The real Beijing lies in the unknown

By STEVE HART

Leaving Beijing is the hardest part of visiting China and, in my experience, only able to be done by the most determined of travellers. My departure caused me to become the most hated man at Beijing Airport.

My first taste of the city was from inside the taxi that carried me into town. I was fascinated to see people performing Taijiquan outside their places of work. They moved slowly, in unison and with perfect precision.

There were people on cycles everywhere, intermingled with riders of small motorbikes and the odd van and car - all overloaded and many carrying livestock.

After checking into the hotel I took a quick glimpse of the city from my room's window - all I could see was a sea of cycles beneath me.

I quickly made my way to Tiananmen (gate of heavenly peace) Square in a taxi driven by a madman with no thought for safety. The little yellow car cruised to the square as I sat in silence - he didn't speak English and I can't speak Mandarin, so we were unable to talk about the weather, the traffic or the price of petrol. But it didn't matter. The journey was over in 10 minutes and there was plenty to look at. I soaked up everything I could see.

There was a man having his hair cut outside on a street corner. Another man was selling bicycle parts and offering a puncture repair service. He was doing brisk business.

Here, pedestrian crossings are meaningless white strips on black tarmac. People take their lives in their hands as cars simply refuse to stop or to recognise pedestrian right-of-ways (if there is such a thing in Beijing).

My driver eventually stopped and I passed him some cash through a hole in a plastic shield that protects him from being coshed by robbers. A common occurrence.

It was strange walking across the square. I felt as though all eyes were upon me. The first thing to catch my eye was an army of rookie soldiers carrying rifles and being put through their marching paces to the sound of a shrieking voice. One chap dropped his rifle and marched on as if still carrying it - too frightened, I think, to step out of line and pick it up. Another lad was being instructed on how to walk properly.

I couldn't get over how busy the square was - there seemed to be thousands of Chinese tourists walking around without any apparent purpose.

The one-baby law was obvious from the many couples holding hands with a single child.

And above me were a dozen homemade kites being kept aloft by old men hoping to sell them for a few yuan. I was constantly approached to buy tacky items from street sellers who always took "no" for an answer but were never shy in coming forward.

Tiananmen Square is said to have the capacity to hold one million people. On October 1, 1949, Mao Zedong inaugurated the People's Republic of China in this square, but it's also remembered for the student demonstration of 1989.

Flag ceremonies are held there at sunrise and dusk every day.

Once in Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City is a must-see. To reach it you have to cross a busy road of speeding cars and people being ferried on rickshaws. But getting across is okay because there's a pedestrian crossing ...

Protected by high walls and a moat on all four sides, the emperors of two dynasties, the Ming and the Ching, once lived in the Forbidden City with their families.

It was completed in 1420 during the Ming Dynasty and was the home of 24 emperors.

In 1924 it was renamed the Palace Museum and opened to all. It's one of the key tourist attractions and it's impossible to visit Beijing without going inside.

There are painted decorations, grand deluxe halls and magnificent treasures. Something to satisfy any tourist wanting to see some of the country's history.

Also close at hand is Wan Fung art gallery and a stroll around the Hanhai Lake is a must.

Leaving the square, and the disappointing memory of the illuminated Western fast food signs behind me, I made my way down some side streets (hutongs) to see for myself the daily life of some of the 7.5 million people of Beijing.

It was evening, children played and there was a group of men performing with musical instruments for their own entertainment outside their home. Other people just sat on anything that resembled a chair, they chatted around open fires along the street.

Life seemed simple and relaxed, but probably not easy. The homes left a lot to be desired compared with what I had at home, and as I walked there was the odd second look from some of the locals that confirmed my suspicion that I may be somewhere I shouldn't.

I met Dung, an art student who was learning English and insisted I see one of the local art galleries. She told me her ambition was to go to Britain. Apparently she made a habit of introducing herself to anyone who looked like they would speak English to her.

