Forbidden City is now welcoming

NOTHING can possibly prepare you for Beijing. Despite the many images on TV and in print at present in advance of next month's Olympic Games in the Chinese capital, this is a city that almost defies description.

For a start, there is the sheer size of the place.

Beijing is home to 15 million people; to put things in perspective, that's more than the entire population of the Netherlands.

And its massive scale is what strikes the visitor on first acquaintance with the city. More often than not, this means stepping into Tiananmen Square. The size of it simply takes the breath away; it is the largest public square in the world, covering an enormous 100 acres. Still remembered from 1989, when the Chinese Army and its tanks brutally crushed student protests, it can still intimidate… especially when you add in the huge crowds and the presence everywhere of uniformed police and military. Yet the square and surrounding area are also stunningly beautiful.

In its centre is the Chinese 'holy of holies', Chairman Mao's mausoleum, to which devotees in their thousands still flock to walk in procession past the body of their former great leader.

To the west of the square lies the Great Hall of the People, one of the truly grand modern structures of Beijing. Through the great bronze doors is a spacious lobby leading to the Central Hall. The Auditorium can seat almost 10,000 people.

Another monumental building, the Museum of Chinese History and the Museum of Chinese Revolution runs more than 300 metres north and south along the eastern side of Tiananmen Square. On each side of the entrance stands a pylon in the form of a burning torch, symbolising Mao's famous prophecy “A single spark can start a prairie fire.”

Then of course, dwarfing even Tiananmen Square for its grandeur, and stunning in its ornate beauty, is the Forbidden City. Covering an area of about 72 hectares with a total floor space of approximately 150,000 square metres, it consists of 90 palaces and courtyards, 980 buildings and 8,704 rooms.

This was home to 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The construction of the grand palace started in the fourth year of Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty (1406) and ended in 1420. In ancient times, the emperor claimed to be the son of Heaven, and therefore his supreme power was conferred upon him by the Celestial Emperor. The imperial residence on Earth was built as a replica of the Purple Palace where the Celestial Emperor was supposed to reside, on the North Star (known in China as the Purple Star). Such a divine place was a no-go area for the ordinary people – hence the Forbidden City.

The museum is a real treasure-house of cultural and historical relics, recognised as one of the five most important five palaces in the world, and a Unesco World Heritage Site. The Forbidden City is the best- preserved imperial palace in China and the largest ancient palatial structure in the world. To walk through these vast structures – and it is a long walk! – is to go through centuries of Chinese imperial history.

It's even more of a treat today because, in advance of the Olympics and the visitor influx, the authorities have spent two years restoring many of the magnificent buildings and their exquisite, colourfully tiled roofs.

Surpassing the Forbidden City in beauty, if not in majesty, is the Summer Palace. Located 15km from Beijing, the Summer Palace is the largest imperial garden in China, its stunning buildings blending in with the scenery along the shores of Kunming Lake. Its history stretches back to the 12th century, when the Jin dynasty first built a palace named the Golden Hill on the site.

The magnificent and colourful Temple of Heaven (TianTan) was where emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties would offer sacrifices and pray for good harvests. It was founded as the Temple of Heaven and Earth, but given its current name during the reign of Ming Emperor JiaJing (1522-1567), who built separate complexes for the Earth, Sun and Moon. The Temple of Heaven is a delightful and exquisite place to spend some time. Arrive early to watch the Tai Chi experts, although the park is lively all day and into the evening with kite- fliers, musicians, singers, dancers and games players (from badmington to Chinese chess).

GETTING ABOUT: Beijing is now more welcoming to the outside world than it has ever been, but getting around is still not easy. The roads are madly busy and frequently gridlocked: only to be expected with three million cars, plus buses, taxis and bikes. At intersections everybody has the right of way.

Other than staff in hotels, some restaurants and the many official guides, little English is spoken. The best way to get around is tell an English speaker in the hotel where you want to go and get him to write it down for a taxi driver, or arm yourself with a good map and use the Metro. A single trip as far as you want to go costs 2 yuan (about 14p).

EATING: Try the Quan Ju De restaurant for authentic, succulent, delicious, cheap Peking duck. During the imperial days, the chef of the restaurant actually cooked for the emperor. For delicious hotpots, go to Donglaishun restaurant. It actually has many outlets in the city, including in the busy Wangfujing district and one near Tiananmen Square. Watch out for long queues for a table at around 7-8pm

SHOPPING: The city is happy to welcome visitors with money to spend, preferably lots of it. The first-time visitor will encounter the expected: innumerable stalls and small shops crammed along streets, Chinese department stores and supermarkets, but there are also several extensive malls, the newest and grandest being Oriental Plaza on Chang An Avenue, an upmarket complex holding six shopping malls, plus two grand hotels and a stack of apartments, offices and lansdscaped gardens.

The malls, covering 120,000 square metres, are themed, and many luxury brands are here, including Dunhill, Kenzo, Paul Smith, Pal Zileri, Givenchy, Burberry, S T Dupont, Valentino and St John.

We stayed in the four-star Grand Mercure hotel in Xidan, which used to be the Marco Polo.

Close to Tiananmen Square, the hotel offers excellent service, good food and comfortable, spacious rooms. Xidan itself is a popular shopping district.