Best gym deals

Why pay exorbitant prices to jostle in overcrowded gyms? Time Out discovers four functional gyms you don't have to pay a ransom for

Dongsi Community Sports Centre

This delightfully no-nonsense gym on Chaonei is a Time Out favourite. You pay just 15RMB and get access to an almost always empty gym with equipment that is minimal but of reasonable quality. There are four treadmills, two bikes and one of those bizarre shaky waist belts that supposedly strips away fat.

The weights room hosts two free weight bench presses and a decent selection of dumbbells and bar bells. Then there is a shoulder press, lat pull down, pec machine, bicep machine and leg curl machines.

The room has mirrors everywhere, as well as pictures of Arnold Schwarzenegger circa Mr Universe and various other muscle men and women. There are no lockers, no showers, no water coolers and a tiny changing room. But who cares when you can strut around like Rocky in what feels like your own gym?

15RMB, 20RMB (weekends) per entry 14 Chaoyangmennei Beixiaojie, Chaoyang district (6402 7458). Open8.30am-8.30pm daily. 朝阳区朝阳门内北小街14号.

Jinxiuyuan gym

Given that it’s smack in the middle of expat-ville, just up the road from April Gourmet on Xingfucun, the Jinxiuyuan gym is criminally overlooked.

The gym, in a dingy room, is basic: a few treadmills and bikes as well as machine weights – chest and shoulder presses, pec machine, lat pull down and leg curl, as well as a few light dumbbells. But you’ll often have the place to yourself, and there’s a small TV so you can watch Dashan or Dialogue as you pump iron.

The real joys, though, are the slightly overheated 15-metre pool on the bottom floor and, even better, the rooftop tennis court. The latter, at 50RMB an hour, is one of Beijing’s true hidden gems.

20RMB for one gym session or 150RMB for 15 sessions. 35RMB to swim or 430RMB for 30 swims. Tennis courts 50RMB/hour. First Floor, Building D, Jinxiuyuan apartment complex, Xingfucun Zhong Lu, Chaoyang district (6416 9840). Open 8am-10pm daily. 朝阳区幸福村中路锦绣园D座1层.

Sun City Ouluan Gym

The gym in one of the Sun City basements offers great value but you might find yourself waiting in line for one of the 12 treadmills, some of which don’t work, in the mornings and evenings.

There’s a fairly limited free weights room, with mostly light dumbbells and barbells, and a 25m lap pool, which has lanes but is often busy. Like many Chinese gyms, it’s also got a sauna.

Probably the best bit about the Sun City gym though, is its range of free classes: salsa, belly dancing and spinning classes are just some of those on offer, and although they’re in Chinese, you’ll get the gist of what’s going on.

1,300RMB/year Building 4, Sun City apartment complex, 18 Xinzhongjie, Dongcheng district (8447 2318). Open 9.30am-10pm daily. 东城区新中街18号阳光都市4号楼.

Siweisi gym

The Siweisi gym, on the third floor of a Hepingli apartment complex, is tricky to find but great if you want lots of machines.

In its sleek and spacious cardio room there are about 30 treadmills, cross trainers, bikes and rowing machines. The same goes for the two weight rooms, one with all the free weights you need and another with a good selection of machines, including a chin-up and dip machine and hip machines. You can even take the weights out onto the roof terrace.

Classes include Latin dance, folk dance and yoga. There’s also a grotty but acceptable 25m pool in the basement of another block.

1,490RMB/yearHeping Xincheng apartment complex, South end of Hepingli, Dongcheng district (6448 4423). Open 10am-9pm daily. 东城区和平里南口和平新城小区美廉美超市3层.