Sanlitun and the Embassy District: Taikoo Li and Liangma River

Cross east over the Second Ring Road into Chaoyang District and the grey courtyard walls of imperial Beijing give way to wide, plane-tree-lined diplomatic avenues, architectural flagship stores and outdoor cafe terraces. The name Sanlitun literally means Three-Li Village, because in the Ming and Qing dynasties this farming hamlet stood exactly three Chinese miles (roughly 1.5 kilometres) outside the Dongzhimen city gate. Beginning in the late 1950s and 1960s, the national government designated the surrounding blocks as Beijing's Second and Third Embassy Districts, turning Sanlitun and neighbouring Liangmaqiao into the capital's most international neighbourhood.

Taikoo Li Sanlitun: contemporary hutong geometry

Served directly by Tuanjiehu Station (Subway Line 10) and the newly opened Workers' Stadium Station (Lines 3 and 17) right beside the rebuilt bowl of the Beijing Workers' Stadium, the commercial anchor of the district is Taikoo Li Sanlitun. Master-planned by architect Kengo Kuma and international studios, the open-air complex is split into two distinct halves:

• The South Area: modelled deliberately on the tight, intersecting alleys and small courtyards of traditional Beijing hutongs, where angular glass-and-steel pavilions house flagship streetwear labels, bakeries, cinema screens and rooftop dining terraces above a busy central piazza.
• The North Area and Sanlitun West: laid out like a calm classical siheyuan courtyard around landscaped lawns and water features, housing standalone multi-storey architectural boutiques designed by global fashion and design houses.

Sanlitun East Fifth Street and the Liangma River Promenade

Two quieter walks immediately north of Taikoo Li reward a late-afternoon stroll. In late October and early November, walk along Sanlitun East Fifth Street (Sanlitun Dongwu Jie) in the diplomatic enclave, where double rows of tall ginkgo trees turn brilliant gold beside embassy gates (carry your passport, and keep photography focused on the trees rather than security posts).

Continue ten minutes north to the Liangma River International Waterfront (between Yansha Bridge at Liangmaqiao Station on Line 10 and Chaoyang Park). Revitalised into a continuous greenway, the river banks are lined with willow trees, kayaking docks, sight-seeing barges that glide through illuminated lock gates after dark, and relaxed European-style bistros, bakeries and craft taprooms where locals and diplomats gather over coffee or aperitifs before heading south to the Guomao CBD skyline.