Wangfujing is Beijing's symbol of wealth: along its two sides are fashion studios, high-end electronic gadgets shops, cafes, jewelry stores. Everyday more people come to spend their money with a seemingly unabated enthusiasm.

Nike, Adidas, Tissot, LV, Gucci, everything that you can find back home but at lower prices.

Wangfujing isn't a mere shopping venue. It is a symbol of dynamic and prosperous Beijing as fans of the Olympics gather below a huge high-tech screen to witness probably the proudest moment in China's modern history.

Out for a snack in Wangfujing where it is said the Chinese will eat anything. Welcome to the Wangfujing Food Street!

Hutong Tour: time for the rickshaw to take you through the often narrow and zigzagging hutong alleyways

Hutongs - the latest hit among first-time foreign visitors in Beijing. As the capital moves on to modernize, hutongs are becoming rarer. The narrow, zigzagging, paths are not only the classic place of interest, but also the relics of ancient life style.

The hutong I visited this time is around Gulou, or drum tower. In the tour, I get to know more about Si He Yuan, and come across many artifact shops in the area.

As the narrow and zigzagging paths may really get you confused, you could call bicycle rickshaw ride to avoid being lost. The price for a ride around the hutongs is around RMB 80. 

Si He Yuan (Courtyard Surrounded on Four Sides) is the typical building structure within hutongs. Four houses consisting a rectangular shape with a courtyard in the middle is the typical of Si He Yuan. In ancient time, the house on the north is the main house, where the patriarch and the immediate family live. The extended family reside at the east and west houses. Servants live at house at the south end.

As I strolled along the Gulou street, I also saw many interesting cafes, restaurants, and shops. Zaoyuan Artifact Shop, for example, carries an amazing selection of ceramics, paintings, and classic furniture, while Han Gu Xuan offers calligraphic works on the spot. It also holds some antique vases that date back to Qing Dynasty. The owner himself is a famous calligrapher. Tips: before you reach out to your pocket, make sure to bargain really hard!!!

Panjiayuan Antique Market: a Chinese painting shop

Panjiayuan Antique Market is China's largest collection of treasures. Here you will find calligraphy, paintings, jade works, bronze wares, porcelain, furniture, antiquarian books, folk jewelry, and other old items. All saturated with Chinese culture. Foreign and domestic visitors alike congregate here for a ‘treasure hunt' at weekends.

With a facade of grey walls, red window frames, and a pair of red lanterns hanging from the roof, a black plaque with several big golden Chinese characters greets you at the entrance. 

Apart from antique goods, Panjiayuan is also a platform of Chinese folk handicrafts: Hengshui snuff bottles, Jiangsu embroidery, Shandong shadow play, Jiangxi porcelain, Yunnan costumes, and artifacts of Tibetan Buddhism.

Vendors in the market are keen to trade with foreign visitors, sometimes to the point of getting a bit pushy. So be careful and don't hesitate to haggle with those vendors.

It is open from 8:30 am to 6:00 pm. On Saturdays and Sundays the market can receive up to seventy thousand customers, of which about a seventh are foreigner. Dignitaries like Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, the Thailand Princess, have visited this market. Climbing the Great Wall, tasting roast duck, visiting the Imperial Palace, and strolling in the Panjiayuan market have become "must-do" for international visitors.

Yuan Capital Earthen Wall Relics Park: old pavillion

Yuan Capital Earthen Wall Relics Park was built in 2003 upon the earthen city wall relics of the Yuan Dynasty.
 
It is 4,200 meters long, consisted by a 15-meter wide moat and a green belt. The moat is now a dried-up riverbed until the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, due to a channel cleanout project.

Beijing government designed the park to preserve and present these historical relics, as well as to improve the environment, beautify the scenery, and enrich the local ecosystem. We will discover several scenic areas along this walk.

Old Summer Palace: Ruined Debris of a western-style garden

Old Summer Palace is the ‘garden of gardens' in oriental world. And the story of the Old Summer Palace is both the story of a miracle, and a tragedy for all mankind.

