Donghuamennight marketis located nearWangfujingand is most popular with tourists. It is known for offering some items that you won't find elsewhere and they are definitely exotic and sometimes tough to even order. It’s not particularly representative of Beijing’s street food culture, but it’s worth checking out at least once.

Getting to Donghuamen night market is easy. From Wangfujing Street, which you can get there by subway line 1, walk north and roughly midway through the pedestrian street, turn left where you’ll see a busy snack street at night. This night market has shops and stalls, but is especially noteworthy for its selection of snacks.

The food here is definitely catered toward tourists for it offers exotic scorpions, grasshoppers, cicadas, starfish, and others grilled on sticks. In addition, you can find all kinds of skewers like lamb, chicken, and beef as well as fried foods like dumplings, squid, pancakes, dumplings, and etc. There are also sweets and desserts like Old Beijing yogurt, fruits, and glazed fruit skewers. Because this snack street is geared toward tourists, expect inflated prices.

Some tips for this night market include knowing that this night market is not particularly authentic, because Beijing is not a city traditionally known for having a strong night market culture like in Taipei, Taiwan. So, don’t expect to fill your stomach on cheap foods here as the selection includes traditional staple foods you can find elsewhere in the city. Visit this place for its exotic offerings like skewered scorpions that are more of a thrilling experience than anything else. Definitely do come here to check it out though because it’s still a very unique place that stays open late and is in the heart of Wangfujing. Here, you will also be able to shop for small gifts and practice your bargaining skills.

Donghuamen night market is a unique place to check out that is unlike the rest of Beijing. As someone new to Beijing, it is worth checking out at least once for its exotic offerings.