Beijing

[Pages:4]Caption. Photo by Mathias Guillin.

Beijing:

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NEIGHBOR TO SWANKY SHANGHAI AND RECENT HOST OF THE OLYMPICS, BEIJING IS UPPING ITS ASSETS--REVAMPING

OLD HOTELS AND CREATING MORE TOURIST SITES. GONE FOR THE WEEKEND, PETER DE MARCO LISTS 10 WAYS TO

DISCOVER THIS CITY.

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GETTING AROUND

SUBWAY: 10 subway lines and over 230km of track. Average cost per ride: 2-3 RMB. Stations can be quite far from some of the attractions but system is very user-friendly. BUS: Quite difficult to navigate, especially if you don't speak Chinese. Consider taxis, which aren't so expensive within the city center.

AIRPORT TRANSFERS: Connects any of the airport terminals to the center of Beijing in about 20 minutes. A one-way trip costs 25 RMB.

Friday

1 CHECK IN

2 SIGHT-SEE ON A CYCLE

A woman's dress made of broken ceramic plates is just one of the cool things on display at The Opposite House, named by National Geographic Traveler as one of the best-designed hotels in China. World-famous Japanese architect Kengo Kuma created the minimalist design of the hotel, which includes brushed-oak floors, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a fantastic Italian restaurant with one of the best wine lists in town. The Opposite House; Tel.: +8610 6417 6688; Web: theoppositehouse. com

Flat and spread out like a pancake, the best way to see Beijing is like a local--on a bike. Bike lanes and bike rental agencies abound. Try looking around the Drum Tower or Shichahai Lake. But for guided biking tours, Bike Beijing near the Forbidden City offers them in English such as a the hutong bike tour, night Beijing tour, and Great Wall bike tour. Bike Beijing; Tel.: +86 133 8140 0738; Web:

Saturday

For a more low profile setting, try staying in a hostel or guesthouse located in the older parts of Beijing. Sign your name on the lobby's wall at Beijing Downtown Backpackers, found right in the heart of the Nanluogo hutong. This hostel is housed in a two-story grey brick building and provides clean and comfy accommodation at affordable prices. Beijing Downtown Backpackers; Tel.: +8610 8400 2429; Web:

3 PEOPLE WATCH AT THE PARK

Impromptu dance classes like the waltz. Elders practicing ancient Chinese martial arts. Traditional Chinese games being played. Then there are the singers. Up to 50 people or more gather to sing Chinese revolutionary songs, complete with a conductor in Tiantan Park, one

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(LEFT) Caption. Photos by Peter de Marco.

RECOMMENDED ATTIRE

October is one of the best times of the year to visit Beijing, with an average high of 21 ?C and an average low of 8 ?C. Bring some long-sleeved shirts and a light jacket, along with a sweater or two. You may also want to pack a couple T-shirts in case the weather warms up.

OCTOBER EVENTS

OCTOBER 1: National Day of China. A public holiday. Fireworks, parades, concerts celebrate when the People's Republic of China was found on October 1st, 1949.

SEPTEMBER 25 ? OCTOBER 10: China Open. For tennis fans--the China Open at the National Tennis Center. .cn

OCTOBER 24: Beijing Marathon. Starting line is at Tiananmen Square for both men and women. beijing-

of the most popular parks around town. Tian Tian Park surrounds the Temple of Heaven. Metro guide: Tianten Dongmen Station, Line 5

4 LOUNGE AROUND THE LAKE

Just north-west of the Forbidden City, weeping willows drape like curtains around the scenic lakes of Shichaichai. To get around, choose between riding a rickshaw, a bike, or rent your own boat and paddle away the day. Plenty of caf?s, bars, and restaurants line the lake. Metro guide: Guloudajie, Line 2

5 DINE AT DUCK DE CHINE

You go Beijing, you try Peking Duck. For the city's most famous dish, the best is known to be had at the Duck de Chine restaurant. The meat they serve is succulent, crispy, and not too fatty. Tempt yourself by sneaking at the back to view the wood oven where your platypus pals are roasted. The restaurant is housed in what looks like a refurbished old warehouse with sleek black wooden beams running the length of the ceiling accompanied by warm, red silk lights. Duck de Chine; Tel.: +8610 6501 8881; Chaoyang District

6 GET OUT AND GET MERRY

Just down the street from Duck de Chine, the Sanlitun Bar district is a hit with the foreign

