I first visited Beijing in 1987. Over the years I have watched China transforming \into\ a vibrant consumer society. Beijing today reflects modern China. The city will change rapidly during the next 5 years. However, the city has shown that environment and maintaining links with the past are very important. It is my hope that overseas people will visit the city and see with their own eyes what has been achieved.

　　-Bruce Connolly 15 July 2002

　　Beijing is the World's fastest changing capital city. The infrastructure changes during the last few years reflect China's rapidly developing economy, the growing significance of the country's entry \into\ WTO and city's successful bid for the 2008 Olympics. China, increasingly Asia's most dynamic country required a modern capital that would be a window to the world. A city that would be a microcosm of the country today. One of the country's oldest cities, with a history going back 2000 years, the transformation is not without controversy. How does a modern city retain its unique cultural heritage"

　　Environment is the theme today with great care being taken to ensure that the changes really do benefit the city's inhabitants.

　　Tianamen Square, the centre of the city and indeed the spiritual centre of China, is a historical and cultural interface with contrasting building styles representing the country's former dynastic and recent revolutionary history. Recently the Square has been re-laid with light pink granite slabs and now contains two large grass areas. A modern lighting system illuminates the many trees planted along its pavements. To the south the massive double gate structure of Qianmen (Front Gate) has been carefully restored to its former glory. Previously a bus station polluted the area with thick diesel fumes. Today, there are manicured lawns and flowerbeds. Nearby the former Qianmen Station, Beijing's first station, has also been renovated and is now a fashionable shopping mall.

　　Walking is the best way to see many of the changes - in fact, the only way because much has been pedestrianised. Wangfujing Street, the main shopping area behind the spruced up Beijing Hotel, has been closed to all through-traffic. Futuristic complexes such as the vast Oriental Plaza and Sun Dong An Centre have replaced many older shops. Others such as No. 1 Department Store have undergone extensive renovation. Flower baskets hang from modern lampposts lining the street, which has also been resurfaced with solid stone blocks.

　　Black metal statues represent characters from Beijing's past. Many open-air festivals are now held on the street, including the popular annual Wangfujing Beer Festival. An open-air tram allows visitors to see many of its attractions including the recently renovated St Joseph's Cathedral and its Italian-style piazza or public square.

　　Chang'an Avenue, the city's main thoroughfare has been transformed in recent years. Gone are many older buildings which were often uniform monolithic brick structures with no beauty or character. Former uneven pavements have been replaced with pink decorative tiles. Parallel grooves provide lines for the blind to follow with their sticks and at intersections wheel chair access has been provided. This has been repeated on all the main streets throughout the city. Flowerbeds and new trees enhance the appearance along with black lampposts each supporting three classical-style lamps.

　　Along the Avenue, every new building is different. Architects compete to achieve quality designs. Many are now constructed with reflective glass and coloured tiling and have the unique Beijing style of a "ting"or pagoda on top. The ultimate example of this style is Beijing West Railway Station-Asia's largest.

　　Complexes such as the Henderson Centre near Jianguomen incorporate pinkish marble columns creating a pseudo-classical style. It is crowned with a clock tower vaguely reminiscent of London's "Big Ben" Nearby is the massive, recently completed, blue glass and metal framed Oriental Plaza - a shopping, dining, office and hotel complex of the highest standard. Located between Wangfujing and Dongdan, it has quite transformed eastern Chang'an Avenue and today is one of the symbols of the modern city. Unlike other Chinese cities \where\ many buildings reach skywards, Beijing's new central structures are restricted in height, reflecting the historic tradition of not building higher than the Forbidden City.

　　To the east, near No.3 Ring Road, buildings do go high. The many tower blocks rising in the Chaoyang Business District and around the China World Trade Centre provide the very latest business facilities and accommodation for the growing number of international companies locating in the city.

　　A tourist bus service now runs along Chang'an Avenue so visitors can see, for example, the modern eastern city, the historical grandeur of Tiananmen, the growing commercial areas around Xidan and the rejuvenation of many fine older buildings.

　　Shopping habits of today's Beijingers have changed. International shopping centres and department stores bringing the sophistication of Hong Kong and the West are opening throughout the city. Parkson has a top-quality outlet in the Financial District at Fuxingmen - on sale were詓tate-of-the-art"Chinese computers using the very latest digital technology. New World at Chongwenmen and on Wangfujing Street the Sun Dong An Plaza and One World Department Store offer the best in designer fashion from China and overseas. Fashion shows displaying everything from the latest summer styles to flamboyant wedding dresses are now a regular feature in many centres. Many new shopping complexes have also opened beyond the original city particularly in the new development areas near the Asian Games Village. Taking advantage of the city's modern and expanding expressway network western-style shopping malls are being constructed in the outer suburbs.

