The Centre

Home to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, this is Beijing's historic heart

Most people think of two Beijings; the ancient one full of emperors, grand palaces and imperial intrigue, and the modern one being constructed – literally and metaphorically – under the auspices of a government striving to come up with a workable capitalist-friendly communism.

The focal points of both these worlds lie within a few square miles of each other, quite literally at the centre of the city. Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City today are visited by more than 8 million people a year as well as locals flying kites, hawkers selling Olympic merchandise and Chinese tourist groups on the trip of a lifetime, not to mention the legions of fake 'art students' trying to convince you to visit their galleries (that is, to buy some second-rate art for exorbitant prices).

The Forbidden City, officially called the Palace Museum – though the name hasn't caught on – has remained largely in its original form. By contrast, Tiananmen Square has changed considerably. Dating back to the Ming dynasty in the 15th century, it was originally a T-shape. Rather than an area of particular political or social significance with an identity or name, it was more of a functional space between the east and west Chang'an gates of the Forbidden City (to the left and right of where Mao's portrait now is) and the Qianmen gate in the south – formerly one of the nine gates at Beijing's city walls. The 'I' of the 'T' was lined with the various government departments of state officials during the time of the emperors, while the horizontal bar of the 'T' stretched to the Chang'an gates – gates that had strong associations with the celebrations of scholars who passed their imperial exams to become officials on one side and with imperial trials at which people were sentenced to death on the other.

After the last emperor left the Forbidden City and China became a republic in 1911, it was common for the Chinese to celebrate or demonstrate against various events in this part of the city – from the Allied Forces' victory in the First World War to the subsequent decision to hand over Chinese land to the Japanese.

It wasn't until 1949, when Chairman Mao declared the new People's Republic, that the dynamic of the area changed forever. His vision of what the space should become was ambitious. He knew it was vital to harness the power of the area for his own benefit and to attempt to control the (by that time) highly political space by moulding it into one in keeping with his own values.

Many of the original city gates were demolished at this point in a bid to accommodate Mao's vision of a square 'big enough to hold an assembly of one billion' and for the first time in history, it was permissible to construct buildings taller than those in the Forbidden City. An official architect explained, 'The Chairman's mind, broad as the ocean, flies beyond the confines of the old walls and corridors and penetrates into the future. It is his vision that reveals the direction for construction of the new square.'

Mass demolition was carried out to make way for a flat, open plaza that, despite the planners' best efforts, could only accommodate 400,000 people. (Ironically, it was only after Mao's death that the square was expanded further, and it's now believed that it can hold a million people). Several monuments and Soviet-style government buildings were erected soon after, including the Monument to the People's Heroes and the Great Hall of the People, then later, Mao's Mausoleum, apparently built in an astonishing six months.

Under the new leadership of Deng Xiaoping in the '80s it was only a matter of time before the surrounding area began to modernise too. Nearby Wangfujing has become the city's main shopping street, and is dominated by neon signs and foreign brands. Similarly, the east side of Tiananmen now sports a clock ticking down to the Olympics and the south east is in the process of gaining a swanky new restaurant and retail hub in the former Legation Quarter, not to mention that ordinary folk can now frolic inside the once 'Forbidden' City.

The Forbidden City

The jewel in Beijing's crown, the historic axis and the centre of the universe as far as the Chinese were concerned, the Forbidden City is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and contains the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world. Comissioned in 1406 by Ming emperor Yongle, it reportedly took over one million skilled labourers nearly 14 years to complete. First officially occupied by the court in 1420, it went on to house 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties over 500 years.

These days familiar to many thanks to China's 'opening up' and the 1987 film The Last Emperor (the first feature ever authorised by the government to shoot inside the palace), the Forbidden City was for much of its existence unknown to anyone besides the emperor, his officials, concubines and eunuch servants. Normal citizens were not allowed to enter and even most of those allowed through the initial gates of the city were not permitted to enter the Inner Court. So protected was the 'son of heaven' that the city was encompassed by a ten-metre (32-foot) high wall and a five-metre (16-foot) wide moat, with the layout strictly designed in harmony with the laws of feng shui to ensure the emperor's prosperity.

In its entirety, the palace is 961 metres (3,153 feet) long and 760 metres (2,493 feet) wide, and has a total of 9,999.5 rooms covering an area of 730,000 square metres (180 acres). The site could easily have been destroyed on several occasions. Its walls were breached by British troops in 1860, its occupants were evicted in 1924 during the establishment of the republic, and the Red Guards were on the verge of storming the complex 40 years later.

Most visitors to the Forbidden City start at the south end, passing beneath Chairman Mao's portrait on Tiananmen Square, and through the Meridian Gate. You'll walk several hundred metres past this point before you come to the ticket booths and the place where you can borrow an audio guide, should you want to. Sadly, the sultry tones of Roger Moore no longer explain the City at a pace of your choosing. Instead a helpful Chinese woman senses where you are in the grounds and begins rabbiting on whether you've actually reached the particular spot she's talking about or not, without a pause button. It's therefore only advisable to use the audio guide while you're alone, or if you have particularly large ears (to prevent the ear piece continually falling out). If you do, the guide costs 40RMB plus a 100RMB deposit and does have a handy electronic map printed on it.

