Wudaokou literally in Chinese the fifth level crossing of the Jingbao Railway

Jingbao railway

The Beijing-Baotou Railway or Jingbao Railway is a 833 km railway from Beijing to Baotou, Inner Mongolia in China. It is a very important route in northwestern China....

, is a neighborhood in the Haidian District of North West Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

. It is around 10 km from the center of Beijing, between the fourth and fifth ring roads, and has good public transport links including a station on Line 13 (the CityRail line) of the Beijing Subway

Beijing Subway

The Beijing Subway is a rapid transit rail network that serves the urban and suburban districts of Beijing municipality. It is owned by the city of Beijing and has two operators, the wholly state owned Beijing Mass Transit Railway Operation Corp., which operates 12 lines, and the Beijing MTR...

. It became a commercial center in Haidian during the 1950s following the establishment of schools. Until as recently as 2001 the area consisted mainly of Hutong

Hutong

Hutongs are a type of narrow streets or alleys, most commonly associated with Beijing, China.In Beijing, hutongs are alleys formed by lines of siheyuan, traditional courtyard residences. Many neighbourhoods were formed by joining one siheyuan to another to form a hutong, and then joining one...

 neighborhoods and late 1960s apartment blocks, but major development has erased many of these old structures, replacing them with luxury apartments and science parks.

Wudaokou is close to a large number of universities and research institutes, including Forestry University, Beijing Language and Culture University

Beijing Language and Culture University

Beijing Language and Culture University , colloquially known in Chinese as Beiyu , has the main aim of teaching the Chinese language and culture to foreign students. However, it also takes Chinese students specializing in foreign languages and other relevant subjects of humanities and social...

, Peking University

Peking University

Peking University , colloquially known in Chinese as Beida , is a major research university located in Beijing, China, and a member of the C9 League. It is the first established modern national university of China. It was founded as Imperial University of Peking in 1898 as a replacement of the...

, Tsinghua University

Tsinghua University

Tsinghua University , colloquially known in Chinese as Qinghua, is a university in Beijing, China. The school is one of the nine universities of the C9 League. It was established in 1911 under the name "Tsinghua Xuetang" or "Tsinghua College" and was renamed the "Tsinghua School" one year later...

, University of Science and Technology Beijing

University of Science and Technology Beijing

The University of Science and Technology Beijing , formerly known as Beijing Steel and Iron Institute before 1988, is a national key university in Beijing, China. USTB's metallurgy and materials science programmes is highly regarded in China.-History:The university was founded in 1952 from the...

, and China University of Geosciences

China University of Geosciences

The China University of Geosciences is a key national university directly under the administration of the Education Ministry of the People's Republic of China...

, and as such has a large student

Student

A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...

 population.

Wudaokou is also known for its large number of international students. Wudaokou's popularity as an international student

International student

According to Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development , international students are those who travel to a country different from their own for the purpose of tertiary study. Despite that, the definition of international students varies in each country in accordance to their own national...

 area is reflected in its large number of bars

Bar (establishment)

A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...

 and nightclub

Nightclub

A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...

s (including Bar Loco, Pyro, Lush and Propaganda), which generally offer cheaper prices than many similar clubs in more central areas, such as Sanlitun

Sanlitun

Sanlitun is an area of the Chaoyang District, Beijing containing many popular bar streets and international stores.The area has been under almost constant regeneration since the late 20th century as part of a city-wide project of economic regrowth...

.

While centrally located along Beijing's Line 13 Subway, the 2-lane in each direction Chengfu Lu (Chengfu Road), which runs east-west under the light-rail subway line, suffers from severe traffic congestion problems regardless of rush hour primarily because of heavy foot traffic due to subway users as well as other pedestrians looking to go from the west side of Wudaokou to the east side. Also, railway tracks parallel to and less than 30 meters away from the subway tracks cross Chengfu Lu. The railway tracks limit ways of getting from one side of Wudaokou to the other.