The Gardens of Perfect Clarity is known for its extensive collection of garden and building architectures and other works of art. Its grandeur and magnificence dwarfed all other royal gardens in the world.

But in 1860, troops from Britain and France broke in, killed, looted, smashed, and burned the whole place to the ground. A masterpiece was no more!

Over a period of 150 years since 1707, the imperial architects and skillful craftsmen replicated all particularly beautiful gardens whenever the emperors found during their inspection tours of China.

The Imperial Gardens were made up of three gardens: the Garden of Perfect Brightness proper, the Garden of Eternal Spring, and the Elegant Spring Garden. Together they covered an area almost 5 times the size of the Forbidden City. They had hundreds of halls, pavilions, temples, galleries, gardens, lakes, etc. You can also find exotic (European-style) buildings and objects, as Emperor Qianlong employed western artists to structure the palace.

Looking at a maze of ruined debris and standing in the midst of this desolation, pity, grief, and a furious anger inhabited my heart. For this field of ruins should have been a masterpiece, a work of timeless art adorned with age-old calligraphies, refined paintings, historical archives, exquisite porcelains, never-to-be-found-again jades, and rare species of plants. Each one an architectural and artistic miracle

But history has pass by, what we need to do is better protect this palace. As t Victor Hugo, the great French litterateur of 19th century indicated: the Old Summer Palace, both in its past splendor and present desolation, belongs to all mankind.

Tianya Antique City

Tianya Antique City: interior

Tianya Antique City, opened in Sept, 2007, is a new building in Beijing's antique business circle. You will certainly be impressed by the Chinese style, nine-storey, bronze-colored architecture.

The facade of the building is decorated with a Jue, an ancient wine vessel with three legs and a loop handle, a set of ancient chime-bells, ancient porcelain wares, and the most famous ancient Chinese painting named Qing Ming Shang He Tu which depicts a prosperous street scene of the North Song Dynasty (960~1127). Truly an amazing work of art!

Temple of Loyalty and Patriotism: meditation

Just like every small piece of corners in Beijing, the history behind them is amazing.

So it is surprising for me to find the small temple is the oldest one in Beijing that was built in Tang dynasty 1400 years ago.

At that time, it was called Minzhong Si (Temple of Loyalty and Patriotism), and built to commemorate soldiers who sacrificed their lives in war to recover Northeastern China from the Korean invaders. It was converted to a Buddhist Temple, and changed to its current name of Fayuan Si.

In the first courtyard lies Daxiong Baodian, a place where daily scripture chanting and regular Buddhist rituals are held. I found it amazing that they would give free Buddhist books to the tourists, and allow them to participate in their ritual activities. The monks are all easy to engage, and they stick to a strict Buddhist discipline.  

The main hall - Minzhong Ge - in the second courtyard features a stone tablet from the Tang Dynasty. The Fa Tang in the third courtyard houses a 10 meter-long wood carving of the Laying Buddha, the largest of its kind in Beijing.

The best time to visit Fayuan Si is in April when Lilac Admiring Festival is held. Locals flock to the temple to admire the lilacs bursting all around the place.

The Temple of Heaven: The Front Gate

When I was young, I often saw a three-story edifice, with each story resembled umbrella. Under the blue sky and on a spacious ground, I believed the building is the most beautiful utopian land.

Later I knew it was called the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, the Temple of Heaven's main building, also the symbol of Beijing.

Before I decided to make a visit, I read some reference about the Temple of Heaven.

It was originally built in 1420 during the Ming Dynasty. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest. To symbolize heaven and earth better, the northern part of the Temple is circular, and the southern part is square, as the ancient Chinese believed that Heaven was round, and the Earth square.

I bought a ticket at the right side of the south entrance. The entrance ticket costs 10 yuan, while a "through ticket" is 30 yuan. I recommend the 30 yuan (EUR 3, USD 4) ticket, as it will get you access to all the interesting spots.

