Beijing, yeah baby, yeah!

The Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, The Temple of Heaven, Riding a bike around the Hutongs, Ballroom Dancing in the park, the Dirt Market, Beijing Opera, Peking/Beijing Duck!!!!!!

Quick Tips:

The first time I visited Beijing was in the summer of 1996. At the time the deconstruction/construction of the city was really just beginning to gear up. A standard indication of how much things have changed between then and my return visit in May 2002 is that in 1996 the city had only one McDonald's. Nowadays, Beijing boasts over 500 and there is a rapidly expanding number of Starbuck's (over 30)! These places will most likely have English speaking people there. However, you most likely have not travelled all the way to China for a burger and a latte. Outside of the services set up for tourists very few people will speak English. Bring a dictionary if you want to mix it up with the locals a bit. I thought the people were incredibly friendly and the response I would get from my nihao (hello!) was always really positive.

Best Way To Get Around:

The subway! It is inexpensive and since there are only two lines you can't get that lost. Otherwise, taxi it. It's a good idea to get a local who speaks English to write your destination down for you in Chinese so that you can be sure your driver understands where you want to go.

Duck! Beijing/Peking duck has been a specialty of this region for over 600 years. If you can overlook the fact that the prime ducks have been force-fed similar to geese for foie grass (only fair to mention that) then you are in for one taste sensation.

The Liqun Roast Duck is a small restaurant of big renown. It exists in a charming hutong in the Dongcheng district. Part of the pleasure of eating here was the journey to the restaurant. One of the friendliest octogenarians I have met came up to me as I was walking and we had one of those fantastic conversations where all he knew in English was "how do you do" and I all knew in Mandarin was "nihao". Nonetheless, I will never forget his huge toothless smile, old school Mao jacket and strong handshake. I would have invited him to eat with me if I didn’t think his toothless-ness might be a problem.

Had I known how perfectly cooked, how succulent this meal would be, I would have brought him along. Teeth were almost unnecessary as the meat itself almost melted in my mouth.

The trick to a great duck, while it may be ancient, is no family secret at Liqun. To enter the restaurant it is necessary to walk through the kitchen and it’s hard to miss the sight of a chef blowing up a duck, literally. It looked like he was giving it mouth to mouth (or beak, rather). I learned from the hostess (the owner’s daughter) that this tactic of preparation served to separate the skin from the fat and allowed for the duck to be moist, juicy and perfect to the palate. They have been honing this technique for over 600 years so it is understandable that they have it down to a science.

The duck was carved at my table and I ate it with pancakes, cucumbers and hoi sin sauce. However, while this may be the most western friendly part of the meal, the Chinese enjoy the entire duck (and I do mean entire). Every part of the duck will be used. For appetizers there are the fried liver & heart, boiled tongues, and the soft webbed skin of the feet. Eventually, when the choicest morsels of the duck are devoured, the rest is made into duck soup. I admit that some of this, at first glance, wasn’t that appetizing. However, I have a philosophy when dining in foreign lands that has helped me enjoy some very conceptually off-putting, dishes. DON’T LOOK AT IT; JUST EAT IT.

At Liqun you have the chance to eat like an emperor. Enjoy and, occasionally, keep your eyes closed!

With $5 and an intrepid sense of adventure you can rent a bicycle and see parts of Beijing unaccessable by car. China has over half the world's bicycles and Beijing alone has over 9 million! Granted you will have to navigate some very busy streets, dodge drivers and other cyclists who are operating their vehicles under rules that they understand and you most likely don't, and follow a map that has most likely become obsolete.

It's all worth it once you get off the main road and are able to meet the locals. The Hutongs are neighborhoods in Beijing that were constructed by the Mongols around the 8th century. Being there is like stepping back in time and it is the best way to get a sense of a way of life that is changing daily. Some Hutongs were named after the markets, or trades. There used to be Wet-Nurse Lane near the Forbidden City, Clothes-Washing Lane, Cloth Lane, Hat Lane. Others populated by a single family will have the family name for instance Liu Lane. Some have been identified by shape; Buffalo Horn Curve, Dog Tail Lane.

Don't miss this adventure and be sure to sample some food from a local stall and watch the world go by with the locals.

There is nothing quite like the experience of seeing a frozen communist icon. Visiting Chairman Mao Tse-Tung’s mausoleum is an intrinsic part of getting a glimpse into China’s present. Mao changed life in China irrevocably and he rests in the center of a grand monument.

The Mausoleum is located in Tiananmen Square opposite the Forbidden City. If you follow the Imperial Line which dissects the Forbidden City and leads from the Emperor’s throne through Tiananmen Square, you will find that it ends up directly where Mao is resting.

Anyone is permitted to see Mao and there is a constant line of mostly Chinese and a few non-Chinese that winds around the building. I stood in a line, of what must have been 300 people, for a much shorter time (about 30 minutes) than I had expected. You are not permitted to bring any bags, purses, backpacks in with you, so be sure to leave them at home.

As you get closer to the entrance, there is an opportunity to buy flowers to place before a statue of Mao. Most Chinese were buying them and placing them at his feet after kow-towing to the statue.

After passing the statue, you enter a room where you can see the man himself. Once inside, the guards instruct you to walk silently two by two. After all that waiting the actual time spent in the chamber itself is very short, perhaps a minute or so. Mao is lying, very handsomely dressed, in the center of a glass room, protected by four very serious looking guards. You pass so quickly that it doesn’t really give you much time to get a good look. After all, this man changed the course of one of the world’s oldest civilizations and he is not there to be gawked at. The chill in the room, the intensity of the guards, and the reverence of the visitors made it a very potent minute.

It was such a strong, stern reminder of power and ideology. I was startled to leave that room only to immediately enter a gift shop where they sell copies of Mao's little red book, Mao watches, Mao key chains and other paraphernalia (they didn’t have a Tianamen Square snow globe but that was about the only thing missing!) I couldn’t help but wonder what Mao would think of all this?