Where to stay

I stayed at The Peninsula Beijing (hotel.qantas.com.au/ peninsula-beijing), an all-suite hotel in the city centre, where I arranged many of my restaurant bookings. There are also great restaurants near Rosewood Beijing (rosewoodhotels.com), The Opposite House (theoppositehouse.com) and Four Seasons Hotel Beijing (fourseasons.com), which are all in the Chaoyang District. Using the subway or taxis is an easy way to get around. Just remember to take your hotel’s business card with Chinese characters on it if you’re not fluent in Mandarin – otherwise, getting back to your hotel could prove a challenge.