April 2011: AE now can be found in all three major locations for Street Fighter in Beijing; Shuangjing (双井), Xidan (西单), and Xizhimen (西直门). Comp in the three arcades is listed from best to worst.
Past Updates:
March 2010: I’m still here. I just updated this a bit to reflect changes in the local arcades and new SF4 locations.
September 2010: More updates, Chinese SF terms included.
February 2011: AE does not appear to currently be in Beijing. The cab that was floating around is elsewhere right now. I will update with more info when I get it.
Hi! I live in Beijing. I’ll be here for the forseeable future. If I move away, I’ll post as such. I bumped into a few SRK’er recently who didn’t think to PM me they were coming since they thought I was gone already. If you’re coming to Beijing, feel free to drop me a PM. I can help show you where to go.
Here’s what I’ve been able to find about about the SF scene in Beijing.
In a nutshell, there is a pretty decent SF4 and 3S scene here. There used to be some ST, but HF is more popular in general; I can’t find a ST cab right now. I’m thinking about asking one of the operators to change one in. We’ll see. No CVS2 either.
Things are a bit odd right now. We’re in Vanilla SF4 and SSF4 Arcade Edition limbo. The scene is a bit split right now.
Below are reviews on some of the arcades I’ve been too. I’ll update it as I find out more.
Shuangjing (双井)
Shuangjing is the second to last stop of subway line 10 (on the east side). It’s located in the top floor of a shopping mall that the subway lets right out into. It’s a pretty awesome arcade in general. Lately the cabinets have not been well maintained. =/
As far as fighting goes, the have:
SF4: 6 total setups (1 pair of Vewlix head to heads, 2 pairs Namco cabs, all linked) (Semitsu/Sanwa sticks, Sanwa buttons)
3S (Versus City head to heads)
Blaz Blue (Vewlix head to heads)
GG Accent Core (Versus City head to heads)
Tekken 6
Melty Blood, Act Cadenza(?)
Some Mech stuff
Plus a shitton of SNK stuff.
The cabs were well maintained. Things kind of went downhill lately I’m afraid. Everything is 2RMB per play as far as I can tell.
It used to be that the main 3S comp was at Xidan, but Xidan doesn’t have 3S anymore. All the 3S players who have passed through say they’re pretty solid.
Shuangjing has the SF4 comp in Beijing. If you want to level up fast, this is the place to go.
They have tournies/ranbats (depending on how many people show up) every 3rd Saturday. It usually gets started around 3pm, so show up a bit early if you want to play.
Otherwise, Friday and Saturday nights and afternoons are the big play times, but there is usually at least a few people around.
Pictures: (These pictures are outdated now. The arcade layout has changed significantly.)
The right row is all fighting, the left is beat em ups and shmups. The fighting is all head to head, and there is another row of shmups on the right.
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k244/guile747/Street Fighter in Beijing/arcade_052.jpg
SF4
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k244/guile747/Street Fighter in Beijing/arcade_051.jpg
Blaze Blue/GG
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k244/guile747/Street Fighter in Beijing/arcade_050.jpg
As far as token redemption goes here–it’s 2rmb per 1 token and games are 1 token per play. But, if you have a membership card (20rmb fee) you get deals. I think it’s 20 free tokens per 100 rmb. But, the more you’ve used your membership card the cheaper it gets, and people share cards. If you can speak some Chinese (ask nicely!), someone can hook you up with a better deal.
Xidan (西单) 77th Ave Market (77街商场)
Xidan is one of the main shopping destinations in Beijing. It’s one stop west of Tiananmen west off of subway line 1. The arcade is in a place called 77th street; the subway lets off into it. If you take the bus to Xidan (690 is a popular route), look for Starbucks. It’s across the street.
Overall, it’s dirtier, more crapped, and hotter than Shuangjing. The newer games are 2rmb per play, but the older stuff is mostly 1rmb, so it can be cheaper. SF4 is now down to 1RMB a play (yay!).
They recently bought a bunch of HD cabs. They have:
- Street Fighter 4: 4 total setups (on “fly high” cabs, unbranded Namco Noir cabs)
- Tekken 6: 4 total setups (fly highs)
- TvC (with a poor button layout)
- Blaz Blue:CS
- KoF 13
All of the above are on HD Wide screen head to head cabs.
Additionally, they have HF on either a blast or astro city and a ton of SNK stuff.
Overall, the SF comp isn’t as good here. If you are new to SF4 this a better place to start than Shuangjing. A handful of good players pass through now and then, but they mostly head to Shuangjing for comp.
On the other hand, the Tekken community seems pretty good here, so if that’s your poison, check out Xidan.
Most of the regular tournaments take place at Shuangjing, but the Xidan arcade periodically hosts tournaments too. The Beijing leg of 2009 SF4 China nationals took place at Xidan.
Pictures: (note: these are a bit out of date. The arcade layout has changed.)
Row of HD Cabs:
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k244/guile747/Street Fighter in Beijing/xidan_arcade_003.jpg
Misc SNK:
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k244/guile747/Street Fighter in Beijing/xidan_arcade_003.jpg
SF2:HF:
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k244/guile747/Street Fighter in Beijing/xidan_arcade_006.jpg
Xizhimen (西直门)
Xizhimen is a major subway stop on the west side of town. Lines 2, 13, and now 4 all intersect here. There is a mall that has an entrance in the subway that has an arcade on the fifth floor. This mall allegedly looks like, to quote Gordak “corn” from the outside, though I can neither confirm nor deny this.
The arcade itself is nice and well maintained. It’s almost entirely unbranded Vewlix cabs, with lots of modern games (including SF4). The closest thing to CvS2 I’ve found in Beijing is here; they have CvS1 tragically hooked up to a HD cab with a SNK button layout.
