02_344255 ch01.qxp 4/23/08 9:12 PM Page 2 2 Beijing: 20 Favorite Moments YonghegongY Dajie AndingmenneiA Dajie o 5 n 2 3 4 n 6 g JiugulouJ Dajie d i h u i XihaiXihai L.L. n GULOUGULOU e 1 g g g u G m o u l o lo e n u u n g X D n i HouhaiHouhai e D a a i j j i JIAODAOKOUJIAODAOKO U i D XINJIEKOUXINJIEKOU LakeLake e e D 7 a a DeshengmenneiD Dajie j j i i e e e XinjekouX Nan Dajie s 8 GulouGulou DongdajieDongdajie JiaodaokouJiaodaokou i h n Hou e j h e ai n Na k nya Favorite Moments Favorite g n o m u e N 9 n a n n e QianhaiQianhai D i FuxueFuxue HutongHutong D a LakeLake j a i e j i e Di’anmenDi’anmen XXii DDajieajie Di’anmenDi’anmen DDongong DDajieajie ZhangziZhangzi ZhongZhong LuLu BeiheiBeihei DongsiD Bei Dajie o Beijing: 20 PING’ANLIPING’ANLI DI’ANMENDI’ANMEN ParkPark n g s i XICHENGXICHENG B BeihaiBeihai e XishikuX Dajie i i DONGCHENGDONGCHENG D s LakeLake h a i j k i e u D JingshanJingshan a ParkPark XISIXISI j i e DongsiDongsi XidajieXidajie JingshanJingshan QianQian JieJie Xi’anmen DongsiD Nan Dajie Dajie BeiB Heyan Dajie o XisiX Nan Dajie BeiB Chang Jie e n i e i BeiB Chizi Dajie s g H i i e C s N e WangfujingW Dajie i i h y C a N a a FORBIDDENFORBIDDEN a n h n a n n i g D z n g CITYCITY D i f a u D J D a j i j i e 11 a j a i e ZhonghaiZhonghai i 10 n e j j i i g e LakeLake e D a j i 1 e The Summer Palace 13 (Yihe Yuan) 12 2 Global Village (Diqiucan) ZhongshanZhongshan ParkPark 3 The Great Wall 14 4 Commune at the Great Wall 5 Lama Temple (Yonghegong) DongDong Chang’anChang’an JJieie 6 The Hub of the TIAN’ANMENTIAN’ANMEN SQUARESQUARE 798 Dashanzi Art District MasterCard 7 Houhai Lake 15 8 Drum Tower (Gu Lou) 9 Hutongs QianmenQianmen DongDong DajieDajie 16 C 10 h Forbidden City (Gu Gong) o n g QianmenQ Dajie 11 QinianQ Dajie Loving Life Massage Center w i a i n e n i n (Lesheng Mangren Baojian m a m n e e D Anmo Zhongxin) n n a D 17 w j i a 12 e a Wangfujing a j i i i e D e D 13 kou Dong Daji a Ritan Office Building ushi a j Zh j i (Ritan Shangwu Lou) e 14 Tian’anmen ZHUSHIKOUZHUSHIKOU CHONGWENCHONGWEN Enjoy the privilege with Enjoy (Gate of Heavenly Peace) TiantanTiantan LuLu 15COPYRIGHTEDChairman Mao Memorial Hall MATERIAL19 (Mao Zhuxi Jinnian Tang) 16 TempleTemple ofof HeavenHeaven PParkark Laoshe Teahouse BeiBei WeiWei LLuu 17 Liulichang 20 18 Panjiayuan NanNan WeiWei LLuu 19 Qian Dian (Hall of Prayer 18 for Good Harvests) 0 1 mi 20 Temple of Heaven (Tiantan Gongyuan) 0 1 km 02_344255 ch01.qxp 4/23/08 9:12 PM Page 3 3 Beijing: 20 eijing is a city of contrasts, rushing boldly into the future. BModern skyscrapers spring up in neighborhoods of traditional Y A o n courtyard homes. Fancy fusion restaurants open up next to friendly n g J d i h u i Xihai L. n GULOU e g street-side food stalls. Rolls-Royces speed past bicycles. Below are g g u G m o l u Moments Favorite o lo e n u some of our favorite moments in this dynamic city. Savor them, and u n g X D n i Houhai e D a a i j you’ll come to love Beijing as we have. j i JIAODAOKO U i D XINJIEKOU Lake e e D a a D j j i i e e e X s Gulou Dongdajie Jiaodaokou i h n Hou e j h e ai n Na k nya 1 The Summer Palace (Yihe g n o m u e N Yuan). This expanse of elaborate n a n n e Qianhai Qing-style pavilions, bridges, walk- D i Fuxue Hutong D a Lake j a i ways, and gardens is the grandest e j i e Di’anmen Xi Dajie Di’anmen Dong Dajie Zhangzi Zhong Lu imperial playground in China. It’s Beihei D located 12km (7 miles) northwest of PING’ANLI DI’ANMEN o Park n g the city center in Haidian. s i XICHENG B Beihai e X i i DONGCHENG 2 Global Village (Diqiucan). Drop D s Lake h a i j k i e in for 1- and 2-hour Chinese listen- u D Jingshan a Park ing, speaking, and reading classes XISI j i e Dongsi Xidajie daily, for all levels, from beginning to Jingshan Qian Jie Xi’anmen D Dajie B o X B e advanced (35 Chengfu Lu, northwest n i e i B s g H i i e C s y N e W of metro stop; 