Travel postcard: 48 hours eating and shopping in Beijing

By Ben Blanchard

BEIJING (Reuters Life!) - Got 48 hours to shop and eat in Olympic host city Beijing? Reuters correspondents with local knowledge help visitors make the most of a visit to China's capital.

FRIDAY

5 p.m. - Ease yourself into the chaos that is Beijing with a pre-dinner cocktail at Yin, the rooftop bar of the newly opened boutique Emperor Hotel. Calming views over the Forbidden City as the sun sets, and if the mood grabs there is an open-air jacuzzi. (www.theemperor.com.cn/)

7 p.m. - The glamour continues over dinner at 1949 -- The Hidden City, a complex of restaurants in a one-time factory site close to the main Sanlitun bar district. There is a tiny noodle bar, where you can watch the chefs doing their thing right in front of your seat, a Chinese restaurant and a Western restaurant. Tasty fare in an industrial chic setting. (www.elite-concepts.com/)

9 p.m. - Close by is Q Bar for post-dinner cocktails. Sip frozen lychee daiquiris on the wooden deck out the back. (www.qbarbeijing.com/en/)

SATURDAY

9 a.m. - Start your day with good coffee and fluffy eggs at Vineyard, a tranquil courtyard-cum-cafe in a hutong, or alley, near the splendid Lama Temple (Yong He Gong). The eggs Benedict are excellent, and the vegetarian options also come recommended. (www.vineyardcafe.cn)

10 a.m. - Flex those bargaining muscles and dive into the Silk Market, one of Beijing's most popular tourist attractions, for everything from knock-off designer clothes to pearls. There has been a crack-down on pirated goods of late, and if you do get tempted to partake, be aware you could be fined taking the stuff back into your home country.

11 a.m. - Head to The Village in Sanlitun, where the largest Adidas shop in the world, China's first Apple store and a host of other brand names gather here for your shopping pleasure. Lots of good restaurants are planned, so watch this space. (www.thevillage.com.cn).

1 p.m. - Late lunch at Brazilian new-wave favorite Alameda, hidden in an unremarkable lane off Sanlitun's central bar street. It doesn't really matter what you order, as it's pretty much all good. (6417-8084)

2:30 p.m. - Conveniently located next to Alameda is the cute Nali Mall. Small, but perfect, having a collection of unique hole-in-the-wall stores like Qiancaohua, with its floral belts and colorful cube cushions.

4 p.m. - No trip to Beijing is complete without going down the traditional hutongs that were once the city's signature. And no trip to Beijing is complete these days without picking up a T-shirt at Plastered, down the ultra-fashionable Nanluo Guxiang. The designs are a homage to Beijing's retro-past, mixed with a cheeky take on its present and future. (www.plasteredtshirts.com/)

5 p.m. - For a post-shopping pick-me-up, head to Face Bar which has recently expanded to Beijing from equally swish locations in Shanghai, Bangkok and Jakarta. Located in an old, Communist-era school, this bar is setting new standards in the city's drinking scene. The Cosmopolitans slip down very nicely. (www.facebars.com/)

7 p.m. - Eat at Han Cang, universally known as "the Hakka". Food from the southern Chinese Hakka minority is not well known outside of China, but it is delicious. Have the giant prawns steamed in a wooden bucket of unrefined sea salt. (6404-2259)

9 p.m. - Drinks at Bed Bar, in the hutongs north of the now touristy Houhai area. Hard to find, but relaxing and chilled out. Perch yourself on a traditional Chinese bed and admire the city's trendy young float by sipping mojitos. (8400-1554)