Inside Tiananmen Square

Measuring 440,000 square metres (4.8 million square feet) or, to put it another way, about 63 football pitches, the largest public square in the world isn't difficult to find. All taxi drivers and hotel staff will know how to get you there, and it's only a short metro ride to either Tiananmen East, Tiananmen West or the Qianmen underground stops (though note that the latter will deposit you at the southern end of the square). When you arrive the temptation is to head straight for its centre to get a sense of just how huge it is. If you do, be sure to go via one of the underpasses scattered around the edges for quickness and to avoid the general danger that is never too far away on Beijing's roads.

Tiananmen Square today has a joyful atmosphere, full of red-capped Chinese tourists, kite flyers, and even the odd Buddhist monk or performance artist. If you visit during one of the public holidays, you might also get to see an over-the-top flower display. However, the space itself is surprisingly flat and featureless, save for two interruptions in the form of the Monument to the People's Heroes and Chairman Mao's Mausoleum.

Built in 1958, the Monument to the People's Heroes was the first large-scale monument commissioned by Mao to be built in the New China. Get up close and you'll see that it depicts stars, flags, cypress trees and other revolutionary symbols to commemorate the masses that died rising up against the country's oppressors. However, as art historian Simon Leys put it, the Monument to the People's Heroes might also be viewed as being the equivalent of 'a good sneeze' in 'a concert hall at just the most exquisite and magical point of a musical phrase', thanks to its insensitive position on the central axis of the old Beijing.

The huge flat-roofed building in the middle-south of the square, with boy-soldiers standing guard at various points around its generous perimeter, is the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, the place to go if you want to catch a glimpse of the Great Helmsman himself. Be warned, in the morning the queues are very long and once you're inside you'll be hurried past the casket at top speed, but it's still worth getting a look at the now slightly waxy-looking founder of the People's Republic of China if you have time. Dominating the front and rear of the hall are three heroic and quintessentially socialist sculptures. The one north of the building represents the achievements the Chinese people made under Mao's leadership, while the two south of the hall embody the slogan 'Carry the cause of our revolution through to the end.'

Further south is one of the remaining gates of the old city. The Qianmen Gate (or Zhengyangmen), which formerly divided the Imperial City from the suburban area of Beijing, now affords good views of the Square and contains a nice exhibition of old photos (8.30am-4pm, RMB 2). The enormous grey brick Arrow Tower was once equipped with cannons. It has withstood many a battle, including the violent Boxer Rebellion.

To really soak up the nationalist spirit of the Square though, it's a good idea to be there at daybreak or sunset to watch the Five Star Red Flag raising ceremony that takes place at the far north end of Tiananmen. It's easy to underestimate just how many people watch this ceremony every day, so take into account that there will be large crowds. The guards march at exactly 108 steps per minute at 75 centimetres per step and the cars on Chang'an Avenue are all obliged to stop in their tracks.

Around Tiananmen Square

When Tiananmen Square resembled a T- shape and imperial ministries and government buildings ran down either side, the east strip was made up of the Board of Personnel, the Board of Finance, the Board of Imperial Family Affairs and the Board of Commerce. In their place now lies the National Museum of China, an amalgamation of the two museums that previously stood on this site; and on the opposite side of the square, the even bigger Great Hall of the People. Built in just 10 months, it is here that the Communist Party and People's Congress convene to discuss legislation and hold ceremonial events, though the majority of the government's day-to-day business takes place in the buildings inside the off-limits Zhongnanhai Park.

Surveying the square from on high is Chairman Mao's portrait. Situated atop the Tiananmen Gate (literally the 'Gate of Heavenly Peace') at the entrance to the Forbidden City, the portrait is flanked by two slogans, the left reading 'Long Live the People's Republic of China', the right, 'Long Live the Unity of the Peoples of the World'. It was in February 1949 that Mao's portrait first appeared, only to be replaced by a more flattering one a few months later, where it has remained for more than fifty years. The two-ton painting is cleaned annually and on the eve of National Day is replaced temporarily by a copy.

For something a little less well known, head toward the south-east corner of Tiananmen Square for the Beijing Police Museum, which houses several bilingual exhibits on the history of the Beijing police force, or directly south-east to what used to be the former Legation Quarter (best accessed by heading south down Tiajichang Dajie from the Oriental Plaza). Up to 13 foreign governments were represented here between 1861 and 1959 and a number of European-style buildings still remain. During the 1960s embassies were built in the Sanlitun area.

By the end of 2007, the old American Embassy compound will have been transformed into a slick, international brand complex housing a collection of top restaurants, an art gallery, repertory theatre and even a Bouji nightclub (23 Qianmen Dong Dajie, south-east corner of Tiananmen square, opposite the Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall, Doncheng district).

Overseeing the Legation Quarter redevelopment is American lawyer-cum-lifestyle guru Handel Lee, the brains behind Shanghai's Three on the Bund – siting a temple of culture and hedonism right on the corner of Tiananmen Square is a clear indication that the capital is squaring up to its frivolous rival.

