Place to see: Beijing, Beijing, China

About this place:

If Shanghai is the New York City of China, Beijing is the Washington, D.C. Beijing is the capital of the People's Republic and one of the most populous cities in the world with around 14 million people.

The city is vibrant, hectic and rapidly growing at the same time that the sands of the Gobi desert are persistently encroaching upon it. As the 2008 Summer Olympic Games approaches the city seems perpetually under construction. It is a city of contradictions. Standing in the center of Tian'an Men Square, under the watchful eye of Chairman Mao, one can see a KFC, a McDonalds and a Starbucks as luxury cars sit immobile in endless traffic while beggars panhandle nearby. It is an ancient city and yet the beating heart of the new China, the world's most assured future superpower. Beijing is at once the past and the future.