Although the location is much more convenient for me that the other two, I don’t really go there often. Whenever I’ve passed through there is basically no one here playing. It seems like a much more casual arcade in general, at least for SF and Tekken.
Wangfujing (王府井)
Wangfujing is pretty much the mack daddy shopping area in the center of town. If you’ve every seen those travel channel segments of foreigners eating scorpions, it probably took place here. For the record, they taste sort of like potato chips (scorpions, not foreigners).
Aside from going shopping and eating bugs, there is a game room. Look for the old China town looking alley by the famous chop stick store. If it’s an alley with red lanterns and scorpions for sale, you’re getting close.
Last time I went, the games here are mostly old school. I hear they have SF4 now, but I don’t know what kind of cabs or how good the comp is. I assume it doesn’t get that serious there.
General notes on the Chinese SF community:
Overall, people are really friendly. I’m white, so I stick out like a sore thumb here. If you can speak a bit of Chinese, it’s easy to make friends. It’s a pretty well educated community. The know about a lot of the bigger American players, and periodically Japanese players come through as well. If you’re coming to Beijing to study Chinese, it’s a great way to improve your street Chinese and have fun while you’re at it.
Interestingly, a lot of the old KoF crew switched over the SF4. Their general level of play is pretty high. Be prepared to get creamed if you’re not from a location with a strong local scene. A few LA’ers who passed through last summer compared the level of play to AI, to give you an idea.
If you’re in town, give me a PM. We’ll get some games on.
Chinese Street Fighter Terms
Note: This is all northern dialect terminology. There might well be regional differences in other places.
General Terms
街机 = jiē jī – arcade game (also used for arcade in the north)
电子游戏厅 - diàn zǐ yóu xì tīng - arcade
摇杆= yáo gǎn – joystick/stick
按键= àn jiàn - button
街头霸王 - jiē tóu bà wáng – Street Fighter (full name)
街霸 - jiē bà – Street Fighter (more commonly used)
人物 = rén wù -character (spoken)
角色 = jiǎo sè - character (written)
Character Names
隆 = lóng = Ryu
肯 = kěn = Ken
春丽 = chūn lì - Chunli
瑜伽 - yú jiā – Yoga (Dhalsim)
达尔西姆 = dá ěr xī mǔ - Dhalsim
布兰卡 = bù lán kǎ - Blanka
桑吉尔夫= sāng jí ěr fū - Zangief
古列（烈）= gǔ liè Guile (Guile is also ok)
本田 = běn tián - Honda (相扑 = xiàng pū in spoken Chinese; means Sumo)
拜森 = bài sēn - boxer (balrog/bison)
叉子 = chā zi - claw (vega/balrog)
撒（萨）卡特 = sā kǎ tè = Sagat
警察 = jǐng chá - dictator (bison/vega)
飞龙 = fēi lóng - Feilong
飞鹰 = fēi yīng - T Hawk
嘉米 = jiā mǐ - Cammy
DJ = DJ
豪鬼 = háo guǐ = Akuma/Gouki
凯 = kǎi - Guy
Cody = Cody
小樱 = xiǎo yīng -Sakura
钢(纲)拳 = gāng quán - Goken
阿贝尔 = ā bèi ěr - Abel
厨子 = chú zi - El Fuerte (spoken Chinese) 艾尔 (Also is ok)
朱（蛛）丽 = zhū lì – Juri
达德丽
Basic Gameplay Terms
拳 = quán - punch
腿 = tuǐ - kick
防 = fáng - block/guard (not parry)
站: zhàn - stand
蹲 = dūn - duck/crouch
跳 = tiào - jump 前跳后跳
大跳 = dà tiào - super jump
前前 = qián qián - forward dash
后后 = hòu hòu - back dash
下重腿 = xià chóng tuǐ - Sweep
倒地 = dǎo dì knockdown
起身 = qǐ shēn - wake up/get up
受身 = shòu shēn快速起身 = kuài sù qǐ shēn - quick get up
对空 = duì kōng =anti air
波 = bō = fireball/projectile
连招 = lián zhāo - combo
掉链 = diào liàn - dropped combo
破攻= pò gōng – counter hit = counter
投(技）= tóu - throw
拆投 = chāi tóu throw tech
空投 = kōng tóu - air throw
移动投 = yí dòng tóu - kara throw
挥空 = huī kōng - kara cancel
取消 = qǔ xiāo - cancel
技术 = jì shù – reversal
第一时间 = dì yī shí jiān - reversal
挑衅/个性动作 = tiǎo xìn/ gè xìng dòng zuò - taunt/personal action
破顿防 = pò dùn fang - overhead
普通技 = pǔ tōng jì - normal
特殊技 = tè shū jì - command normal
必杀技 = bì shā jì - special
EX = EX
超必杀技 = chāo bì shā jì – super (SC)
UC = Ultra Combo
压制 = yā zhì - pressure (rush down)
牵制／游斗＝qiān zhì / yóu dǒu turtle / run away
Game Engine Terms
祯数 = zhēn shǔ – frame
有利 = yǒu lì - + frames, frame advantage
不利 = bù lì - negative frames, unsafe
出招 = chū zhāo - start up frames
持续 = chí xù - active frames
收招 = shōu zhāo - recovery frames
受创状态 = shòu chuāng zhuàng tài - hit stun
防御状态 = fáng yù zhuàng tài = block stun
硬直 = yìng zhí - stun/block stun
目押= mù yā - link
零祯目押 = líng zhēn mù yā - 1 frame link
刷键 = shuā jiàn – plink
自动二择 = zì dòng èr zé (more common) = 复合操作 = fù hé cāo zuò - option select