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Cars are plentiful but people still bike everywhere, older people hang out in traditional parks and not around the Bird Nest, calligraphy is still an art that is practice in the street and many traditions are still followed. This is also Beijing.

Like many megalopolis in the world, Beijing has two sides: a modern one and an old one.

Qiánmén is one of the most central district of Beijing. No matter what you look for, you will find it there, either in one of the busy hútòng or on Qiánmén street itself: Beijing Duck at Quanjude, shoes at Neiliansheng, silk at Ruifuxiang… these century-old establishments were purveyors to the Imperial Court and still exist today.

These are my personal favorite: Bāozi (包子） and Beijing Duck (北京烤鸭). These two dishes are relatively unknown overseas, where “Chinese food” is often a synomym of “Fried Rice”, “Chow Mien” and “Egg Foo Yung”… and other dishes that cater to Western taste and are everything but Chinese!

Beihai Park is an imperial garden, North of the Forbidden City, and initially connected to it.

The Summer Palace, in downtown Beijing, is an enclave of peace away from the craziness of the city. Dominated by the Longevity Hill and set around the Kunming lake, an artificial lake entirely man made, the place has a variety of palaces and gardens.

Forty-seven hours. That’s how long it took us to come back from Beijing.

Today, Tiananmen Square remains one of the symbol of Mao’s disillusion of grandeur, a huge square — the biggest in the world — dedicated to him, China, the “people’s heroes”, and jealously guarded night and day by the Party.