Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Central Beijing's eastern districts make up the city's most cosmopolitan and fashion-
able area. Just east of Tian'anmen Square, the madcap area of Wangfujing buzzes by
day and evening - Beijing's shrine to shopping, it's home to a couple of the city's most
popular night markets. North of Wangfujing in an increasingly trendy part of town sit
Yonghe Gong and the Kong Miao, two of Beijing's most beguiling temple complexes.
Some way to the east is Sanlitun; most famous as a bar district, it's raucous and gaudy
bynightbutengaginglycivilizedduringthedaytime,withitsmanysmallcafésandres-
taurants good for people-watching. It's also a great place to shop, with several archi-
tecturally adventurous malls. Further east still is lake-filled Chaoyang Park, Beijing's
largest, the periphery of which is scattered with various clubs.
South of Sanlitun, things take a more serious turn, and buildings get a
lot
taller. This is
Beijing's
CentralBusinessDistrict(CBD)
, the heart of which stretches from
RitanPark
, a
leafy spot that's a hugely popular hangout place, to
Guomao
subway station. In recent years,
a whole troupe of superstar architects have been given
carte blanche
to bring their fantasies
to life - the most famous example, by far, is the jaw-dropping
CCTV Tower
, though new
buildings are sprouting up on what can often seem like a daily basis. All in all, the CBD is
about as far away from traditional China as you can get, but there are a few interesting histor-
ical sights on its periphery: the
Ancient Observatory
, a section of Ming-dynasty
city wall
,
and the unusual
Dongyue Temple
all offer respite from the rampant modernity.
