"Beijing - 16 million and more to come! " a Beijing Travel Page by maysue

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Temple of Heaven (Tian Tan)

Beijing as it is...

Ni hao! which meant "hello" in Mandarin-Chinese (Putong hua), is the most used, and all-purpose greeting that would help you to get around in Beijing easily and win friendship with the locals.

I believe that if anyone were to come to China, Beijing would inevitably be everyone's first itinerary with the Forbidden City and Great Wall of China in mind; which are definitely places not to be missed. In fact, I started my first tour in China with Beijing, Tianjin and Cheng de.

When I first came to China in the cold winter December 2002, I saw the first snowdrop in Beijing. I instantly fell in love with Beijing and decided to come here on my own accord.

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Great wall of China in the autumn

Modern Beijing

Beijing, which is also known as the northern capital, is definitely a place to behold with sprawling buildings of apartments and shopping malls to cater the needs of its16 million (and maybe more) inhabitants; which includes me now!

Today, you can find that Beijing is rather modern with people dressing in the latest fashion (especially in the summer); students enjoying their time in Internet cafes', Starbucks and McDonald's while businessmen and women are never seen without their mobile phones - chatting away in a world of their own.

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Liang Xiang town

Liang Xiang - out of Beijing downtown

Liang Xiang is a place, which is situated south of Beijing (Fang Shan District) and has a population of 160,000 people.

I live in Xing Gong, which is a small community residential area in Liang Xiang. It is a nice place to stay where the young and old mingle with each other in the morning and in the evening; talking about their daily lives or showing off their kids or pets to one another. The residents here are really curious about us (even though I am a Chinese) especially when we spoke English or other languages that they do not understand. They are also beginning to accustomed to our eating habits and wants.

Anyway, Xing Gong has a wet market, bakery shops, bank, laundry shops, beauty salons and other facilities, which are located at the south, east and west gate of the residence area. These gates are guarded by security guards to ensure the safety of the residents who live within Xing Gong. It is supposingly to be a high-class residence area. There are also a few restaurants where hot pot of lamb, a popular winter delicacy among the locals, is served in large portions for those with big appetites!

The picture shows the roundabout where there is a big hotel and some shopping centers in Liang Xiang. Besides there is a big park where you can jog or walk to exercise your muscles after a hard day work.