The successful Beijing Olympics earlier this year brought much attention to the Beijing National Stadium, better known as the "Bird's Nest", and the "Water Cube" National Aquatics Centre.

But visitors to the city will find more than that in the history-rich Chinese capital. A portion of The Great Wall of China, along with historic sites such as the Ming Tombs, shares the limelight with modern architecture in this vast city.

Its backlanes, called hutongs, take visitors back to old Beijing with shops selling traditional souvenirs and ornaments, says Mr Sunny Kong, 55.

The director of finance and business support at the Grand Millennium Beijing has been living there for more than five years with his mainland Chinese wife, Vivian Wang, 45. Their daughters Wang Ai Jia, 19, and Kong Man Jing, 14, study in Singapore.

Photo of Mr Sunny Kong

GETTING AROUND

The best way to explore the city is by...

Subway and taxi. Both are inexpensive, clean and easy to locate and use. Taxi fares start at RMB10 (S$2.20) for the first 3km and RMB2 for each subsequent one. The subway is cheaper - you pay only RMB2 per ride, regardless of your destination.

The best time to visit is...

Spring, between April and May, or in autumn, from September to October. The weather in both seasons is cool and comfortable.

Which places in the city excite you?

Both the "Bird's Nest" Olympic stadium and "Water Cube" swimming complex are awe-inspiring and unique.

Also, the last remaining hutongs - which are small lanes similar to the backlanes of Singapore - give you glimpses of pre-modern Beijing. Here time seems to have stood still. There are shops filled with attractive ornaments, toys and all sorts of souvenirs, which are inexpensive and lovely.

FOOD AND WINE

Where can you find food that is similar to Singaporean fare?

Most shopping centres, eateries and food courts sell four great Singaporean dishes: spicy laksa, fried kway teow, Hainanese chicken rice and spicy curries.

Many food stalls and restaurants are actually operated by Singaporeans with Beijing partners. Some come very close to the real thing found back home.

Workers prepare food at a roadside food stall or hutong (above), in a backlane neighbourhood

Singapore Secrets Restaurant at The Place (Shi Mao Tian Jie, Guang Hua Lu) serves authentic Hainanese chicken rice, char kway teow, bak kut teh, nasi lemak, curries and noodle soup.

Sin Kong Shopping Mall (Guang Tian Di, Da Wang Lu) has BreadTalk, soup noodles and laksa.

There's also Hard Rock Cafe (Liang Ma He Hotel, 3rd Ring Road, near Kempinski Hotel, Beijing), which has yummy laksa, prawn noodle soup, hor fun and the best char kway teow in town. Its chef, Nickson Sim, is a Singaporean who has been here for 15 years.

Also, Grand Millennium Beijing's Yaochi (Fortune Plaza, 7, Dong San Huan Middle Road, Chaoyang District) serves very good dim sum.

Your favourite breakfast is at...

Street corners and standalone mini-restaurants where I can order hot dou jiang (soya bean milk) and you tiao (deep-fried flour sticks), just like those in Singapore.

The coolest place to chill out in is...

My mother-in-law's home, where I also get to enjoy the best homemade dumplings of many varieties.

But if you can't get an invite to my mum-in-law's, a really trendy nightspot in Beijing is Hou Hai River Bars Street. It's located behind the famous Beihai Park in Dong Cheng district, a 25-minute taxi ride from the hotel I work in. Here, you will find people from all walks of life having a great time, with the canal in the background.

CULTURE FIX

What's the biggest difference between Singapore and this city?

The weather. Experiencing the four seasons, which can be extremely hot and freezing cold weather, especially in winter.

Where's the one place you'll always take your friends to when they visit you?

A little girl wears traditional Chinese headgear at Tiananmen Gate

Like everyone says, you have not seen Beijing until you have seen The Great Wall of China, which is one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world and the only man-made structure you can see from the moon.

It's best to visit the Great Wall in winter, as you can see the first rays of sunrise reflected by the large mass of snow covering the plains. It's truly one of the most amazing sights you will witness in your life.

THINGS TO DO

What is the one thing you must do in your city?

Shopping at the flea markets, such as Ya Xiu (San Li Tung Lu), as there are so many shops, storeys upon storeys of them.

FESTIVAL TOWN

What festivals should visitors look out for?

During the Lunar New Year (Jan 25 to Feb 9 next year), you get to experience fireworks and real firecrackers. And the workers work the weekend before the New Year, in return for a straight seven days off. You cannot find this anywhere else in the world.

There are also the National Day holidays (Oct 1 to 3), during which there's a large parade at Tiananmen Square.

A LITTLE FURTHER

Are there things to do outside of the city?

There are historical sites, such as the Ming Tombs, where you can see the burial sites of emperors, and the Hong Luo Si Temple in Huai Rou village, located an hour's drive from Beijing.

Both the Summer Palace in Hai Dian district, Beijing North, and the ice carving exhibition at Long Qing Xia in Yan Qing village are about 45 minutes away by taxi. At the ice exhibition, you will see 8mto 16m-tall carvings of palaces and mythical figures such as the Monkey God.

Top picture: The Great Wall of China, one of the 7 wonders in the world, is a must-see for any visitor to Beijing

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Dec 7, 2008.

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