Beijing 2008 – Swifter, Higher, Stronger

At 8:08p.m. on the eighth day of the eighth month of 2008 the Olympic Games will begin in the National Stadium in Beijing, China. The eyes of the world will be on Beijing and they will be doing their utmost to show off a beautiful city that remains a mystery to many. While the traditional aspects of this ancient city will no doubt be celebrated too, Beijing has much more to offer the expected half a million visitors arriving from all over the globe.

Getting there couldn’t be simpler: there are direct flights to Beijing from most major cities in the world although many travellers will fly into Capital Airport from Hong Kong (which is treated as an international flight). There are also trains that run to Russia, Mongolia, North Korea, Vietnam, and Hong Kong. Naturally, during the peak season in summer the city is packed with tourists and hotels and airfares are at their most expensive (at least Beijing is a city where tipping is not expected). Although spring is less busy, autumn is deemed to be the best time to visit the city as the weather is more predictable and there are more cheap flights to be had (at the time of writing flights to Beijing were available on the comparison site Cheap flights for less than £350 including tax from Gatwick.) For those that can stand the freezing temperatures though, winter remains the time to get the best price on plane tickets and many hotels offer discounts, however, it will get busier and costlier during the Chinese New Year.

Beijing has more than enough to keep well-travelled tourists on their toes, from such spectacular landmarks as the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, and the Temple of Heaven (all three are World Heritage sites) to other marvels like the Lama Temple, the Bell and Drum Towers, and Tiananmen Square (the world’s largest public square). There are even subterranean sights as you can get around Beijing on the ‘Underground Dragon’ (the subway) and visit an entire city built in a network of bombproof tunnels.

If you ever find yourself flagging then you can use your best Beijing dialect of Mandarin to order some food and drink. No visit to China can be complete without taking in a teahouse or two and the roast duck is a speciality in the capital. Although parts of some menus are definitely for more adventurous appetites, vegetarians are well-catered for too. After something to eat, you may be ready for visiting some of the lively clubs and bars. Much of the nightlife happens around the Gongti area in the east of the city and Wudaokou in the northwest and the Chinese certainly know how to enjoy themselves.

One thing’s for sure: none of us will look at Beijing in the quite the same way after the 2008 Games.

To find out more and keep up to date with the latest developments in advance of next years Olympics check out the official website.