page_title: Houhai
hierarchical_section_title: Houhai
caption_attribution_description: English: The Houhai Lake in Beijing at night
context_page_description: Houhai is a lake and its surrounding neighborhood in Xicheng District of central Beijing, China. Houhai is the largest of the three lakes, along with Qianhai 'Front Lake' and Xihai 'Western Lake', that comprise Shichahai, the collective name for the three northern-most lakes in central Beijing. Since the early 2000s, the hutong neighborhood around Houhai has become known for its nightlife as many residences along the lake shore have been converted into restaurants, bars, and cafes. The area is especially popular with foreign tourists visiting Beijing and is also often visited by the expatriate community and the younger generations of locals.
  The Former Residence of Soong Ching-ling and Prince Gong Mansion are both located in the Houhai neighborhood.
context_section_description: Houhai (Chinese: 后海; pinyin: hòuhǎi 'Rear Lake') is a lake and its surrounding neighborhood in Xicheng District of central Beijing, China. Houhai is the largest of the three lakes, along with Qianhai 'Front Lake' and Xihai 'Western Lake', that comprise Shichahai, the collective name for the three northern-most lakes in central Beijing. Since the early 2000s, the hutong neighborhood around Houhai has become known for its nightlife as many residences along the lake shore have been converted into restaurants, bars, and cafes.  The area is especially popular with foreign tourists visiting Beijing and is also often visited by the expatriate community and the younger generations of locals.
  The Former Residence of Soong Ching-ling and Prince Gong Mansion are both located in the Houhai neighborhood.
caption: The Houhai lake in Beijing at night
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon DIGITAL IXUS 50", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "QuickTime 7.1.3", "Image DateTime": "2006:10:17 15:21:28", "Image HostComputer": "Mac OS X 10.4.8", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "254", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "630", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "2317", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1", "EXIF FNumber": "14/5", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2006:10:15 12:09:27", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2006:10:15 12:09:27", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "0", "EXIF ApertureValue": "95/32", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "95/32", "EXIF MeteringMode": "CenterWeightedAverage", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "29/5", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area"}