View source for Wudaokou

{{Short description|Neighborhood in Beijing}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2014}}

{{infobox Chinese
  | s         = 五道口
  | t         = 五道口
  | p         = Wǔdàokǒu
  | w         = 
  | mi        = 
  | j         = 
  | y         = 
  | ci        = 
  | order = st
}}

[[File:Wudaokou.jpg|right|240px|thumbnail|The popular student hangout, Wudaokou, in northwestern Beijing at night]]
[[File:20060416104513 - 北京地铁13号线五道口站.jpg|right|240px|thumbnail|The (former) [[railway crossing]] under the Wudaokou subway station, click for animation]]
[[File:DF4C 4260 at Wudaokou (20161031111943).jpg|thumb|right|240px|A train ready to pass Wudaokou on the last day of operation for the surface level railway line]]

'''Wudaokou''' ({{zh|s=五道口|p=}}), whose name is a literal reference to the fifth level crossing of the [[Jingbao Railway]], is a neighborhood in the [[Haidian District]] of North West [[Beijing]], famous for its close distances to universities including [[Tsinghua University]] and [[Peking University]]. 

It is around {{convert|10|km|abbr=on}} from the center of Beijing, between the [[4th Ring Road (Beijing)|Fourth]] and [[5th Ring Road (Beijing)|Fifth]] [[ring roads]], and has good public transport links including [[Wudaokou station|a station]] on [[Line 13 (Beijing Subway)|Line&nbsp;13]] of the [[Beijing Subway]]. 

It became a commercial center in Haidian during the 1950s following the establishment of several universities. The high price of real estate in this area has led to it being dubbed the "[[List of places referred to as the Center of the Universe|Center of the Universe]] (宇宙中心)."<ref>{{cite web |author = Chen Junhong (陈俊宏) |url = http://money.163.com/special/wudaokou4_davos2013summer/ |title = 五道口之宇宙中心 |website = NetEase }}</ref> 

Until as recently as 2001 the area consisted mainly of [[Hutong]] neighborhoods and late 1960s apartment blocks, but major development has erased many of these old structures, replacing them with luxury apartments and technology parks. Some may also refer to Wudaokou as [[Koreatown]], for the large number of Koreans in the area.

==Location==
Wudaokou is close to a large number of universities and research institutes, including [[Tsinghua University]], [[Beijing Language and Culture University]], [[Beihang University]], [[Peking University]], [[China University of Geosciences (Beijing)|China University of Geosciences]], [[University of Science and Technology Beijing]], and [[Beijing Forestry University]], and as such has a large [[student]] population. [[Google China]] used to have an office here.

Wudaokou is also known for its large number of international students. Wudaokou's popularity as an [[international student]] area is reflected in its large number of [[bar (establishment)|bars]] and [[nightclub]]s (including Wu Club, Global Club, Sugar Shack, Lush, Sensation and Propaganda), which generally offer cheaper prices than many similar clubs in more central areas, such as [[Sanlitun]]. The Wudaokou area is also notable for its large number of Koreans, with many signs in Korean advertising businesses, restaurants and bars located within its vicinity.  Korean students make up the largest foreign student population.

While centrally located along Beijing's [[Line 13 (Beijing Subway)|Line 13]] subway, the 2-lane in each direction Chengfu Lu (Chengfu Road), which runs east–west under an elevated rapid transit line, suffers from severe traffic congestion problems regardless of rush hour primarily because of heavy foot traffic due to subway users, and because it is the only route connecting the Eastern and Western sides of Wudaokou across the railway corridor. Congestion has improved since the under-grounding of the heavy rail line as part of the [[Beijing–Zhangjiakou intercity railway]] project, which eliminated the level crossing from which Wudaokou draws its name.

== Korean population ==
{{See also|Koreans in Beijing}}

Prior to the 2000s the Wudaokou area was the most popular area for South Koreans.<ref name="KimHyejinPT146">Kim, Hyejin ({{ISBN|0230308937}}, {{ISBN|9780230308930}}), [https://books.google.com/books?id=af1cAQAAQBAJ&dq=Koreans+Wudaokou&pg=PT146 p.146] on [[Google Books]]. "Since the announcement of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, South Koreans have eagerly begun to buy newly built apartments."</ref> It was the oldest of the major Korean settlements. Beginning in the early 1990s South Korean students who were [[Chinese as a foreign language|studying Chinese]] for one to two year periods so they could enter Chinese universities began congregating in Wudaokou.<ref name=KimHyejinPT145>Kim, Hyejin ({{ISBN|0230308937}}, {{ISBN|9780230308930}}), [https://books.google.com/books?id=af1cAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT145 p. 145] on [[Google Books]]. "These groups can be seen in Korea towns in Beijing. Beijing has four Korean concentrated districtS: Wudaokou, Wangjing, Yansha, and Yayuncun.[...]"</ref> The growth of [[Wangjing Subdistrict|Wangjing]] in [[Chaoyang District, Beijing|Chaoyang District]] had weakened Wudaokou as a Korean area.<ref name=KimHyejinPT146/>

== See also ==
* [[List of places referred to as the Center of the Universe]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Wudaokou}}
* [[Geographic coordinates]]: {{coord|39|59|29.50|N|116|19|50.69|E|region:CN_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

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{{Haidian District}}
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[[Category:Neighbourhoods of Beijing]]
[[Category:Level crossings]]
[[Category:Geography of Haidian District]]