the staff here went above and beyond. very good value for money. we stayed out of season so it was very quiet but i could imagine in the peak of summer it being very vibrant. the staff will give u good advise on where to eat and where to go.

also they have a really big breakfast menu, which is hard to find in China.

The staff here was very helpful and totally honest which was refreshing. My wife twisted her ankle and someone even went with us to the pharmacy to help us get a bandage. The restaurant food was quite good and the location cannot be beat. Free Wifi was accessible in the room.

The hostel is a couple blocks south of where the cheaper tour buses head out to the Great Wall -- or you can pay more and book through the hostel for a smaller group. The nearest metro stop is a couple blocks away. And there is a new shopping district about to come alive any week now a block east of the hostel.

We stayed in both twin with shared bathroom and a double with attached bathroom. The shared bathroom left a lot to be desired, I wouldn't book a shared room here. But the double rooms were more recently renovated and much more comfortable.

We will be checking out of this hostel tomorrow and because I am a big fan of Tripadvisor, I decided to write a quick review.

We came to Beijing for a quick weekend and chose a hostel based on a central location. The Qiangmen fitted the bill nicely.
As others have already described, the location is perfect - walking distance to metro station, Tianmen Square, and the Forbidden City. Easily doable.

We had a double room on the groundfloor. The room was sparse but functional and clean. Towels were provided, we had our own soap. Shower & toilet partitions are indeed partly frosted - may or may not be a big deal for you, for us it wasn't an issue.

The front desk staff indeed speak English (I am always so relieved to see that in China!) and are helpful. They do have tours on offer via another agent, but we chose to do our own thing by going to the Tourism Bus Station at the near corner of Tianmen Square, who have a number of bus routes for popular destinations (only drawback might be a Chinese-only guide).

Overall recommendable - and despite the freezing weather we just had, we even managed to stay warm in the room!

The beds shudder as you're sleeping, saw a mouse on the floor, very smoky in all lounge rooms for non-smokers, staff give VERY over-priced tourist information. There are better hostels in the hutong lane to the left of this hostel, next left when heading down meishijie. Would not stay here ever again!