010/6253-7737). i i h y C a N a a FORBIDDEN a The Forbidden City. n h n a n n i g D z n g CITY D i f a 3 The Great Wall. This ancient u D J D a j i j i e a j a i e Zhonghai i n e j j i i g landmark meanders to dizzying y e Photo Gallery ( 010/6438-1784) Lake e D a heights in places. One of the more and the Bauhaus-style 798 Space j i e peaceful sections is Juyongguan, a (y 010/6438-4862). recently restored section only an 7 Houhai Lake. Rent a boat and the privilege with Enjoy Zhongshan Park hour from Beijing. Badaling is one glide past the city’s quaintest of the more dramatic sections of the (though touristy) areas. The banks Great Wall, but the number of visi- Dong Chang’an Jie are overflowing with cafes, bars, tors can be daunting. The bus trip TIAN’ANMEN and the odd curio shop, but back SQUARE from Beijing takes an hour. alleys are still ripe for exploration. 4 Commune at the Great Wall. 8 Drum Tower (Gu Lou). The upper The Commune assembles the work Qianmen Dong Dajie chamber has replicas of traditional C h of 12 established architects who o drums, which are showcased several n g Q were given tracts of land near the Q w i a i times an hour. Fly a kite with the locals MasterCard n e n wall to build their dream homes. An i n m a m n in the nearby square, in the heart of e e D n hour’s drive from Beijing. n a D w Beijing’s old courtyard district. j i a e a j i i e e D 5 Lama Temple (Yonghegong). kou Dong Daji ushi a 9 Hutongs. Bike or take a pedicab Zh j i e Offer up your prayers as you sit with through the back alleys of Beijing. The the monks in one of Beijing’s most ZHUSHIKOU CHONGWEN best preserved can be found around Tiantan Lu colorful temples. Don’t miss the the alley of Nan Luogu Xiang. There’s 18m (59-ft.) statue of Maitreya (the also a memorable bike ride along future Buddha) carved from a single Temple of Heaven Park the lakes. Rentals are available at Lu piece of white sandalwood. Bei Wei Cycle China, 12 Jingshan Dong Lu 6 The Hub of the 798 Dashanzi (y 010/6402-5653). For guided Nan Wei Lu Art District (798 Dashanzi Yishu trips, contact the Beijing Hutong Qu Zhongxin). Local artists set up Tourist Agency (y 010/8067-2471). the area’s first studios and galleries 0 Forbidden City (Gu Gong). This here in 2001. Take a look at 798 720,000sq.-m (7.75-million-sq.-ft.) 02_344255 ch01.qxp 4/23/08 9:12 PM Page 4 4 palace, on the north side of Tia’an- men Square, is a complex of red- walled buildings and pavilions, topped by a sea of glazed vermilion tiles. It is the largest and most intricate imperial palace in China. ! Loving Life Massage Center (Lesheng Mangren Baojian Anmo Zhongxin). Indulge in affordable Favorite Moments Favorite full-body and foot massages on the second floor of the Donghua Hotel (32 Dengshikou Xi Jie, y 010/6525- 7531, ext. 3201). Beijing: 20 @ Wangfujing. This area has the best pedestrian-friendly mix of his- Practicing tai chi at the Temple of toric sites, museums, kitchy Chinese Heaven. shops, and outposts of Western consumerism, from Nike to Tiffany. slick makeover, but still offers the Gongmei Dasha (200 Wangfujing same traditional tea and snacks, Dajie) is a jade store that sells the plus afternoon musical perform- real thing. Small Eats Street ances with traditional Chinese (Wangfujing Xiaochi Jie) is home to instruments. (Building 3, Zhengyang our favorite street food. The lamb Shichang Qianmen Xi Dajie). skewers are yummy. & Liulichang. Named for a factory # Ritan Office Building (Ritan that once churned out glazed roof Shangwu Lou). We always find tile, this is a charming labyrinth of great bargains in this collection of alleys brimming with life—still much some 70 humble shops, where Marc as it was at the turn of the century. Jacobs jackets and Diane von Look for Rongbao Zhai (Liulichang Furstenburg dresses cram the racks Xi Jie), one of the most renowned (15A Guanghua Lu).