Gui Jie (Ghost Street) in Beijing

I%26#39;ve heard of Gui Jie in Beijing, and it%26#39;s suppose to be an amazing foodies experience.

I%26#39;m planning on leading my first culinary tour outside of Toronto, Canada. We%26#39;re looking at a party of possibly 16 persons. We%26#39;ll be in Beijing just a few days before it%26#39;s Chinese New Year in Februay 2008.

Any recommendations? Should we avoid the area as we might be too big a group and go along with what my tour operator suggests, which is a high-end restaurant for peking duck dinner?

I really would love to balance my trip - a combo of touristy ';must see and eat'; areas, and where locals hang out.

Any recommendations would be appreciated!

cheers, Shirley from Toronto, Canada

Gui Jie (Ghost Street) in Beijing

i suggest you go along with what your tour operator suggests at first but don%26#39;t just eat the duck. chinese food is broad and there%26#39;s all sorts of things to try, if you have courage and don%26#39;t ask what it%26#39;s made of ;-)....don%26#39;t worry it%26#39;s not dog, lol.

remember that by tradition a full meal must have ';cold dishes'; ';hot dishes'; and then soup as a basic layout. so make sure to try a little of everything.

16 white ppl in a ';local hangout'; might turn your group into a show and ppl will stare, and you%26#39;ll have a hard time finding space in a small local place anyways. wherever you go, you might find it necessary to reserve a ';room';....basically this private room with a large round table that spins on top for your party to eat from.

the most ';local dish'; i could recommend would be breakfast. a lot of people miss out on the Chinese breakfast and go for the duck. Northerners (beijing included) have many ';mianshi'; or flour made foods that they fry into all sorts of sinfully delicious pancakes and calzone type things. but always ask your tour operator first, some places that seem really ';down home'; where lots of locals eat might not be that sanitary and the western immune system can%26#39;t really handle it.

good luck, happy traveling

Gui Jie (Ghost Street) in Beijing

Basically Gui Jie is the street full of restaurants where you can taste diferent sorts of dishes especially from middle part of China or southwest China. In China, in general each province has it%26#39;s own flavor, so Gui Jie is a very nice choice for tasting various dishes of China, but tasting might not be so original cause they have to adapt the local people%26#39;s taste.

Dadong and Quanjude are the most famous Duck restaurants in Beijing. While i recommend you to follow the tour operator,there are some local restaurants are also serve good duck.