　　Many shopping centres provide excellent, inexpensive food courts offering cuisine from all over China.

　　Entertainment is also a feature. The Oriental Plaza has scientific and paeleological museums. Sun Dong An has a space flight simulator, a high-tech multi- screen cinema and the chance to have a glimpse of street life in "Old Beijing" Meanwhile, New World at Chongwenmen and China World at Guomao feature popular ice skating rinks.

　　The hutong have long been a part of Beijing's traditional landscape - compact alleys lined with single-storey courtyard houses whose design originated from an earlier Mongolian-influenced period. Much loved by foreign visitors, but these older areas are disappearing. With poor sanitation, cramped living space, multiple occupancy and no space for vehicles, they impede the city's development. To renovate and restore them to their original condition would require massive investment. Considerable debate has occurred about their place in modern Beijing. Meanwhile large areas west of Liulichang have already been cleared for new roads and modern apartment blocks.

　　Some areas, particularly around the lakes north of Beihai Park, are being preserved as a reminder of the past and new buildings in the traditional style are being constructed.

　　This area is increasingly important for Beijing's tourist industry. It has become very popular in summer evenings with many little cafes, restaurants and antique shops.

　　At present most new residential developments are beyond No.2 Ring Road (er huan). I recently visited a modern area south of Yu Ting Qiao (near the Temple of Heaven) and discovered bright airy apartment blocks with modern kitchens, bathrooms and well-furnished large rooms with the latest domestic appliances and home entertainment systems. The buildings rose above a clean garden environment. Nearby, efficient shopping centres and fast-food restaurants cater for the residents"daily needs. Local streets are closed to through traffic but wide expressways lead \into\ the city centre.

　　Going out from the city, real estate developments provide Beijing's increasingly affluent business community the opportunity to live in garden villas set amongst lakes and golf courses. This expansion will increase as new suburban railways and expressways open up areas previously seen as far from downtown, particularly around the Fragrant Hills (xiangshan).

　　Beijing's transport plans, stimulated by the challenges of 2008 are exciting. The east-west metro line has already been extended east to Sihui Dong and will go eventually to outlying satellite towns. New metro lines will be constructed out to the airport and the Summer Palace. An elevated light railway from Xizhimen to the northern suburbs is scheduled to open in September. Transportation hubs incorporating metro, light rail, buses and access to expressways are under construction at key intersections around the city centre, such as Dongzhimen.

　　Meanwhile, there is a unique way of reaching the Summer Palace - by boat! 30 billion Yuan (US billion) is being spent on a beautification project of the city's waterways involving a thorough cleansing of the rivers and landscaping their banks. In response, a regular passenger service has been started from Yu Yuan Tan Park (near CCTV). In keeping with Beijing's drive for a better environment, these quiet vessels are powered by liquefied petroleum gas. Beijing's buses are also being converted to this clean fuel and many now proudly carry the letters "LPG" Modern air-conditioned buses are increasingly seen on the city's streets. Many feature on-board television.

　　Food plays an important part in people's lives as any visit to a Chi-nese market will tell - the lengthy examination of the vegetables and (often live) chickens followed by a haggle over the price! Then at home there was the time-consuming preparation. In today's modern society there just is not enough time. In response to changing consumer demands supermarkets have spread throughout the city. I recently walked round one near Chongwenmen, in fascination. Although there were modern checkouts with most items bar-coded, there were differences to western supermarkets. I noticed few ready-prepared microwave meals. Instead, the frozen and chilled food cabinets contained prepared meat, chicken, fish and vegetables as well as fresh and instant noodles. A wide variety of spices and traditional ingredients were there to provide flavour to the cooking. Interesting was the range of wine on display. Reflecting the increasing sophistication of Beijing's consumers alongside domestic Great Wall and Dynasty brands, there were a wide variety of imported wines and beers.

　　Visitors previously complained that there was not much to do in the evenings. Restaurants closed early. Entertainment consisted of traditional teahouses, Chinese opera, acrobats and stick puppets. Today, Beijing is a 24-hour city with an international air - a combination of increasing affluence among the city's young workers and the growing "Ex-pat"community. Entire areas of the city are given over to eating and drinking. In summer streets such as Sanlitun Lu take on a continental atmosphere with tables lining the pavements outside restaurants offering everything from Italian pizzas to the hottest Mexican chilli. This was an exciting area to visit during the recent World Cup. Large television screens sat in the gardens of many cafes and crowds of young people thronged the streets enjoying the atmosphere.