Temple of Heavenly Peace: the pagoda

Tian Ning Si (Temple of Heavenly Peace) is a quiet heaven from bustling Beijing. Some locals like to shoot the breeze on the square in front of the monastery. Others prefer to seat themselves on a stone bench, reading in peace.

I was attracted by the peace of the temple. Provided it is free to enter, I walked inside to explore its Buddhist culture.

It was one of the largest temples in the city at the time of its construction, but the monastery I see today is a pitiful fraction of its old structure. The Hall of Salvation houses a 9-meter-high sandalwood Buddhist carving, and in its shelter are said daily prayers and held routine ritual activities. In front of the hall stands a stone tablet from the mid-Qing Dynasty on which was recorded the imperial edict to restore the monastery.

In my eyes, the highlight is undoubtedly the Buddhist Pagoda dating back over 10,000 years ago. The tower has 13 layers in total, measuring 57.8 meters in height. Adorned by worshippers, the pagoda preserves some the Sarira of Buddha, the most sacred object in Buddhism. Despite hundreds of years of erosion, that the tower is still a stable establishment: structure in good shape, carvings and adornments quite recognizable.

The tower is now considerate as one of valuable national relics. Next time when you travel around Guanganmen, make sure to visit the free Tian Ning Si.

The Beijing Exhibition Center: seeing from distance

Beijing Exhibition Center is within 10 minutes' walk from the Beijing zoo. The landmark, built in 1958, was the first major exhibition venue in China.

The Center features three exhibition halls in its East Wing, and a large hall in its middle section, and an entertainment theater and a restaurant in the West Wing. It is a cohesive, yet flexible and easily accessed venue.

The Beijing Exhibition Center is also noted for its Cinema hall and Beijing Amphitheater. The 1,000 seats and production facilities of the Cinema Hall are designed for motion picture showings, live stage performance and a range of general and seminar types of meetings.

With its state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems, the 2,700-seat amphitheater features a stage suitable for large scale musical productions.

You could check the up-to-date exhibitions information by visiting its official website: http://www.bjexpo.com/index.aspx

Black Bamboo Park: thather hut

One third occupied by the waters，Black Bamboo Park has gained a great reputation for its beauty with its picturesque landscape of hills, lakes and bamboo trees.

So I decided to explore the park this morning to see the beautiful lake and bamboo.

After entering the southwest entrance, head northward. The first sight you will likely see is Fuyin Zizhuyuan, developed during the Qing dynasty and the predecessor to the current Black Bamboo Park.

From Fuyin Zizhuyuan, walk east to reach my favorite spot, called "Crossing the Sea on an Eastern Expedition." There you will find a Chinese Chess board, with stone sculptures of the Chinese chess equivalent of King, Rook, and Pawn.

Continue east to find the park's major attraction: Graceful Bamboos.

Graceful Bamboos (Jiang Nan Zhu Yun) is the park's most famous scenic spot for its unique landscape of bamboos, brooks and stones. The garden features magnificent pines and bamboos, with stones of various shapes standing on craggy cliffs under which a small lake ripples in the gentle breeze. Go deep inside, and you will soon find yourself in an idyllic world where elegant bamboos cast their shade on the ground and bubbling brooks flow.

Continue east, and you will eventually find the park's eastern exit.

National Library: the facade

Do you know which is the largest library in Asia? It is the National Library of China (NLC), which has a collection of over 25 million volumes of books.

The library was built during the Qing dynasty in 1909. After many years' of development, the library becomes the fifth largest in the world. As it located on the campus district in Haidian, many college students come here to read books during weekends. You can sit down into a reading room and read open-shelf books for free.

If you are not familiar with the layout and book classification, you can also search digital resources on the internal information system in East Rooms 202 and 204. If you need further help, just go to the information counter on the first floor. The receptionist can speak basic English.

The library has more than 10 million books in foreign languages. North Room 214 is for foreign language books and West Room 406 for magazines and newspapers in English.