Beijing

Travel Guide to Beijing

China's massive capital city is home to the Forbidden City palace complex, Mao's tomb, and the endless Cartesian expanse of the Tiananmen Square. Beijing also put you within easy breezy daytrip distance of the fabulous Summer Palace and several oft-photographed sections of the Great Wall of China.

My suggestion? Rent a bike, at least for a day, and two-wheel about the city the way most of its 13.8 million inhabitants get about. This will also make it easier to explore the narrow alleys and siheyuan (courtyard homes) of the traditional hutong neighborhoods that survive amidst Beijing's booming modernization and shape-shifting skyline of skyscrapers.