　　Beijing's expanding pub and dining scene is international in character - Irish, British, American, Russian... Even the design of the new outlets reflects this trend. The John Bull at Jianguomen is a traditional English establishment while the Big Easy at Chaoyang Park is straight out of Bourbon Street, New Orleans. Scotland" Recently McEwans Export Beer (brewed in Chongqing) appeared at the annual Wangfujing Street Beer Festival. Beijing now has the best music scene in China. Many bars have live music from serious rock \group\s through to jazz and even classical pieces featuring Chinese traditional instruments.

　　The city has not forgotten its traditional roots. Many restaurants offer the highest quality Chinese cuisine often with regional themes such as Korean, Mongolian, Sichuan, Yunnan and Xinjiang - the latter offering traditional Uigher singing and dancing even on the table! Hunan restaurants have spicy dishes and a theme reflecting Mao's birthplace at Shaoshan. One restaurant I visited near Chongwenmen recreated the Tang Dynasty style with waitresses in period costume and customers sitting in little wooden tings.

　　Following international trends fast food outlets have grown rapidly as office workers want a quick take-away lunch. Apart from the usual international chains, many speciality outlets are appearing such as French bakeries, pizzerias, excellent sandwich shops and even chains of fast serving curry restaurants. The level of service throughout Beijing has greatly improved in recent years. The modern shopping centres, as previously mentioned, also have their fast-food courts offering a wide range of Chinese and western meals and snacks.

　　The changes in eating have even spread through the remaining hutongs. Hidden in a traditional courtyard near Jiaodaokou the "Pass By Bar"features great food, music and excellent photographic exhibitions from Tibet and North West China. It has become an art student venue. Traditional eating still exists however in areas such as the incredible food street at Dong'anmen Night Market near the Forbidden City and the Old Beijing Food Street occupying several alleys next to Wangfujing.

　　Beijing's parks such as Ditan, Ritan or Longtan have histories associated with former imperial ceremonies. Today they are oases of peace and tranquillity away from the bustle of the city. Decorative red wooden tings sit on rocky hills above ponds lined by willows and crossed by arched marble bridges. These are places to watch the citizens boating, fishing, flying kites, perform tai chi or chatting beneath their birdcages suspended from trees. Many pleasant afternoons I have spent there. Yet the parks are changing. Swimming areas have been upgraded \into\ water parks complete with artificial wave machines and thrilling water slides. The China Sports Lottery has provided finance for modern exercise areas to be set up. Dancing outdoors has long been popular in the warm evenings. That still exists, but today many parks now have sophisticated discos with the latest electronic technology, for example, the spherical "Rock and Roll Disco"at Chaoyang Park.

　　With space being limited within the city many large theme parks have developed in the suburbs. Several are based around water sports such as "Lakeview Water Park"at Huarou-"A Wonderland of Water"it advertises. Some offer the latest "White-knuckle"hair-raising rides. Others are amazing - the "World Scenic Park"at Fengtai has the world in miniature with everything from Niagara Falls to the Eiffel Tower and Stonehenge! The訣thnic Minorities Park" near the Asian Games Village has recently been doubled in size. It allows a glimpse \into\ the lives of China's 56 nationalities and provides a chance to participate in some of their activities such as Dai water splashing!

　　The growth of these parks in many ways reflects the growth in leisure time and a great improvement in communications. Expressways radiating out from the city, efficient computerised ticketing at the railway stations and dedicated tourist trains to the scenic spots means getting out of Beijing has never been easier. For many, a visit to the Great Wall, courtesy of the work unit (danwei) was possibly a yearly highlight. Now, every weekend thousands of Beijingers flocked by car, bus or train to the countryside for recreation. I witnessed this phenomenon at Shidu, 110 kilometres southwest of the city. Called "Beijing's Guillin"and set amongst attractive limestone mountains this resort provides fun for the young and "Young-at-heart"generations. Modern hotels have outdoor swimming pools. Bamboo rafts and powerboats can be hired on the river. Horse riding is popular. Chairlifts carry sightseers to the mounta\into\ps. However, adventure sports are increasingly the rage. Bungee jumping, imported from Australia is really taking off - I declined to try it! High wire ropes spanning the river allow adventurers attached to harnesses to rapidly slide across while others strapped beneath large pink and yellow balloons rose skywards. This desire for adventure and thrills is growing rapidly \into\ a major industry.