Chang'an Avenue

Chang'an Avenue not only runs through the heart of Beijing, ticking off important building after important building on its route east to west through the city, but its promotion to the capital's main traffic route in the 1930s completely altered the primary direction of movement within the city.

In ancient China, the main road into the Imperial City (through the Tiananmen Gate under Mao's portrait) passed under the gateways you see in and around Tiananmen Square, from south to north. By the time the first tram was installed on the east-west road passing in front of Tiananmen, however, Chang'an Avenue was well on its way to replacing the traditional route. It wasn't until the rapid expansion of the road in the years following the creation of the People's Republic that the avenue began to resemble a modern thoroughfare. The Party cleared a number of ancient and historical gates and wooden archways in order to expand the road, and by 1959 it was 80 metres (262 feet) wide and stretched 40 kilometres (25 miles) in either direction – perfect for all those National Day Parades and mass expressions of support for Mao during his heyday.

Starting a few kilometres west of Tiananmen is Xidan, an increasingly modern shopping area popular with Chinese people. The Capital Time Square and Zhongyou Malls have the usual selection of Western, Hong Kong and Chinese brands and the 77th Street Mall is a magnet for young and trendy Chinese, with scores of clothing boutiques and quirky shops. Not so easy to find, the entire mall is underground so you have to enter via one of the entrances on the Xidan Culture Square. Continuing east along the Avenue, past Tiananmen Square and various ministries, are a number of five-star hotels. Just beyond these Chang'an Avenue turns into Jianguomenwai Dajie. Where it meets the equally busy Third Ring Road, you'll come across the Ancient Observatory. Over 500 years old, the grey bricked building looks like a fort from the outside and its several bronze astronomical instruments are visible on the roof.

Wangfujing

Happening upon the perpetually crowded Wangfujing Street from whichever direction you come can give you a real sense of the modern China – neon lights, international brands, bustling street food stalls, and McDonald's and KFCs galore.

Largely pedestrianised in 2000, the area is now the city's main shopping street and in the late 1980s began to attract a number of international hotel chains such as Hong Kong's Peninsula, the Hyatt and Novotel. However, Wangfujing's history as a commercial area actually stretches back hundreds of years, having always been known for its quality goods and services; its proximity to the Forbidden City meaning that for centuries, many royal and wealthy families took up residency here, in particular several of the emperor's brothers. The name 'Wangfujing' derives from the site being a so-called 'sweet water' well, a rare commodity in ancient times, leading to the name 'Wang Fu' (aristocratic residence) 'Jing' (well). The now sealed well is marked by a round plaque on the ground just below the neon Olympus sign and in front of a Jessica clothes shop at the north end of the street.

A number of the goods once sold in the area are still in abundance, including jade, tea, roast duck, silk, cloth, calligraphy brushes and ink. Some of it can be found in the Art Mansion, though most Westerners will find the shopping centre gaudy and overpriced. Much better to visit the real deal; the Shengxifu Hat Store's quality headgear have been a favourite of Chinese officials for years and the Wuyutai Tea House is over a hundred years old, still selling the fresh tea that made it famous during the Qing dynasty. The Yong'antang Medicine Shop has an even longer history, first opening for business in the late 15th century.

Turning on to south Wangfujing from Chang'an Avenue, the first thing you'll see as you start on the city's main shopping street is the Oriental Plaza on the right, one of Beijing's premier shopping malls, which houses a good range of designer and international brands, one or two high end restaurants and even an underground cinema. Keep on walking until you come to the far north end of Wangfujing street, passing the Century Square Mall, where it meets Dongsi Xidajie, and bear left on to Wusi Dajie where there are a number of extremely good value framing shops and opposite them, the National Art Museum of China.The traditional Chinese tower-style gallery houses more than 60,000 art works, most of them modern, including papercuts, pottery, painting, sculpture and ceramics among other things.

Heading back toward the pedestrian part of Wangfujing, where it meets Donganmen Dajie, turn right and opposite the giant Hong Kong Food City you'll find the Donghuamen Night Market. Open from 4pm to 10pm every evening, it's a shocking but absolutely wonderful strip of 88 red lantern-lit food stalls that gives creedence to the idea that the Chinese will eat literally anything. From skewered seahorses to scorpions, starfish, crickets and chicken foetuses on sticks, there's plenty to pull faces at (or dare your friends to eat). The smell of offal in places can be gut wrenching, but there's plenty for the yellow bellied traveller too, including noodles, banana fritters, fresh oysters, dumplings and chicken skewers.

Temples & parks

Though they aren't immediately visible the centre of Beijing has a number of beautiful parks. Many, such as Zhongshan Park , Jingshan Park and Beihai Park surround the Forbidden City and without exception they are all quintessentially Chinese and a joy to be in. Don't expect them to have Hyde Park-like expanses of grass for you to picnic on. Chinese parks are more about quiet contemplation than playing footie with your mates or feeding the ducks.

Sarah Keenlyside