Beijing travel guide

Walking down the street of Chaowai Shichang feels like travelling through space. Cyrillic script, bleached Caucasians women in way too tight clothes and Russian words, even the Chinese vendors speak to you in Russian. You have entered the area of the Russian markets. Since the time of communism, the people of the red states could only visit each other, so in every red capital (Beijing, Phnom Penh, Hanoi,...) so-called Russian markets sprung up to cater for the Russian tourists. Today, the Beijing version has expanded to more than just a market, it is now a collection of malls filled with what Russians apparently want. Anything made of fur, with high heels, or that makes you look like a call girl can be found here. The shops are strangely hidden by curtains and posters of skimpily dressed Russian models, so window browsing is obviously not a big thing for the Russian customers. Go there for the weird factor.

The Summer Palace is a huge palace park with a man-made lake and hill. It was built in 1750 during the Qing Dynasty and extended over several centuries and served as playground for Empress Dowager Cixi who fixed up the place with the navy's money, wasting silver on extravagant things like the marble boat you can see today. The park is traversed by walking trails that are sprinkled with pavilions, temples, halls and bridges which Chinese garden design are so famous for.
Keep in mind that the Summer Palace is a prime sight for local Chinese tourists and draws millions of visitors every year, so be prepared for Chinese tour groups led by guides with flag and loudspeaker hanging around their necks.

The Temple of Heaven was originally built in 1420 and used by the emperor (Son of Heaven) once a year to pray for good harvest and favourable rain. It was designed, and redesigned, by all the heavenly rules any human being could think of: Feng shui, symbolism, geometry, numerology... you name it. Nothing was allowed to go wrong when the nation's livelihood depended on it. The temple complex consists of several parts: the Round Alter, the Echo Hall, some smaller halls and then of course the jewel of them all, the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. The temple complex lies in a huge tranquil park with shady trees and benches, which the tour groups thankfully disregard.

Tiananmen Square, or Heavenly Peace Square, is that grand square in front of the Forbidden City. After Mao extended the square in the 1950s, it became the largest city square in the world, a title it still holds. It was used for grand military parades that would make any Cold War general proud and is able to hold over 500,000 people. It is enclosed on all sides by important buildings like the National Museum of China, the Great Hall of the People, the Tiananmen Gate (the entrance leading to the Forbidden City) and the Qianmen Gate (front gate) to the south. In 1976, when Chairman Mao died, his mausoleum was built in the middle of the square, adding another architectonic style to the long list that characterises the square.
Tiananmen Square is probably still mostly known for the 'incident' that happened in 1989 when students, protesters and a guy with shopping bags (later named tank man) demonstrated for political reforms.

Under the broad boulevards of Beijing exists a system of tunnels that Chairman Mao ordered to be dug out in the late 1970's in the event of a Russian attack. The whole system should be longer than the Chinese wall (5000 km) and some parts wide enough for the Chairman's limo. It seems that these tunnels are long forgotten by the Chinese themselves, and rumours are that Chinese tourists are not even allowed in them. More the reason to visit them, if not for the history then just for the absurdity of them.

If you are looking for a local fashion shopping experience head to Xidan (forget about touristy Wangfujing). Here the young and hip of Beijing shop in western brand stores with prices higher than at home. In the markets you can find good deals according to local prices - but this is still China, so bargaining is still necessary. Even if you are not planning to go nuts and replace all your clothes with Chinese street fashion, it is still a fun place to wander around, just for people watching.

It might seem as a wonder that Yashow Market still exists for the majority of the stuff sold here are counterfeit goods - but hey, this is China. The basement is stuffed with fake shoes and bags, while the next three floors are fake clothes with non-textile stuff ('pearls', souvenirs, toys, electronics, etc.) on the top floor. You have to examine the products very hard for there are big differences in quality and it is rarely very good - yes, some stuff falls apart almost instantly. The sellers are famous for their outrageous first price and you need to bargain ruthlessly, but with money spending tourists flooding in all the time it can be hard to negotiate the price down to something reasonable - like a fifth/tenth of a fraction of the starting price.