have anything to consult us, don't hesitate, you can call us via 010-84498771/15810551004 or directly visit our website,
And click “Online Enquiry”, by which we will give you the best advices.
And please don’t forget, in Beijing, there are many real estate agencies, we only do the best.
