Eat Your Way Around China, in Beijing

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When I think about my time in Beijing, my most vivid recollections are usually from restaurants: drunken toasts of baijiu with Chinese colleagues, orgiastic feasts of Peking duck, quiet nights in a courtyard Yunnan restaurant. To me the city is, primarily, a city of restaurants.

Yes, there are the ancient palaces and museums, government buildings and new skyscrapers. And yes, there are politics. But restaurants encapsulate all of what the capital is about: food from each of China's many regional cuisines, served in myriad ways and price points for the voracious appetites of migrant workers, foreign tourists, and government officials alike. And so much of government business and networking occurs in such places, in the smoky private rooms of posh lavish palaces to food, drink, and power.

These restaurants reflect Beijing's status as a magnet for people from every province in China.  In addition to official restaurants located at provincial representative offices in Beijing, there are many smaller restaurants reflecting the amazing diversity of Chinese food.  These are the places where the laobaixing , or common people, get their fill.

This map is my attempt to record and recommend most of the notable eateries I had the chance to patronize during my time in Beijing. Some are already quite well known, others more obscure.

The restaurants run the gamut from famous Peking Duck establishments like Quanjude and Dadong to smaller restaurants found in some of the smaller and more obscure hutongs in the old city.  This isn't meant to be a comprehensive guide to eating in Beijing, but I hope first time visitors or even long-term residents could find something new or of interest here.

Restaurants By Province (see map for more info)

Beijing

• Yuebin 
• Quanjude Roast Duck,
• Dadong Roast Duck
• Beijing Flavor

Mongolian

• Donglaishun,
• Nanmen Shuanyangrou Hotpot

Xinjiang/Islamic

• Xinjiang Provincial Restaurant
• Crescent Moon

Yunnan

• Dali Courtyard
• No Name Restaurant
• Aimo Town

Hubei:

• Jiutouying

Shandong

• Weihai Yintanyu Seafood

Zhejiang/Jiangsu

• Kongyiji
• Oriental (Trader's Hotel)

Sichuan

• Emei Restaurant
• Yufu Roasted Fish

Shanxi

• Qishanmian Noodles

Sha'anxi

• Qintang Fu 秦唐府

Manchurian (Dongbei)

• Dongbeiren