Beijing Travel Guide

A beautiful marriage between modern and traditional

Beijing is more than a city - it's a timeline.

The Chinese are always looking to the future, while still living their past. Modern shopping blocks pop up seemingly overnight, creating massive glass tower clusters while a mere two feet away, an elder wearing a straw hat rides his communist-era bicycle home to a decaying hutong hundreds of years old.

The Chinese have constructed some of the world's finest - everything from paper to their world-famous food - yet they're quick to rip down the past and rebuild. If the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace and the Great Wall didn't draw masses of tourists each year, they might only exist today in folklore.

• Xichang'an Street - With sidewalks as wide as roads, you hardly notice the mass of people. Set out early in the morning and walk up the city's main street. You'll soon arrive at Tiananmen Square, the place of the 1989 massacre of students during a rally for democracy. At 5:30 a.m., you can watch the ceremonious raising of the flag. Directly across from the square stands the gated fortress, the Forbidden City, one of China's most prized cultural relics. Chairman Mao declared the People's Republic of China in 1949 in this very spot, and his overblown portrait still hangs over the middle entrance. Regardless of how the Chinese view their recent history under Mao, there's never a shortage of Chinese tourists getting their picture taken under the beaming smile of China's most controversial leader.
• Jingshan Gongyuan - This park was built for an emperor in the 17th century as a retreat from the Forbidden City. As you enter Jingshan Gongyuan, you're likely to come across a troop of women practicing traditional fan dances or a group of men performing martial arts, and scattered amongst the temples, pagodas and odd rock statues, you can spot others meditating. Climb the steep steps to the main pagoda for the best views of the Forbidden City, as well as the whole of the sprawling city of Beijing.
• Summer Palace - Just north of the city, the Summer Palace, filled with mountain retreats, lakes and walkways, makes another must-see. Both park and art gallery, fine examples of art and architecture scatter the premises. Stretching a distance of 2296 feet (700 m), the Long Corridor rivals any painting hanging in a gallery. Each beam depicts a different hand-painted Chinese scene. Hundreds, if not thousands, of these tiny scenes cover the walkway, and you'll often collide with other people walking with their heads up to admire the artworks.