McCrohan Daniel - Beijing City Guide

Welcome to Beijing

As the capital of the country set to dominate the 21st century, Beijing is a city intoxicated by the spirit of change.

Food is an obsession for the Chinese and the dazzling array of different dishes youll encounter in Beijing reflects the sheer joy locals take in eating. Dining out is the main social activity; its in restaurants that Beijingers hang out with friends, romance each other, hold family reunions and do business. Youll swiftly succumb to the delights of eating Beijing-style. Apart from whats on the local menu succulent Peking duck, delicious dumplings, awesome hotpot theres food from every corner of China in the capital. Whether you want to sample fiery Sichuan dishes, the Central Asianinspired Uighur cuisine or the delicate flavours of the southwest, theres a restaurant serving it here.

No other city in China can match the extraordinary historical panorama on display in Beijing. At its heart is the magnificent Forbidden City, a royal palace on a scale that beggars belief. Beijing is also home to sublime temples that aspire to cosmological perfection, while the city centre is crisscrossed by the enchanting hutong, ancient alleyways that teem with life, as they did hundreds of years ago. As if thats not enough, the majestic Great Wall snakes its way across the hills north of town.

The locals think they live at the centre of the world, and the jaw-dropping structures that line their streets are a very visible sign that Beijing is not shy about proclaiming its status as Chinas capital. Some of the worlds most innovative modern buildings have sprung up here over the last few years, as leading architects vie for the chance to make their mark on the new global powerhouse. Like the temples and palaces of the ancient past, and the vast and imposing socialist realist monuments of the 1950s, the latest additions are built on a scale that screams look at me.

Beijing isnt just the political capital of China its the cultural heart of the country too. The nations top artists, writers, movie-makers and musicians converge here, making this the place to take the pulse of Chinas rapidly evolving cultural scene. With fine museums and galleries galore, as well as an increasing number of music venues, theres enough to keep you busy day and night. Beijing is also the centre for the traditional Chinese performing arts. Whether its the mystique of Peking opera, tumbling acrobats or the graceful lines of Chinese classical dance that entrance you, the capital has it and more.

TAO IMAGES LIMITED / GETTY IMAGES
Nanluogu Xiang ()

Why I Love Beijing

By Daniel McCrohan, Author

I love the food, the overabundance of restaurants, the lack of table manners and the cheap beer. I love eating outside in summer, then huddling around a hotpot in winter. I love drinking freshly ground Italian coffee in a Qing-dynasty courtyard. And I love the fact that I can cycle everywhere, even to the Great Wall! But most of all, I love the hutong their mishmash architecture, their fengshui design, their chess-playing elderly residents and their peaceful, village-in-a-city vibe. Beijing has many remarkable qualities, but its the hutong that make this exceptional city so utterly loveable.

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Beijings Top 13

The Great Wall ( )

Not only is this Chinas most famous landmark, its one of the superlative manmade sights on earth. The Great Wall snakes its way across northern China for almost 9000km, but nowhere beats Beijing as a base for mounting your assault. Scattered throughout the municipality are more than a dozen fragmented stretches, from the perfectly chiselled to the charmingly dilapidated. You can get to them by bus, by train, by taxi...even by bike. And the adventurous can hike along it for days. The question isnt whether to see the Great Wall; its how.

The Great Wall

THE JINSHANLNG () SECTION OF THE GREAT WALL
KEREN SU / GETTY IMAGES

The Forbidden City ()

The largest palace complex in the world, the Forbidden City is the be-all and end-all of dynastic grandeur, with imposing halls, splendid gates and age-old relics. No other place in Beijing teems with so much history, legend and imperial intrigue. You could spend hours wandering its vast squares and high-walled passageways, which lead to delightful courtyards, gardens and minimuseums, and give you plenty of time to contemplate the enormity of shuffling your way around the place that 24 consecutive emperors of China called home.

Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central

LUIS CASTANEDA INC. / GETTY IMAGES

Tiananmen Square ( )

The worlds largest public square is a vast desert of paving stones at the heart of Beijing. The stringent security can be off-putting, but such is its iconic status, few visitors leave Beijing without coming here. Crowds gather, children stamp around, and tourists huddle together for the obligatory photo opportunity with the great helmsmans portrait. Get up early and watch the dawn flag- raising ceremony, or wander by later on to see the surrounding buildings lit up at night.