Beijing soars on Olympic dream

With the afterglow of London's successful bid to stage the 2012 Olympic Games still strong, people looking to find out what it means for a city to play host are pouring into Beijing.

Not that this is the only reason to head to the Chinese capital, as well as hosting the 2008 Olympics, Beijing remains China's ancient capital and cultural centre.

The difference is that in the wake of the International Olympic Committee's decision to award the Games to the city, Beijing has become far more tourist friendly.

While more than three million overseas and 100 million domestic tourists head to the Chinese capital each year, it has traditionally suffered from crime in tourist areas, a lack of high-class hotels and a difficulty in tracking down information.

But all that is changing.

"Beijing now has 630 high-class hotels," said Xiong Yumei from the Beijing Tourism Bureau.

And that number is set to grow.

"The government promised when bidding for the Olympics that Beijing will build 800 high-class hotels by 2008. We'll reach that goal by building some new and reconstructing some old ones," the official added.

The local government is also making striving towards better service quality at its tourist sites, setting up a tourist information centre to help people with accommodation, travel, shopping, entertainment, booking tickets and so on.

And staff have not been left out either, with course being run to raise their foreign language skills and service quality of those in the tourist industry.

All this means there has never been a better time to head east and investigate the capital of one to the world's oldest and largest countries.

The city's top tourist spots

Great Wall of China: The north pass of this wonder of the world, is a short hop from the city. No trip to China would be complete without a visit.

Forbidden City: Home of the ancient emperors and off-limits to the public for 500 years, this ancient palace has lost none of its appeal or mystery. The Forbidden City was reopened in 1949 by the Communist Party, but while still forbidden it played host to around 6,000 eunuchs and concubines, as well as the imperial court and - of course - the emperor.

The Summer Palace (Yiheyuan): Yiheyuan - stands for "Garden of Peace and Harmony". It is found 15km from Beijing, and considered a masterpiece of Chinese architecture. The Summer Palace is also home to the largest imperial garden in China.

Museum of Chinese History: Learn about the might, majesty, cruelty and caprice of the emperors of China, as well as something of the history of this great and ancient power.