She led me to a small gallery 15 minutes' walk from the square. The buildings were old and the cobbled streets reminded me of what London must have looked like in the 1800s. It was clearly a place that didn't appear on any of the country's "must see" tourist maps, but I was seeing real people, real life.

The "gallery" was small and looked remarkably like someone's front room with 20 or so oriental watercolours held up with drawing pins. Inside was the work of just one or two people - Dung and her sister. This was Chinese entrepreneurism at its best. I had been had. Still, serves me right, I should have known better.

I made my excuses and left in search of a taxi to get me to the hotel.

But I bet you're wondering why I was the most hated man in Beijing? It's the airport you see. I checked in and joined one of about eight queues that each had a hundred people in it waiting to go through passport control. As the minutes ticked by I was no closer to getting to the departure lounge and my flight was boarding.

Being British, I am more than happy to queue - it's instilled in us from an early age. But on this occasion, and not wanting to miss my connecting flight, I marched between two queues of irate, bored tourists, and presented myself to the lady at passport control.

Among howls of disgust and people shouting at me to rejoin the back of the queue, my passport was stamped and I made my flight.

If you were one of the 800 or so people upset by my brief moment of forcefulness ... sorry.

As the plane took off and the days' events flashed through my mind, I decided that this is a place I shall return to. There's so much I did not see.

Sightseeing

* The Great Wall and the Forbidden City should be top of your list, but Beijing has many exceptional sights.

The city offers hundreds of examples of the ancient and ultramodern.

There are kilometres of hutongs (alleys). You're guaranteed an eye-opening and entertaining experience.

* The Beijing Ancient Observatory is 500 years old and is ornately decorated. Sextants, astrolabes and celestial globes cover the roof.

It's open every day and entrance costs 10 yuan.

The observatory is on the corner of Jianguomenwai St and Second Ring Rd, ph 6512-8923.

* Off the north-east corner of Tiananmen Square is the Museum of Chinese History, exhibiting more than 9000 ancient Chinese relics, including bronze pieces dating back 5000 years.

Entrance costs 20 yuan.

* Beijing Ancient Observatory was created with the help of Jesuit missionaries in the 1500s, and has a lengthy history spanning three dynasties. We loved it up there - gigantic, ornately decorated sextants, astrolabes and celestial globes cover the roof. Open daily 9 to 11 am, 1 to 5.30 pm. Entrance 10 yuan; at the south-east corner of the major intersection of Jianguomenwai St and Second Ring Rd, ph 6512-8923.

* The Big Bell Temple at Beisanhuanxi Rd, Haidian District, has a bell almost 3m high with more than 200,000 characters of Buddhist scriptures engraved on it. Entrance is 5 yuan.

* For those visiting the Badaling section of the Great Wall, combine the trip with a stop at the Ming Tombs 50 km north-west of Beijing. The roads leading up to the tombs are guarded by huge stone animals, which are one of the most intriguing aspects of the visit. The only tomb open to the public is that of Emperor Wanli (reigned AD 1573-1620). The Ming Tombs are open every day and entrance is 30 yuan.

* The former residence of Soong Qing Ling, often called the father of the Chinese Revolution, is a serene courtyard-home that's now a museum. It's at 46 Houhaibeiyan, Xicheng, and entrance costs 10 yuan.

* Miaoying Monastery, also known as White Dagoba Temple, was built by Lamaists from Tibet in AD 1271, when they brought Buddhism to the Han and Mongolian peoples. See it at Fuxingmennei St, Xicheng District.

* Chinese Arts and Crafts Gallery has a collection of the traditional arts and crafts of China, including cloisonne, jade carving and lacquerware and is on the north-east side of Fuxingmen overpass.

* Beijing Zoo is ideal for seeing China's famous pandas. Panda umbrellas sell for 50 yuan and make great gifts. Entrance is 3 yuan and the zoo is open every day at 137 Xizhimenwai, Xicheng District.