The word "Sanlitun" is now among the top-searched words on Weibo after authorities in Beijing raised alert levels in the city onThursday, reportedly in response to a possible terror threat against Westerners in the country's capital.

"Sanlitun" (三里屯) means a street in Beijing where people shop, party, wine and dine, and generally have a good time.

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Authorities in Beijing have issued a city-wide yellow alert, the second lowest among four alert levels.  The alert covers the Christmas weekend, and is, according to Western media reports, focused on the shopping malls of the Sanlitun district.

China's Xinhua news agency says a yellow alert "means 60 percent of the security personnel" in shopping malls and other public areas should carry out security checks on "suspected personnel, materials and vehicles." The news agency did not connect the alert to any particular threat.

China's foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Chinese authorities have been apprised of the reported threat.   

"Relevant Chinese departments have always attached great importance to social security work, and spared no effort in protecting Chinese citizens and foreign institutes and their staff," Hong told the press.

The British, US and French embassies on Thursday sent out warnings that urged heightened vigilance among citizens and staff, particularly when visiting Beijing's upscale Sanlitun district.  The Australian and Irish embassies followed suit shortly after, according to separate reports from Reuters and the Los Angeles Times.

The Los Angeles Times reports that police vehicles and paramilitary security personnel swarmed the Sanlitun district and Wangfujing -- a popular pedestrian shopping street in Beijing -- shortly after the alert was issued.   The police are also said to have established roadblocks in at least one of the city's embassy districts.    

The heavy response has caused a stir in China's social media, making "Sanlitun" among the top-searched words on Weibo, China's version of Twitter, according to the Los Angeles Times.  

China is struggling with its own terrorism problem in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, where violent confrontations between Han Chinese -- who form the majority of the region's population -- and the predominantly Muslim Uighur minorities have become increasingly common in recent years. 

Yang Shu, a counter-terrorism expert at China's Lanzhou University, told the Los Angeles Times that the alert's high profile and focus on Westerners could be a first for Beijing. 

The counter-terrorism expert said that -- except for one incident in central Asia in the 90s-- "no other attacks in China and central Asia have targeted Westerners."

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