Chaowai

Chaowai under construction. March 2003 image.

Development, to be continued -- Chaowai in July 2004.

Area around Dongyue Temple.

Chaowai (Chinese: 朝外; pinyin: Cháowài) is a part of the city of Beijing. It refers to the area to the east (i.e. "outside" of) Chaoyangmen Bridge.

The Chaowai area is extremely vibrant. Four massive buildings -- the Fulllink Tower, Union Plaza, China Life Tower and Prime Tower -- sit along the southwestern part of the area. This is matched with a lot of residential high-rises in the northwest.

The northern central area is home to Dongyue Temple at Shenlu Road. The southern central area is quite the opposite; it is full of even newer modern high-rise buildings, such as Chaowaimen, an office building which is nearing completion.

The northeastern area is home to a smorgasbord of banks, including a sizeable building belonging to the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. The southeastern part, meanwhile, is a technology hub, home to the Bainaohui complex, which has numerous PC-related shops. Next to Bainaohui is the well-known Landao Tower.

The Chaowai area overlaps with the Dongdaqiao crossing.

Chaowai is a hub for nightlife activity. Two KTV shops, plenty of restaurants, and the decor, make this part of the city appear like night doesn't affect its activity. Meanwhile, the ongoing development continues throughout the night.

The Chaowai region, unsurprisingly, has traffic problems of its own. Traffic on Chaoyangmen Outer Street is often congested, especially at peak times. Both ends of the Chaowai region are served by Beijing underground (the eastern end will soon be hooked up with Line 10 of the Beijing underground rail network).

Chaoyangmen Outer Street runs through the centre of the region.