Find the Perfect Venue for Any Occasion With This Simple Dianping Function

If you're anything like us, finding the perfect venue for your birthday/wedding/Brony convention can be a seemingly neverending trawl of communication and detail checking. How many people? How much? From when to when? What facilities? It's enough to make you want to give up before the invitation list is even assembled.

Well, there's a simple tool that with a little Chinese brings the world hidden venues straight to your fingertips: Dazhong Dianping's 轰趴馆 hōng pā guǎn function. A phonetic literation and shortening of "Home Party," Hom Pa (hōng pā) plus guǎn (pavilion or mansion) indicate specific venues perfect for partying, annual meetings, or team building events.

Just from a cursory search, it's amazing at how many 轰趴馆 are available in the capital and further afield, and they span everything from entire floors in high-rise apartments to mansions in the countryside and traditional Chinese courtyards that nestle you away from hustle and bustle of central Beijing. Each venue sports particular facilities such as billiard tables to dartboards, karaoke rooms to boardgame dungeons, each outfitted to best suit the needs of their occupants.

To browse what Beijing has to offer, you'll first need to download the latest version of Dazhong Dianping app (大众点评) on your phone. Below we help you browse the main functions with English translations. You'll likely have to ask a Chinese-speaking friend for help with the more nitty-gritty portions.

Once you finish this step, you'll be asked to pay. The coupon (and adjoining QR code) can be found in the app – simply show the vendor the coupon when you turn up. Be aware however that the app does not currently allow you to specify a time that you'd like to redeem the coupon, so we heartily recommend calling ahead of time to check whether the venue will be free when you're hoping to use it.

READ: How to Deliver Almost Anything in a Matter of Hours via Shansong Courier Service

Images: Dianping, Zhihu