Deshengmen-德胜门

With upwards of 50 French and Chinese teachers, the Alliance Française offers preparation seminars for the TEF (French Evaluation Test), as well as oral and practical French classes at the basic, intermediate and advanced levels. Class size is limited to 20. Tuition is about RMB 22 per hour; the shortest course is 50 hours. The French Cultural Center (2nd location) also has a library, which is open to the public. Special classes for firms and embassies are also available.

Retired professor Mr Li’s house restaurant deserves its devoted following. It serves set meals of imperial-style food in an unpretentious setting at prices ranging RMB 230-2,000 per person. English is spoken and reservations are a must.

Han Cang was one of the many restaurants in Beijing opened in the late 1990s by artists. Owner Chi Nai decorated the rough cement walls of his restaurant with with random calligraphy on rice paper. The rustic-looking restaurant is located on the east bank of Qianhai, or dine al fresco on the breezy terrace in the summer months. Ask for one of the rooms on the second floor with a view across the lake. Foil-wrapped fish (纸包鱼zhibaoyu) is the most popular dish; it’s a crisp deep-fried fish doused in sweet and sour sauce.

For those who haven’t yet heard that there is a restaurant in Beijing whose cuisine prominently features animal penises, consider this your wake-up call. The Chinese believe that eating the penis and testicles of different animals will improve a man’s libido, cure erection problems and improve kidney conditions.

This swanky and crowded Sichuan hot pot restaurant is famous for its laoma niurou (mama's beef), which becomes more tender the longer you boil it. You can also order mutton, fish balls and other hot pot filler. Great place for large group dinners, although prices are higher than other comparable hot pots.