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community in Beijing. Bars can go from chill to rowdy. Out on the street, food vendors sell grilled meat on a stick. But if you're looking for more munchies, try Hidden Tree. Voted the best pizza in Beijing many years in a row, along with a number of international beers on tap, you can't go wrong. Hidden Tree; Tel.: +8610 6415 1955; Web: .cn

For something a little more upscale, try the Punk bar in the basement of The Opposite House Hotel. Punk Bar; Tel.: +8610 6417 6688

Sunday

7 SHOP THE STREETS

If China is the world's factory then Beijing has to be the world's market. One of the most famous is massive Panjiayuan flea market (a 15 minute taxi ride from the city center). Great for: Chinese style memorabilia like statues of Mao. Go over the weekend when most shop vendors are open.

For something a little more relaxed and original, visit South Luogu Lane. Dating as far back as 1267, traditional old-style houses have been converted into contemporary shops selling custom-made goods like t-shirts and leather bound notebooks. Caf?s, bars, and restaurants surround the space. South Luogu Lane; Metro guide: Andingmen Station Line 2 (15 minute walk from station)

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PUSHING CHINA'S DESIGN LIMITS

"China is like the United States was in the 1930s, becoming a world power. New ideas are being formulated here."

So says Philippine-raised Lyndon Neri and his wife, Rossana Hu, who run a cutting-edge architectural firm responsible for some of China's most high profile design projects in its two major cities, Beijing and Shanghai. Anyone who has visited new and hip locations in the two major cities will have encountered the work of Neri and Hu Design and Research Office (NHDRO). In Beijing, the company has been involved in high-profile projects that included reconfiguring the century-old former American embassy at Qianmen into a restaurant complex; converting a traditional siheyuan courtyard style home into the Whampoa Club restaurant, and responsibility for restaurants and a nightclub in the capital's most flamboyant hotel, the boutique style, green-and-orange Opposite House in the Village shopping complex.

Caption. Photo by Peter de Marco.

8 SOAK UP THE ARTS

And yet another makeover--a former arms factory complex now stands as the 798 Art District. Odd statues, paintings, and galleries fill this huge art complex. Their outdoor statue of a soldier fighting back a pack of wolves is unforgettable.

9 TREAT YOUR TOES

Replenish your "life force," or chi as it's known in Chinese, at one of the many foot massage parlors. At the popular Liangzi Foot Body Massage Center, a foot massage costs cost RMB 168 for 100 minutes and RMB 160 for a one hour full body massage. Liangzi Foot Body Massage Centers; 30 branches around the city; Tel.: +8610 6210 6669

Neri, 45, and Hu, 42, are both trained architects and have plenty of help and support, in the form of around 120 staff, drawn from 22 nationalities. Recently, the company completed a nine-room boutique hotel in Shanghai, a new, five-storey office for their own operation, called The Black Box, and a nightclub. Under construction, or on the drawing board, are hotels in Xian and Zhengzhou, a creative centre in Shanghai, houses in Singapore, Shanghai, Mexico and Florida, a new resort in the Philippines and a restaurant in London. Their thriving retail sideline, the Design Republic, is due to move into new Shanghai premises later this year. It sells imported furniture, along with Neri and Hu-designed homeware that is also distributed in Asia, Europe and the United States.

"In China you can see your work being realized a lot faster and you also have to be very creative to meet critical deadlines," says Neri. "We are fortunate to have enlightened clients. If all they want is another copy of the Eiffel Tower or the White House, then we are not the right architects."

10 RELIVE OLYMPIC GLORY

If you saw the 2008 Olympics, then you saw the Beijing National Stadium or "Bird's Nest." A visit to this US$ 423 million architectural jewel designed by Swiss architect Herzog & de Meuron is even more spectacular to see lit up at night as orange and red colored lights reflect off the surrounding lake.

Just across, the Beijing National Aquatics Center or "Water Cube" glows like a purplish-blue box of bubbles. Where 25 world records were broken here during the Olympics, today half of the Water Cube is now Asia's largest water park. Water Cube Water Park; Metro guide: Line 8 to Olympic Park or Olympic Sports Center; Entrance is RMB 200 for adults and RMB 160 for children =

PAL flies between Manila and Beijing five times weekly. Swingaround tour packages are available. For more information, call PAL reservations office (+632 855 8888 and +632 855 7777) or log on to .

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